Joaquin Phoenix Gets Slapped to Katy Perry in Ari Aster’s Wildest Movie Moment
So, there’s a scene in Ari Aster’s new film Eddington that’s probably going to go down as one of the weirdest—and most unforgettable—moments in recent movie history. It involves Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, a political rivalry, and of all things… Katy Perry’s “Firework.”
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Here’s the setup. The film is set during the height of the COVID pandemic, in a fictional New Mexico town. Joaquin Phoenix plays Sheriff Joe Cross, a man stuck in a miserable marriage and living with a conspiracy-loving mother-in-law. Fed up with mask mandates and convinced the town is falling apart, Joe decides to run for mayor. His opponent? The sitting progressive Mayor Ted Garcia, played by Pedro Pascal. And let’s just say, things get ugly real fast.
Joe’s campaign is less about politics and more about personal vengeance. He believes Ted once took advantage of his wife, Louise—played by Emma Stone—and he even posts a wild video accusing Ted of sexual assault. But Louise quickly debunks the claim, leaving Joe looking like an unstable, desperate man. On top of that, he’s been harassing Ted’s teenage son. So by the time Joe shows up uninvited to Ted’s campaign party, tensions are boiling over.
Now, the party itself is blasting Katy Perry’s “Firework,” which seems like a bizarre choice for a serious, brooding A24 movie, right? But here’s where it gets brilliant. As Joe storms through the crowd to shut the party down, the music is blaring. “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag…” is practically shaking the walls. Joe reaches the speaker, cuts the music, and walks off like he’s made his power move. But then—boom—Ted slaps him. Hard. Twice. No words, just pure rage. And just like that, “Firework” comes back on even louder than before, pounding through the air as Joe retreats, humiliated and broken.
It’s one of those surreal moments that somehow works perfectly. The song, with all its glittery optimism and over-the-top self-love message, stands in direct contrast to Joe’s bleak, collapsing world. For Ted, “Firework” is a genuine anthem of hope. He sees it as representing everything he believes in—unity, progress, resilience. But to Joe, it’s corporate fluff, hollow and fake—exactly what he thinks is wrong with society.
What’s even funnier is that Ari Aster originally wanted Jay-Z’s “Empire State of Mind” for the scene, but when those rights couldn’t be secured, he pivoted to Katy Perry—and it somehow made the scene even better. He said the bass in “Firework” gave the moment a queasy, pounding energy that perfectly matched Joe’s psychological breakdown.
Only in an Ari Aster movie could a political meltdown, a public slap, and a pop anthem come together to say something deeper about culture, identity, and the chaos of our pandemic-era lives. Leave it to Joaquin Phoenix to get emotionally destroyed to a Katy Perry song.
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