Vegan Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton has praised Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscars acceptance speech and said he’s leading “the way for the world.”
The racing car driver shared a clip of Phoenix’s speech on Instagram. The “Joker” star won the Academy Award for Best Actor but chose to make his speech about inequality and cruelty in the dairy industry.
“I think we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world. Many of us are guilty of an egocentric world view, we believe that we’re the center of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources,” Phoenix said.
“We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable,” he continued. “Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.”
A ‘Voice for the Greater Good’
Hamilton, who went vegan back in 2017 for health reasons, praised Phoenix’s words. He wrote, “Joaquin Phoenix has lead the way for the world here and set such an incredible example. I am so proud and grateful to know there are people like him, with all the success and fame to use his voice for the greater good. I aspire to be able to do this.”
The athlete often uses his Instagram platform to post about animal rights; he has condemned whaling, dolphin shows, poaching, hunting, and the leather industry. According to his new post, he’s going to try and speak up more.
“One of my biggest fears is speaking in front of the world on a stage like this, not finding the right words to express my thoughts,” he added. “But I’m going to overcome it someway somehow and the only way I guess is to confront the fear and put the work in. Then I can project my heart’s desire and use my voice to help the world.”
Like Phoenix—who used his Golden Globe acceptance speech to call out the link between meat and the climate crisis—Hamilton is also passionate about environmental issues. He recently posted on Instagram, “I’m sad right now with the thought of where this world is going.” He added, “agriculture farming is the largest pollutant we currently have by over 50 percent, far more than our travel industry combined.”
He continued, “go vegan, it is the only way to save our planet today.”
