Joker is smashing all sorts of box office records on its way to awards season, but the film’s rise to prominence hasn’t come without its fair share of controversies. The most recent scandal involves the use of a song that was performed by a convicted pedophile. People feared that the creep known as Gary Glitter would be profiting off of the movie’s use of his popular track but thankfully, we now know that the criminal won’t be making a dime.
A representative from Snapper Music recently released a statement saying the following:
“Gary Glitter does not get paid. We’ve had no contact with him.”
Universal Media Publishing, who holds the United States’ rights to the song in question, also echoed the sentiment by saying:
“Gary Glitter’s publishing interest in the copyright of his songs is owned by UMPG and other parties, therefore UMPG does not pay him any royalties or other considerations.”
Fans were understandably concerned when they found out that such a horrible man would be making money off his song’s usage, but now it appears that won’t be the case. And that’s certainly a relief to hear.
Though he was once a huge star early on in his career, the glam rock singer in question was busted on several crimes relating to pedophilia through the late 1990s and 2000s. He’s currently in the midst of serving a 16-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom.
Even though he won’t be making money off of the flick, it’s still pretty weird that his song was featured at all. Maybe director Todd Phillips just wanted to rile up those who participate in “woke culture,” or maybe the inclusion of “Rock and Roll Part 2” was simply an oversight, especially given how popular the song is. After all, it’s been played in Academy Award-winning movies, at many sporting events and even an episode of The Office. Regardless, it’s a good thing that Glitter won’t be padding his bank due to the success of Joker.
