One day after accepting his first Academy Award for Best Actor, Joaquin Phoenix rescued a cow and her newborn calf from a slaughterhouse in Pico Rivera, California, and transported them to a facility ran by Farm Sanctuary where they will be cared for in a far more humane manner.
After some spirited conversations with Anthony Di Maria, president and CEO of the slaughterhouse, Phoenix believes that the two were able to become friends despite their differences in opinion. Even though the slaughterhouse is against separating cow from her newborn, Joaquin still managed to save Liberty, and her baby Indigo altogether from their eventual fate.
While delivering his speech at the 2020 Oscars earlier this month, Phoenix mentioned how we are plundering the world of its natural resources, spotlighting the way we have mistreated cows. "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," he said. "Then we take her milk that's intended for her calf, and we put it in our coffee and our cereal."
Animal rights has long been a cause close to Phoenix's heart, and it became even more apparent during awards season. In January, the tuxedo-clad 45-year-old actor skipped an after party following his win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards to attend a vigil to comfort pigs that were being sent to a slaughterhouse. According to Variety, Phoenix was instrumental in convincing the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to implement an entirely plant-based menu at this year's Golden Globes.
