Joaquin Phoenix is a prominent fixture in Hollywood. He has more than four decades of acting roles under his belt. And his run of complicated and eccentric characters has garnered him critical acclaim. But the vegan actor is also lauded in the animal rights community for regularly speaking out against animal exploitation.
Phoenix’s stirring portrayal of a man living with a mental illness in the 2019 psychological drama Joker led to him scoring an Oscar at the 92nd Academy Awards. And while actors typically use their time on stage to heap praise on their film comrades and thank their friends and family, Phoenix’s acceptance speech for Best Actor was a tad different.
Phoenix vehemently condemned racism, misogyny, and cancel culture. He also lambasted the ways in which people treat their fellow non-human animals.
“I think we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world. Many of us are guilty of an egocentric worldview, and we believe that we’re the center of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources,” Phoenix said.
He continued: “We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf. And we put it in our coffee and our cereal.“
But this isn’t the first time Phoenix has used his platform to speak up for animals. A vegan since the age of three, the actor has led the National Animal Rights Day march in Los Angeles with his partner Rooney Mara, campaigned with animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and has produced several animal rights documentaries, including The Animal People and The End of Medicine. He’s also narrated two films: 2005’s Earthlings and 2019’s Dominion.
Here are ten other times Phoenix has lent his voice in favor of animal rights.
