Convicted Pedophile Gary Glitter Stands To Make Millions From The 'Joker' Movie
Crime pays. Gross.
Getty There was a time, sometime in the 1980s, when Gary Glitter was considered a bonafide rock star. His style of music was considered "glam rock" — a prototype, if you will, of bands like Motley Crue and Poison, who themselves were a breed of "glam rockers" that all but polluted the 1980s rock landscape. He is, however, a disgraced star, as he was convicted of possession of child pornography at a time prior to the #MeToo movement, so you know it was pretty bad. Yet, now he stands to make a small fortune because his most infamous song was featured in the top-rated film of the season. So who is Gary Glitter?
In the 1970s and 1980s, Paul Gadd — known professionally as Gary Glitter — charmed the collective pants of the British rock scene. With his extreme over-the-top performances matched only by his even more over-the-top outfits, Gary Glitter's songs were subsequently heard in stadiums all over the world thanks to the raging success of "Rock and Roll Parts 1 and 2."
But in 1997, he was convicted of possession of child pornography, and ultimately was imprisoned for the crime in 1999. And, if that wasn't enough, he was convicted of child sexual abuse in 2006, and attempted rape in 2015. Though he was once a beloved figure in music, Gary Glitter — and his music — is in the dustbin of history, where he belongs.
Unfortunately, though, one of his songs recently appeared in the Joker movie, which means that he stands to make millions. Because, crime — no matter how disgusting — pays.
Let's look at what we know about this disgusting individual.
1. Gary Glitter's music was banned from American football.
According to Uproxx, you know it's bad when American football — home of all sorts of criminals — thinks that something is bad enough to ban. And that's exactly what they did with Glitter's music: from the first time he got convicted of a child porn possession charge, his music was no longer allowed to be played in football stadiums. It was even banned from the Super Bowl!
2. But it appeared in a pivotal scene in Joker movie.
CNN reports that the Joker film, which is already getting all sorts of backlash, got another piece of backlash when it was revealed that "Rock & Roll Part 1 and 2" was featured in a scene in the film and, specifically, the scene where Arthur Fleck becomes the Joker. "The film, which has already received criticism that it glorifies violence and evokes empathy for a killer, is now facing backlash for its use of a song by convicted child sex offender Gary Glitter. The song, "Rock and Roll Part 2," plays for about two minutes as star Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the Joker, dances down a flight of stairs," reports the outlet.
3. The details of Gary Glitter's crimes are horrifying.
According to Yahoo, Gary Glitter's crimes are far from a he-said, she-said type of scenario. The outlet reports that, in 1997, he was arrested on the suspicion of possession of child pornography. He was ultimately convicted in 1999, when it was revealed that he'd downloaded thousands of images of child pornography. In 2002, he was deported from Cambodia on suspicion of child sexual abuse. In 2006, he was jailed in Vietnam for sexually molesting two girls; upon his release, he returned to the United Kingdom, where he was placed on their sexual offender's registry for life. (A small favor.) Then in 2015, he was found guilty of attempted rape, several counts of indecent assault and another count of having intercourse with a girl under the age of 13. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison, and currently sits in jail to this day.
4. And this appearance in the Joker movie isn't the only thing he profits off of.
According to The Sun, Gary Glitter's prison is the equivalent of what Americans call "Club Fed" or "Camp Cupcake," in which he has all sorts of privileges and freedoms, including a flat-screen TV. While the UK has banned Gary Glitter's music from their radio stations, and American football won't play his songs in their stadiums, American radio stations still play his music, and he earns about $250,000 USD in royalties from these plays. Additionally, he receives royalties from an Oasis song which samples his lyrics, and banked another $300,000 after his song appeared in The Silver Linings Playbook. So this, of course, leaves just one question: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!
5. It gets worse. It gets way, way, way worse.
"Because of this use, Gadd stands to receive a large lump sum of money on top of royalties from future DVD and potential soundtrack sales. Yet Joker is far from the first production to use Gary Glitter’s music post-conviction. “Rock and Roll Part 2” appears in a football scene (natch) in 2004’s Meet the Fockers. In 2012, The Weinstein Company (again, natch) paid a substantial amount of cash to use the track in the trailer for eventual Oscar winner Silver Linings Playbook. Hell, even Glee wasn’t above using Gadd’s songs, getting Gwyneth Paltrow to sing the incredibly lewd (and in light of Gadd’s sexual history, overtly icky) “Do You Wanna Touch Me” while playing, of all things, a sexual education teacher in a 2011 episode," reports Consequence of Sound.
6. Is the use of Gary Glitter's music in Joker enough to turn the audience off?
Den of Geek raises a very interesting point: while it would make sense for "normal" people (that is to say, people who don't condone pedophilia) to get turned off and grossed out by the use of Gary Glitter's music in the Joker film, its use could really be used to illustrate how ugly the Joker is, as a person. After all, who else could condone this nonsense?
Regardless, though, it makes absolutely no sense to use music by a convicted pedophile. There's no shortage of songs available that would have the same impact, and to use a song by Gary Glitter — knowing that he could bank off of the pain of others — is beyond disgusting.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.