It is no secret that Joaquin Phoenix is a longtime vegan activist and Mercy For Animals supporter, however, the Joker actor is taking his support for sustainability one step further.
The 45-year-old, who has already won Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Golden Globe and a Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actor, for his outstanding performance in the titular role of the blockbuster film, has vowed to wear the same Stella McCartney tux for the rest of awards season to “reduce waste”.
Already a changemaker, Phoenix was the man behind convincing the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) to serve vegan meals at the ceremony.
“This man is a winner… wearing custom Stella because he chooses to make choices for the future of the planet. He has also chosen to wear this same Tux for the entire award season to reduce waste. I am proud to join forces with you,” designer McCartney, 48, wrote on Twitter.
While an admirable move, some fans on Twitter were not impressed.
“Bollox to the fireman, the police, ambulance services, soldiers, charity workers, doctors, nurses, carers..no the real hero is a man who wears one tux for a whole season,” one person responded to McCartney’s tweet — gaining more than 11,000 likes.
While others commented on McCartney’s “unreasonable prices”.
This man is a winner… wearing custom Stella because he chooses to make choices for the future of the planet. He has also chosen to wear this same Tux for the entire award season to reduce waste. I am proud to join forces with you… x Stella#JoaquinPhoenix #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/Ymbkl78ecN
— Stella McCartney (@StellaMcCartney) January 6, 2020
During his Golden Globe’s speech, Phoenix used the time to advocate for the Australian bushfire crisis and global climate change.
“It’s really nice that so many people come up and sent their well-wishes but we have to do more than that, right?” Phoenix said, before adding:
“Such a beautiful gesture and I am a, uh, I have not always been a virtuous man,” he added.
“I’m learning so much, so many of you in this room have given me multiple opportunities to get it right.”
Several winners also made a plea for people to vote in the upcoming US election, but Phoenix was determined it wasn’t enough.
“It’s great to vote but sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves and make changes and sacrifices in our own lives and I hope that we can do that, we don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs sometimes or back, please,” he said.
“I’ll try to do better and I hope you will too thank you so much for putting up with me.”
Phoenix has been a vegan for more than four decades and in an interview with Collider he explained the reason for his decision.
“Really it was seeing these fish being killed when I was on a boat as a kid,” he said.
“I guess to stun them they were throwing them against the side of the boat. I just had a profound strong reaction. It felt like a real injustice. It wasn’t just me, it was my siblings, all of my siblings, except for the youngest, Summer, she wasn’t born. My mum was pregnant with her. I don’t know how to explain it. I think it made me distrustful, and angry, and frightened of humans, humanity.
“I just thought it was such a gross abuse of power in a way. I think that during that moment we knew that we were not going to eat meat anymore. We said to our parents, “Why didn’t you tell us?” It’s amazing. I remember my mum’s face, I remember her crying. She didn’t know how to answer. It became very obvious we weren’t going to eat meat anymore.”
