Joaquin Phoenix Pleads For Animal Rights In His Oscar Speech; Fans Laud Actor For Calling Out ‘Injustices’

Joaquin Phoenix dedicated his acceptance speech at Oscars 2020 to issues like animal rights, racism, queerness, misogyny and cancel culture.

(Source- Getty Images)

New Delhi: Joaquin Phoenix won the Best Actor Award for his performance in ‘Joker’ at the 92^nd Academy Awards. The actor had played the role of a mentally ill, impoverished stand-up comedian in the Todd Philips directorial. While giving his acceptance speech at the Oscars 2020, Joaquin called out all the ‘injustices’ in the world. His speech drew a standing ovation from the audience at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The ‘Reservation Road’ actor pleaded for animal rights and discussed racism, queerness, misogyny and cancel culture in his Oscar speech. Joaquin got emotional while talking about a lyric his brother wrote. He said: "When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. It said, 'Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow". "We have to continue to use our voice for the voiceless. I've been thinking a lot about some of the distressing issues that we are facing collectively. I think at times we feel or were made to feel, that we champion different causes, but for me, I see the commonality. I think, whether we're talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we're talking about the fight against injustice," the Hollywood Reporter quoted Phoenix as saying. PICS| Oscars 2020: Joaquin Phoenix, Renee Zellweger, Brad Pitt & Other Winners Pose With Their Trophy "We're talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender or one species has the right to dominate, control and use and exploit another with impunity. I think that we've become very disconnected from the natural world, and many of us, what we're guilty of is an egocentric worldview -- the belief that we're the center of the universe," he added. The actor also called out the human race for only thinking about themselves. "We go into the natural world, and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow, and when she gives birth, we steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then, we take her milk, that's intended for her calf, and we put it in our coffee and our cereal, and I think we fear the idea of personal change because we think that we have to sacrifice something to give something up," Phoenix said. "But human beings, at our best, are so inventive and creative and ingenious, and I think that when we use love and compassion as our guiding principles, we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and to the environment. I've been cruel at times, hard to work with and ungrateful, but so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. And I think that's when we're at our best, when we support each other, not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes," he added.

I hope people REALLY listen to this speech. Set your ego aside, and let your heart feel what we all know to be true ❤️ #Oscars #JoaquinPhoenix pic.twitter.com/IuHgTfIBsS

— Gerren Keith Gaynor (@MrGerrenalist) February 10, 2020

Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar 2020 speech received praises from the fans on social media. A fan tweeted, “This man is a freaking LEGEND. One of the greatest speeches ever in the history of #Oscars "So many people in this room have given me a second chance, and that's when we're at our best, not when we cancel each other for past mistakes." -#JoaquinPhoenix.”

This man is a freaking LEGEND

One of the greatest speeches ever in the history of #Oscars "So many people in this room have given me a second chance, and that's when we're at our best, not when we cancel each other for past mistakes." -#JoaquinPhoenix pic.twitter.com/YtMfEmtLl9 — Javier Urquieta ‼️ (@DeJesusUrquieta) February 10, 2020

“What an actual artist. What a blindingly exposed soul. What a beautiful human being. So much love for #JoaquinPhoenix,” another user wrote.

What an actual artist. What a blindingly exposed soul. What a beautiful human being.

So much love for #JoaquinPhoenix. — Coy Jandreau (@CoyJandreau) February 10, 2020

A fan wrote on the micro-blogging site,"This is so important," while sharing the video of Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar speech.

This is so important #Joker #JoaquinPhoenix #Oscars pic.twitter.com/bXEWnKstOi

— Ash???? (@alinaskyy) February 10, 2020

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