Man Escorted Out Of 'Joker' Screening For Cheering On-Screen Murders

A Times Square screening of the new Joaquin Phoenix movie, Joker was interrupted by an unruly patron. The moviegoer started loudly applauding and laughing during every on-screen murder, which made other people in the theater uncomfortable. A few people decided to leave the theater, and the man reportedly insulted them and spat on them as they made their way to the exit.

Nathanael Hood, who was at the theater, snapped of a photo of the suspect and shared it on Twitter.

“This is the guy who spent our entire screening of JOKER in NYC spitting at people and clapping whenever Joker killed somebody. Security escorted him out after a third of the audience fled the theater out of fear that he’d start hurting people,” Hood wrote.

Another witness claimed the man was drunk and watched him poured a bottle of tequila into his drink before the film began.

One of the patrons had enough of the unidentified man's antics, and calmly confronted him until security arrived.

"This is the guy who calmly confronted the guy and deescalated the situation until security came. Coming out everybody was shaking his hand and calling him a hero. I asked for his name and he said "V for Vegas." Not all heroes wear capes, folks."

Authorities have been issuing warnings about the potential for violence during the movie. Some people are worried that the film could inspire somebody to commit a mass shooting like the one that occurred during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado, that left 12 people dead.

Law enforcement agencies across the country have beefed up security, and in some cases, stationed undercover officers in theaters. On Thursday night, a theater in Southern California was closed following a credible threat. 

Despite the threats, Joker is having a great opening weekend, earning an October box-office record $93.5 million in the United States.

Photo: Getty Images