A disappointed Lady Gaga fan has apologized and insisted he is 'not a bad person' after he was filmed ranting at theater staff because his heroine did not appear in its movie trailers.
Ethan Silver, 30, visited his local IFC Center theater in New York City expecting to see the latest promo film for Joker 2 starring Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix.
But he lost his cool when it did not appear and his request for a refund was denied, swearing and threatening to call the police on box office staff.
An unobtrusive by-stander was filming the exchange, and Silver was horrified to see his behavior go viral when it was posted to the fansite Gagadaily.com.
'I am extremely embarrassed and so sorry for all the trouble I caused and really hate that this is all over the internet,' he told DailyMail.com. 'I would like to set the record straight that I am not a bad person.'
Lady Gaga fan Ethan Silver yelled at box office staff after sitting through a trailer reel that did not include his heroin's appearance in the promo for Joker 2
The 30-year-old has said he is embarrassed by his behavior and would like to apologize
Excitement has been building over 'Joker: Folie à Deux' since the first trailer achieved 167 million views in its first 24 hours after its release in April, a record for a Warner Bros. film.
The latest trailer, released last week, shows hero Arthur Fleck embracing Harley Quinn, played by Gaga, and has already attracted 23 million views on YouTube.
Silver says he is not a movie fan but wanted to see the trailer in a theater to 'support Lady Gaga'.
He went to the theater on Sixth Avenue and asked for a ticket to 'any film', expecting to see the trailer.
But the independent theater, which specializes in classic, indie and foreign language movies, did not have it on the roster.
'I sat through tons of trailers for nonsense films that no-one cares about, and it was annoying,' Silver said.
'I thought I was within my rights to get a refund and I asked very politely at the box office and then some random guy was filming me on the street.'
The aspiring Youtuber found himself on the other side of the lens as he lost his temper with the non-compliant box office staff.
'If you don't give me a f***ing refund, I swear to god,' he stormed.
'There's 30 minutes of trailers. I wanted the Joker, I wanted to see Lady Gaga in the Joker trailer.
'Give me a f***ing... I will call the police on you.'
Lady Gaga stars as Harley Quinn alongsideJoaquin Phoenix as the Joker aka Arthur Fleck
The hotly anticipated trailerhas already attracted 23 million views on YouTube
Some film fans were sympathetic to his plight as the footage began making its way across the internet.
'In fairness I was livid when mine didn't play the new trailer and played the teaser instead,' wrote one.
'Bros got his priorities straight,' added another.
'Lemme guess, they showed the Nicole Kidman trailer again huh?' quipped a third.
But others were less forgiving and Silver says he has been hurt by the backlash.
'Lady Gaga says never read mean things people say about you, but people are saying horrible things about me,' he said.
'They're saying I'm a crazy person, I'm not a crazy person, everybody loves me.
'It wasn't me. I'm sorry to the person at the IFC.'
Some fans were furious when it was revealed that the sequel to 2019's Joker would be a musical, but others were delighted at the prospect of seeing the Poker Face singer join Phoenix in some musical numbers.
She plays a fellow asylum inmate who forms a deadly romantic relationship with the Joker, with casting director Francine Maisler promising one audience of film fans she is 'going to blow your mind'.
As their infatuation for each other deepens, Arthur's deranged followers — who witnessed him murder the late-night television host Murray Franklin (Robert De Niro) in the first film — take to the streets in hopes of allowing him to subject Gotham to even more destruction.
'I will tell you, (Gaga's) really surprising, and really good,' Maisler said at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic last month.
'I mean, we all knew what she could do in A Star Is Born, but I thought, 'Oh, well, that's kind of in her wheelhouse', Something she could do and just be real.
Casting director Francine Maisler promised film fans that Gaga is 'going to blow your mind'
It will premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, before it goes on general release in the US on October 2
'But this… Man, she's good. Joaquin blows your mind, but that she could keep up with him, and be real — and not just wiped off the screen by what that role is and what the performance is — shows she's good.'
Silver says he has not even seen the first Joker film which grossed $1.079 billion against a relatively modest budget of $55 million.
Its sequel will premiere at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, before it goes on general release in the US on October 2.
Silver will be among its first viewers and is sure his heroine will not hold his loss of temper against him.
'I think we will meet one day and laugh at it,' he said.
