David Ayer admits Jared Leto's 'damaged' tattoo in Suicide Squad was 100% his idea: 'I regret that decision'

David Ayer has some regrets about his Suicide Squad — especially when it comes to Jared Leto's Joker.

When Leto's take on the Clown Prince of Crime was first unveiled, with slicked back neon green hair and a canvas' worth of ostentatious tattoos, fans and critics pounced. The cursive "damaged" tattoo plastered on his forehead was a notable sticking point. Seven years later, Ayer is owning up to the fact that the most controversial element of the look was entirely his idea.

After one social media user tagged him in a post asking when the 'damaged' tattoo came into play, another responded that Ayer would never admit it if it was his idea. So the director made sure to prove them wrong. "I own the tattoo idea 100%," he wrote. "It was my choice."

He went on to reveal that the concept changed over time: "Original idea is it would say 'Blessed' and not 'Damaged.'"

How does Ayer feel about his choice this many years later? "I regret that decision," the director wrote. "It created acrimony and division. Not every idea is a good idea. And I'll just be in the corner here while the internet slaps me around for this post."

Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection Jared Leto in 'Suicide Squad'

While Ayer is no stranger to taking hits for his DC debut —which introduced Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Viola Davis' Amanda Waller — plenty of fans continue to have faith in his interpretation of the characters. Calls for an "Ayer cut" of his Suicide Squad is building up momentum in much the same manner as the #ReleasetheSnyderCut campaign.

Ayer himself has been open about his belief that the studio materially changed his movie into the box office failure that was panned by critics. Earlier this month, he implied that there is still hope for his version to see the light of day. Ayer said he spoke to James Gunn, who directed a Suicide Squad pseudo-sequel and has taken the helm at DC Studios, about the possibility of a director's cut. "Gunn told me it would have [its] time to be shared," Ayer wrote on social media, though Gunn and Warner Bros. have yet to comment on this claim.

Following the release of the infamous Snyder Cut, Ayer opened up about his experience making the DC flick. "It's frustrating because I made a really heartfelt drama and it got ripped to pieces and they tried to turn it into Deadpool, which it just wasn't supposed to be," he told EW in 2021. "And then you take the hit, you're the captain of the ship, my name was on it. [Laughs] Even though it didn't represent what I actually made, I would take all the bullets and be a good soldier."

He continued, "I made an amazing movie. It's an amazing movie, it just scared the s--- out of the executives."

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• David Ayer is done with your Suicide Squad criticism: 'I made something amazing'

• Suicide Squad star Jared Leto says his infamous Joker gifts story was told 'in jest'

• David Ayer has hope for his Suicide Squad cut after Zack Snyder's Justice League: 'I made an amazing movie'