Joker’s Joaquin Phoenix was arrested while protesting climate change in DC. Phoenix recently won a Golden Globe for his performance in Joker where he played Arthur Fleck, a man who adopts the Joker persona after a fair amount of trauma. The film was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the 2020 Golden Globes but did not win. Still, Phoenix’s triumph at the Globes has lent even more momentum to his Oscar campaign.
Phoenix began his Golden Globes acceptance speech by thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press for acknowledging the connection between animal agriculture and climate change, and then ended it by saying that him and his colleagues need to do more to “make changes and sacrifices in [their] own lives,” such as not taking private jets to events. That said, it comes as no surprise to see Phoenix at one of Jane Fonda’s weekly climate activism protests which she started last year. Those protests are held in Washington, D.C. and have been attended by numerous celebrities in the past, including Sam Waterston, Sally Field, Ted Danson, Catherine Keener, Diane Lane, and Lily Tomlin (all of whom have been arrested there).
Originally reported by Deadline, Phoenix was arrested Friday for participating in the rally. Before being arrested, Phoenix spoke about the issue in a way that seemed to be an extension of his speech at the Globes. “Sometimes we wonder what can we do in this fight against climate change, and there is something that you can do today and tomorrow, by making a choice about what you consume,” Phoenix said. “There are things I can’t avoid. I flew a plane here today, or last night rather, but one thing I can do is change my eating habits.” You can watch his speech below as it was posted to The Hill’s Twitter.
There were 300 in attendance at what would be (for now) Jane Fonda’s final D.C. “Fire Drill Fridays” protest. Phoenix was arrested alongside fellow actor Martin Sheen on the steps of Capitol Hill. Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal was also there in support of Fonda’s protest but was not arrested. Typically, protesters are charged with crowding, obstructing or incommoding, before being released.
Climate change awareness has grown in the past year thanks to activists like Greta Thunberg and Jane Fonda; the number of celebrities who have attended and been arrested at her weekly protests have no doubt added to that level of awareness. The timing of Phoenix’s, in relation to his Globes speech and Joker-related Oscar campaign, invokes an even more vivid sense of urgency about whatever persona the Earth will adapt after its fair share of trauma. Obviously, Phoenix’s actions and relative cause are much more pragmatic than Arthur Fleck’s in Joker.
More: Arthur’s Final Joke In Joker Explained
Source: Deadline/The Hill
