Despite critics saying the film provokes mass shootings, Joaquin Phoenix's performance in Joker is being called one of the best this year.
One scene, in particular, has stans, fans and caption-hungry Instagram users taking things a step further.
Gothamist reported the scene with Phoenix dancing on a set of stairs in the Highbridge neighborhood of the Bronx is drawing crowds to recreate the Joker's two-step. The stairs, which connect Shakespeare and Anderson avenues is a staple in the community.
Fans have created their own Instagram hashtag for the steps and added the location on Google Maps as a “religious site.” The destination has since been removed from the app, Gotham reported.
Unsurprisingly, locals aren’t loving all of the extra attention.
“This s**t is terrible, man,” said Mero of the Desus and Mero show in a segment called, “Don’t Get Robbed at the ‘Joker’ Steps in the Bronx,” IndieWire reported.
“There is a new tourist attraction in the Bronx and it sucks. I’m outraged,” Desus said during the segment. “Who here is from the Bronx? Who here hates these steps? Who here has almost died in the winter going down these steps when they don’t shovel them? Who here stays on the Bx13 [bus] so you don’t have to get on those steps?”
This really a tragedy pic.twitter.com/AsSFoP3cN1
— GravitysEnemy (@GravitysEnemy) October 21, 2019
Other locals, with less comedic flair, told Gothamist they can’t wait until the tourists leave.
“We hope it ends soon because we don’t need this,” Jonathan Francis said. “We feel disrespected.”
Francis said his neighbors are having trouble using the stairs to get to work and school. People have even held up neighbors walking down the steps to prevent them from photobombing their pictures.
The community responded by posting flyers on the walls and lampposts along the staircase.
“It is disrespectful to treat our community and residents as a photo opportunity,” the fliers read.
The Office of The Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. said on Twitter he hopes visitors in the area support local businesses and vendors.
However, according to Brayan Feliz, an artist and designer, the tourists aren’t sticking around. Feliz said he saw people get out of Ubers, take photos of the stairs and get back in their cars.
The New York Post reported Phoenix danced down the steps to the sound of Garry Glitter’s “Rock and Roll Part 2” to signal his transformation as an outcasted villain.
Glitter, a convicted pedophile won't receive any royalties from the song appearing in the film, Fast Company reported.
Even New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez weighed in on the gritty stairsteps, The New York Post reported. She said influencers may be running to the New York borough now, but the neighborhood hasn't had the best reputation.
“When I was growing up, everyone would tell us to stay away from those steps or go with a friend,” Ocasio-Cortez told TMZ.
Now she says that area of the Bronx is a lot safer and she sometimes sees skateboarders trying to ride the rails near the steps.
“The Bronx is much safer now and I’m happy to say that,” AOC said.
However, she mentioned that some of the people may be getting in the way of locals.
“I think the way a lot of us feel is, listen, like, keep your Instagram posts outside of the Boogie Down. Like, this is for us,” she added.
Deadline reported the Joker is on target to become the highest-grossing R-rated U.S. release and could reach $900 million in sales globally.
