Suicide Squad Director David Ayer Takes The Blame For Joker’s Stupid ‘Damaged’ Tattoo – /Film

Though he initially took responsibility for the version of “Suicide Squad” that made $746 million worldwide but enraged a whole generation of DC fans, David Ayer has since blasted the 2016 cut. But, as mentioned, that doesn’t mean he’s above accepting responsibility where appropriate. Case in point: Jared Leto’s Joker and his tattoos.

When the first image of Leto as Joker debuted prior to “Suicide Squad” being released, responses ranged from confused to outraged. As we at /Film commented at the time, “He’s got the sort of laughter you might see stylized by a comic book letterer actually tattooed on his body. Is this guy a maniac, or an edgy model with a burgeoning Instagram following?” The major point of contention did indeed seem to be the tattoos, with the word “damaged” on Joker’s forehead coming across as particularly on the nose. At the time, Ayer provided a backstory for the “damaged” ink, explaining that the infamous rogue had it done in Arkham Asylum after being beaten and captured by Batman, who had also knocked out the villain’s teeth, hence the silver grill and tat.

But the director has since stopped making excuses for this almost universally disliked feature of Leto’s Joker. Ayer tweeted in response to a fan (via Entertainment Weekly), saying the he “own[ed] the tattoo idea 100%” and claiming that he regrets it in hindsight.

I own the tattoo idea 100%

It was my choice. Original idea is it would say “Blessed” and not “Damaged”

Now having said that — I regret that decision. It created acrimony and division.

Not every idea is a good idea.

And I’ll just be in the corner here while the internet… https://t.co/8no7KQy1Oe

— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) August 16, 2023

“It was my choice,” the tweet says. “Original idea is it would say ‘Blessed’ and not ‘Damaged’. Now having said that — I regret that decision. It created acrimony and division. Not every idea is a good idea. And I’ll just be in the corner here while the internet slaps me around for this post.”

Surprisingly, the comments are actually full of people who seemed to either like or weren’t too bothered by the tattoo, which raises the question of where these people were back in 2016.