MovieChat Forums > Jack Nicholson Discussion > Glad the "Hey, I warned him" thing final...

Glad the "Hey, I warned him" thing finally ended.


That went on forever. Who saw that coming?

-- Sent from my 13 year old P.O.S. Desktop®

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Can you (or anyone else) provide a link explaining that meme?

I never figured out what that was all about. I just know that it made some people really upset.

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Hate leads to anger.
Anger leads to the Dark Side.
This is a Haiku.

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Not sure if you're still around but it started when Heath Ledger passed away. Jack Nicholson was asked to respond to the news of his death and he said "I warned em'". It's been changed to "I warned him" but that is how it started.

It was considered to be in very poor taste. Many people were offended by it, thus, the meme.

Here is a link:

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/i-warned-him

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But what did he warn him about?

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From what I read he never really said. Most articles believe it was about how hard it is playing such a demented, violent role I guess. Here are two articles about it though:

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/jack-nicholson-warned-heath-ledger-joker-role-article-1.340786

https://nypost.com/2008/01/24/i-warned-him-says-jack/

Hope it helps!

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I doubt Nicholson would have warned Ledger about taking on a demanding role like the Joker. Actors live for such roles.

But then again Nicholson was angry he didn't get the job. So there might be some smug bitterness there about Ledger's death.

It's more likely he warned him about the drug abuse which led to his death.

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No one knows except Jack and Heath. I do remember what you said about him talking about being mad he wasn't offered the role or even consulted back when the movie was about to premiere. I wish I could remember who he said it to, I just recall a mic in his face and him going on about it a bit before walking off.

I loved his take on the Joker back in Batman with Michael Keaton but I prefer Ledger's :)

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Personally I detest Michael Keaton and I didn't like his Batman. 🤣 And I prefer Ledger's Joker over Nicholson's.

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Oh no! Lol, I loved Keaton as Batman! But I prefer Christian Bale's Batman 😉 Ledger was legendary for sure.

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👍

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That quote was right after Ledger died and after Nicholson supposedly had a heart-to-heart with him. The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is Nicholson warned him that the drugs and alcohol would catch up with him. I can't imagine Jack bringing up career decisions after the man had just died.

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Yeah that's what OnanTheBarbarian said as well. It makes sense to me for sure and especially after reading the article he posted in the link below.

Here it is if you missed it: https://www.foxnews.com/story/jack-nicholson-says-he-warned-heath-ledger

But even if Jack came forward with why he said that and the whole conversation he had with Heath there's no way to prove it.

Now that we've started this conversation about what he meant I'm beginning to wonder if he had ever spoken to Heath Ledger at all? I haven't found an article where Heath Ledger even mentions talking to Jack. And I would think that would be a big deal for him?

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Heath wouldn't have mentioned it because it supposedly happened shortly before he died, but as you said, we will never know the truth.

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The way he pronounces "warned him" and "warned 'em" is exactly the same. Why do you think you know for a fact what he said?

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"'Em" is plural as in "them". He said he warned "'im" as in "him", one man.

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Maybe the "them" is the producers of the movie or his management team. There are a lot of them he could have "warned", right?

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Well this is how Fox News reported it:

NEW YORK – Jack Nicholson said Tuesday that he "warned" fellow Joker actor Heath Ledger.

The 70-year-old Oscar winner was dining at the Wolseley restaurant in London when a photographer told him about Ledger's death.

After saying, "That's awful," Jack added “I warned him," and refused to elaborate.

https://www.foxnews.com/story/jack-nicholson-says-he-warned-heath-ledger


They tell him Ledger's dead. And he says "I warned him". It sure sounds like he's referring to Ledger.

But you're right, there's also the possibility he said "'em" for "them" and he warned the producers about Ledger's emotional problems. In fact, that sounds likely.

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That's what I always thought this was about, yeah. It's the duality of playing a character who does evil things but laughs about it non-stop and maybe somehow he knew they were going darker with it than he had to.

Who knows? I'd hope someone could ask Jack about it one day, but he's disappeared besides showing up at a Lakers game about a year ago. Some people think he's senile.

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Hmmm. They'd need more to say Nicholson is senile. Most people don't get dementia in their early 70's.

I think he just thinks he's all that and doesn't have to pander to the press.

Also, there was obviously jealousy on Jack's part that he didn't get the role and they gave it to a younger actor. So part of it was sour grapes.

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I don't, I just repeated what that article said. That's why I posted it.

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What's more wrong is the use of the word meme for a picture with words on it.

A meme is properly a shared concept.

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Interestingly this was funny before using the word "meme" became the current internet fad.

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Yeah, the world used to be like "Me. Me. Me."

And now it's like "Meme. Meme. Meme."

__ __

Hate leads to anger.
Anger leads to the Dark Side.
This is a Haiku.

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Didn't he actually say "I warned 'em"?



The ICE... is gonna break!

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I miss it

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I am warning you and everybody here: do not being this meme back.

This is your final warning.

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You warned ‘em

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I certainly did warned them.

I hope it stays that way.

You have been warned.

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The 70-year-old Oscar winner was dining at the Wolseley restaurant in London when a photographer told him about the "I warned him thing" finally ending. After saying, "That's awful", Jack added “I warned it", but refused to elaborate.

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It's back!

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There's just a lovely innocence about it!

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