Jared Leto is known for his method acting, and playing The Joker in Suicide Squad was no exception. One of the ways Leto decided to fully immerse himself into DC's Clown Prince of Crime was by sending strange items to his co-stars. Undoubtedly the most disturbing of these "gifts" that the public heard about was used condoms, but Leto is now firmly denying that he sent such sexual protection to the other Suicide Squad performers, saying:
Most of it was total bullshit. Like that I was giving used condoms to people, which was not true. It doesn't matter how loud you shout or hold up a sign with your pants off in Times Square --- people will run the story that they want.
In this case, we have Jared Leto himself to blame for the condom rumor existing. Shortly before Suicide Squad was widely released, Leto mentioned how the condoms were one of the ways he created an "element of surprise" and a "spontaneity" to break down any kind of walls on the set. At the time, it wasn't clear if he was joking or being serious, not to mention that he never clarified if he meant they were used in that the box had been opened, or if they had been, you know, actually used. Let's hope this is an instance of a comment being blown out of proportion, because no one wants to have something like that delivered to them.
As for the rest of the gifts Jared Leto sent during his time as The Joker, they included a box of bullets for Will Smith, a live rat for Margot Robbie, a deck of cards for Jay Hernandez and a dead pig for Viola Davis. And it wasn't just the Suicide Squad actors who got to partake in the "fun." Leto also sent a dildo and other "weird shit" to Skrillex, who produced the song "Purple Lamborghini" for the movie, which featured Leto as Joker in the music video. All of this was Leto's way of tapping into Joker's love of mind games and manipulation, but in his recent interview with EW, he also revealed that he didn't come up with these ideas on his own. As he put it:
People were thrilled to [get] them. Whatever the Joker would give, was the idea. I didn't really even put them together, basically. It was my team and my assistant. We were all having fun with it. It was really touching.
While Jared Leto's next appearance in the DCEU hasn't been officially scheduled, it looks like the actor has a bright future ahead of him as The Joker following his debut in Suicide Squad, which made more than $745 million worldwide. In addition to reportedly returning for Suicide Squad 2 and Gotham City Sirens, Leto will also re-team with Margot Robbie for a Joker/Harley Quinn movie. It's unclear which of these movies will be released first, but Leto should consider not pulling this gift stunt again, no matter how method he goes.
Keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on Jared Leto's Joker and all other things DCEU as they come in.
