Joker Star Joaquin Phoenix Gave Speech Before His Arrest

Joker star Joaquin Phoenix was arrested during a protest on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., with a fan having shared footage of the speech he gave at the Fire Drill Friday event in which he asked attendees to reevaluate their stances on consuming meat and dairy products. His arrest serves as a symbolic gesture on the part of the actor, as fellow performers like Jane Fonda, Martin Sheen, and Paul Scheer have been arrested at previous events and were released hours after their apprehension, though it’s clear that the actor hopes to inspire his fans to stand up for what they believe in.

“Thank you Jane [Fonda] for organizing this and inviting me and thank you all for being here,” Phoenix shared during his speech. “I don’t have anything prepared, people have spoken so intelligently and eloquently, but something that I think isn’t oftentimes talked about in the environmental movement or in the conversation about climate change is that the meat and dairy industry is the third leading cause of climate change and I think sometimes we wonder, ‘What can we do in this fight against climate change?’ And there’s something that you can do today, right now, and tomorrow, by making a choice about what you consume. And I think it’s something that is doable, and I struggle so much with what I can do, at times. There are things that I can’t avoid. I flew a plane out here … but one thing that I can do is change my eating habits and so I just want to urge all of you to join me in that.”

His comments mark only one of the ways in which he hopes to bring change to the world, as he has been vegan nearly his entire life. The actor won a Golden Globe Award earlier this week for his performance in Joker, using the time allotted for his acceptance speech to encourage audiences not only to vote, but to make personal changes in hopes of preserving the planet.

Earlier this week, Stella McCartney, fashion designer and daughter of legendary environmental activists Paul and Linda McCartney, confirmed that Phoenix would be wearing the same suit throughout the entire awards season as another effort to reduce waste.

Joker is out now on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.

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