It’s No Joke: Joaquin Phoenix Is a Hero to Animals in New PETA Ad
Star Appears on Times Square Billboard, Wants People to Try to Relate to Who’s on Their Plate and Go Vegan
For Immediate Release:
September 23, 2019
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
Just ahead of his much-anticipated star turn in Joker, Joaquin Phoenix appears on a new PETA billboard that’s just gone up today in Times Square declaring, “We Are All Animals.” The ad urges people to “live vegan” and help “end speciesism,” which is the damaging belief that—despite their extraordinary talents, abilities, and intelligence—all other animal species are inferior to humans.
“When we look at the world through another animal’s eyes, we have to realize that inside we’re all the same—and so we all deserve to live free from suffering,” says Phoenix.
His vegan plea comes amid a national PETA campaign informing people that cattle ranchers are burning the Amazon rainforest to meet the global demand for meat. More than 90% of the rainforest that’s been cleared since 1970 is used for meat production, either for grazing or for growing food for cattle, including those in the U.S. market. The United Nations states that animal agriculture is responsible for nearly a fifth of human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions—and warns that a global shift to vegan eating is vital if we are to combat the worst effects of climate change.
In addition to significantly reducing their contribution to the climate crisis, every person who goes vegan saves the lives of nearly 200 animals each year and helps shut down speciesism. PETA—whose motto reads, “Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”—asks people to combat this harmful worldview by not only choosing vegan foods but also staying away from animal circuses, avoiding personal-care products that were tested on animals, and rejecting all other forms of exploitation of animals.
Recently, Phoenix wore a vegan suit in a giant anti-wool PETA ad that proclaimed, “Cruelty Doesn’t Suit Me.” He’s part of a long list of celebrities—including Michael Keaton, Woody Harrelson, Natalie Portman, Edie Falco, Richard Linklater, and Alicia Silverstone—who’ve teamed up with PETA to promote kindness to animals.
The billboard is located at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and W. 40th Street.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
