Joker Movie Star Joaquin Phoenix Arrested At Protest

It seems that Joaquin Phoenix is living up to his Joker persona! Phoenix was attending the latest [...]

It seems that Joaquin Phoenix is living up to his Joker persona! Phoenix was attending the latest of Jane Fonda's "Fire Drill Fridays" climate change protests, held at Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.; now comes word that Phoenix has been arrested as part of that same demonstration. The Washington Post and TMZ both report that Phoenix was taken into custody by the capitol police - with video of the incident said to be forthcoming. This is not a unique incident, as Fonda and other celebrities have previously been arrested as part of "Fire Drill Fridays" since the protests began in November.

Here's the on-the-ground report from Hannah Jewell of TWP:

Ironically enough, this was the final installment of Fonda's Climate Protests (which was first inspired by climate activist Greta Thunberg), and Joaquin Phoenix isn't alone in the list of high-profile celebrities that the Capitol police have arrested in the last few months. Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston, Ted Danson, Diane Lane and Sally Field have all been taken into custody for demonstrating or blocking areas of the Capitol; not to be outdone, Jane Fonda herself has been arrested five times since the demonstrations began.

Given the heavy deluge of controversies and political headlines that come rushing out of D.C. on the daily, it's hard for any one protest to capture (and hold) major attention for too long. However, Fonda's Fire Drill Fridays have managed to spark more media attention than most protests - in no small part due to the fact that the arrests of major celebrities draws such attention. That's entirely the point, though: Fonda has not been shy about wielding her celebrity as an effective tool of activism, and clearly she's having an effect in terms of guiding other celebrities toward that same end.

The arrests never last too long, and if anything, Joaquin Phoenix will likely only see his street cred go up, given how so many fans currently associate the actor causing any kind of societal stir with his Joker persona Arthur Fleck. More so than other celebrities who has stood beside Fonda on the front line, there are going to be crazy amounts of memes generated from Phoenix's arrest.

Joker is now available on home video.

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