Joaquin Phoenix Joins Anti-Pig Slaughter Protest Right After SAG Win, Says ‘I Have To Be Here’

Still in his tux from SAG event, Joaquin Phoenix, who has been a strong voice for animal rights was seen quickly making his way to the Farmer John Cloughtery Packing Co., where he joined others “bearing witness” to pigs entering the slaughterhouse in an event hosted by Los Angeles Animal Save.

“Most people don’t really know of the torture and murder in the meat and dairy industry,” Phoenix, 45, told vlogger Jane Velez-Mitchell.

“I’ve seen it for what it is, so I have to be here.”

He continued, “We have moral obligations to talk about it and expose it for what it really is. We are so indoctrinated with these happy images of animals on farms, on the covers of meat containers, at restaurants and it’s a lie. I think people need to know the truth and we have an obligation to do that. Those of us that have seen it for what it really is, we have an obligation to expose it, so I have to be here’’ he continued.

Phoenix, who won Golden Globe earlier this month and Screen Actors Guild Award for his outstanding performance as Joker was also detained earlier this month for taking part in Jane Fonda’s weekly climate change protests.

During the protest, Phoenix called out the meat and dairy industries for their role in the climate crisis.

Also Read: Joaquin Phoenix Gives Shout-Out To Heath Ledger In SAG Awards Speech

‘’Something 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," he said.

"I think sometimes we wonder what we can 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."