Joaquin Phoenix Billboard Urges Columbus Men to Dress Smart in Wool-Free Suits

Award-Winning Actor, Rattled by the Extreme Cruelty of Sheep Shearing, Appears in Massive PETA Ad in the Heart of Columbus

For Immediate Release:
December 8, 2017

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

Smack-dab in the middle of the holiday shopping season, PETA has placed a massive ad featuring Joaquin Phoenix at the intersection of Broad and Third streets in downtown Columbus, near the Ohio Statehouse and several upscale menswear stores, including 1812 Society, Alpha Suit, Balani Custom Clothiers, The Bespoken Mogul, Flying Gent, Negilli & Co., and Sofyano. The ad shows the Academy Award nominee wearing a vegan wool suit by Brave GentleMan and proclaims, “Cruelty Doesn’t Suit Me. Wool Hurts. Wear Vegan.”

Phoenix is famously shy about giving interviews and isn’t often seen in a suit—but in an exclusive video with PETA, he reveals that his motivation for doing both grew out of a video wake-up call. “When PETA sent me that video of this undercover investigation of what happened in these shearing farms, that was really eye-opening,” he says. “[T]he whole environment—it’s incredibly [violent]. … [T]he only option is to not use wool. That’s become abundantly clear.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—has repeatedly exposed extreme cruelty to sheep in the wool industry. Workers, who are paid by the number of animals they shear, were caught punching, kicking, and stomping on sheep, some of whom died from the abuse. When they’re no longer profitable to the wool industry, the sheep are slaughtered.

Phoenix has teamed up with PETA to promote a #WoolFreeWinter and encourage the suit-wearing people of Columbus—one of the top cities for young professionals, according to Forbes—to choose luxurious wool-free suits on their next shopping trip.

Phoenix is part of a long list of celebrities—including Jhené Aiko, Taraji P. Henson, Eva Mendes, Alicia Silverstone, and many others—who have teamed up with PETA to promote kinder wardrobe choices.

A provocative PETA billboard encouraging a #WoolFreeWinter and starring Silverstone baring her bottom graced New York City and Portland, Oregon, earlier this year.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.