Joaquin Phoenix, a vegan and animal rights supporter, named PETA's 2019 Person of the Year

Joaquin Phoenix has been named by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) as its 2019 Person of the Year. According to reports, the Joker star has been a vegan since the age of three and has always stood against cruelty on animals. PETA dedicated a post to Joaquin Phoenix through their official Instagram account.

Take a look at the post:

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The Joker actor has reportedly attended countless demonstrations to support the rights of animals as well as produced many documentaries about animal rights. In the post by PETA, Joaquin Phoenix can be seen in a poster titled 'We Are All Animals' where the actor can be seen promoting veganism. Another photo has the actor promoting legislation to ban travelling wild-animal circuses. Along with the photos, there are two hard-hitting short videos about empathizing with aquatic animals as well as mass slaughter of turkeys and other animals for festival feasts.

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Joaquin Phoenix as a person

Apart from supporting PETA's cause on a humanitarian level, actor Joaquin Phoenix also supports non-violence in his professional life. The actor was recently in the news for his conscious decision to not address the controversy around the violent themes of his recent feature "Joker" as he feared that it might actually lead to extreme incidents. The film had received unanimous praise for Phoenix's acting as Joker, a villain in the Batman comic mythology but detractors believe his portrayal had hit too close to home in a country where gun violence is a real issue. In fact, Phoenix had recently walked out of an interview when questioned about the violence in the film. He later told a publication that the audience is capable of understanding the difference between right and wrong.

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(with PTI inputs)