"You are making a terrible situation even worse"— Todd Haynes' queer movie producer addresses Joaquin Phoenix's abrupt exit from the project

Christine Vachon, producer of Todd Haynes' queer movie project calls last weekend a "nightmare" after Joaquin Phoenix abruptly left the project five days before filming begins in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Vachon in a now deleted or made private Facebook post, shared an article addressing why she hasn't been in touch or returned calls.

"And PLEASE - if you are tempted to finger wag or admonish us that "that's what you get for casting a straight actor' -- DON'T. This was HIS project that he brought to US - and Killer's record on working with LGBTQ actors/crew/directors speaks for itself (and for those of you who HAVE - know that you are making a terrible situation even worse)."

Vachon has previously worked with LGBTQ themes in films like Poison, Safe, Velvet Goldmine, and Boys Don't Cry.

The upcoming movie featured Joaquin Phoenix and Danny Ramirez in a gay love story set in 1930s Los Angeles. It was a project that Phoenix and Todd Haynes co-developed. As per Haynes, it was Phoenix's idea to be involved in the script and include explicit scenes.

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Why did Joaquin Phoenix leave Todd Haynes' movie?

As per Variety, Joaquin Phoenix's abrupt exit from Todd Haynes' queer movie just 5 days before filming starts in Mexico caused financial and logistical consequences for the producers and the rest of the members involved in constructing the elaborate film sets.

As per reports obtained by Variety, Phoenix got "cold feet." The crew involved in the project speculated that Phoenix exited due to the NC-17 graphic scenes in the film. However, as per Haynes, Phoenix suggested them in the first place.

In September 2023, Haynes while speaking to Variety shared that the project was brought to him by Joaquin Phoenix and that he was involved in crafting the script,

"Basically it was just this wonderful, organic way to create the script. And Joaquin was pushing it further into more dangerous territory, s*xually."

While press touring for his 2023 Netflix film, May December, Todd Haynes mentioned to IndieWire that Phoenix was the motivation behind the project.

"The whole experience was prompted by Joaquin. It was prompted by his daring, his desire to push through barriers and to really get into the uncomfortable places about this relationship. And yet it felt like a very organic process," Haynes said.

While it's unknown if Joaquin Phoenix's role will be recast, he is all set to feature in the sequel of Joker (2019), Joker: Folie a Deux. The sequel starring Lady Gaga will see its worldwide release in October 2024.