2010 was the last time someone could conceivably claim to not know who Lady Gaga is. In 2024, even my baby boomer father has heard of her, and he hasn’t listened to a “new” album since Elvis Presley was still alive. Gaga’s debut album, The Fame, was less than two years ago, and Born This Way wouldn’t be released until the following year. “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” and her masterpiece “Bad Romance” were big hits, but they went unnoticed by Joaquin Phoenix.
The Miley Cyrus fan account @MileyCyrusBz shared an of-its-era clip of Miley Cyrus, in her pre-Can’t Be Tamed era, teaching Phoenix about Lady Gaga. “You know who Lady Gaga is?” she asks the actor, who is two years away from The Master. “Very well,” he answers, unconvincingly. “She has the song ‘Everybody Goes Up.’ She also does the one ‘Two Lashes at a Time.’” Miley tells Phoenix that he has it all wrong (although those are good song titles!) before she starts dancing to and singing “Bad Romance.”
The clip is taken from the video “MILEY CYRUS TEACHES JOAQUIN PHOENIX & LIV TYLER How to Vote for TWLOHA and Suicide Prevention,” which was uploaded to the YouTube account for To Write Love on Her Arms (a non-profit that aims to help those struggling with mental health issues) on January 22, 2010. Fourteen years later, Phoenix would star with Gaga in Joker: Folie à Deux. I hope he asked her to sing “Two Lashes at a Time” during filming.
You can watch the clip below.
14 years ago, Miley Cyrus educated Joaquin Phoenix on Lady Gaga and now we have the Joker 2. Thank You Miley.pic.twitter.com/GDEWl2WvvH
— Miley Cyrus Updates (@MileyCyrusBz) April 10, 2024
Joker: Folie à Deux opens in theaters on October 4.