Joker Star Joaquin Phoenix Released After His Arrest

Joaquin Phoenix has had a very interesting week after winning a Golden Globe for Joker and then being arrested during a climate protest just a few days later. Now, Deadline is reporting that he has already been released after the entire scene along with Martin Sheen and others in custody. All of them were charged with crowding, obstructing, or incommoding, and then released. Capital Police revealed that there were 147 people arrested. The star actually gave a speech as well before all the protesters who had gathered on Capitol Hill. He talked about the things that individuals could do in the fight against Climate Change. Phoenix also took the time to highlight the role that diet plays in the issue. The words he said in that moment echo some of the things said during his heavily-bleeped acceptance speech for Joker last weekend.

“Thank you Jane [Fonda] for organizing this and inviting me and thank you all for being here,” Phoenix addressed the crowd. “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.”

Fonda has redoubled her efforts to get out and protest on behalf of citizens all over the world with her Fire Drill Fridays. She published this statement on her website, “Inspired by Greta [Thunberg] and the youth climate strikes as well as Reverend Barber’s Moral Mondays and Randall Robinson’s often daily anti-apartheid protests, I’ve moved to Washington, D.C. to be closer to the epicenter of the fight for our climate. Every Friday through January, I will be leading weekly demonstrations on Capitol Hill to demand that action by our political leaders be taken to address the climate emergency we are in. We can’t afford to wait.”

“The climate crisis is not an isolated issue — it involves every part of our economy and society. Because of that, each Friday demonstration will have a different focus as it relates to climate,” she added. “Scientists, movement leaders, experts, activists, Indigenous leaders, community members and youth will come together to share their stories and demand that action be taken before it’s too late. To ensure the topic and its connection to the climate crisis is thoroughly explained, I will host a live-streamed “Teach-In” with a panel of experts each Thursday evening before the demonstration, for the public to attend virtually.”