The 'Joker' actor is seen in a video personally transporting a cow and her newborn calf from a slaughterhouse in Pico Rivera, California to a Farm Sanctuary facility, a day after accepting his first Oscar.
- Feb 21, 2020
AceShowbiz - Joaquin Phoenix would go above and beyond as an animal rights advocate. Just one day after taking a jab at the dairy industry in the acceptance speech of his first Oscar win, the "Joker" actor was caught on camera butting heads with a slaughterhouse CEO to rescue a mother cow and her newborn calf.
On Thursday, February 20, a YouTube video chronicling Joaquin's liberation effort was uploaded by Farm Sanctuary, an animal protection organization founded in 1986. Seconds into the video, the 45-year-old star could be seen having a discussion with Pico Rivera slaughterhouse boss Anthony Di Maria.
At some point in their chat, the younger brother of the late River Phoenix stated, "I don't need really any science to see with my owns eyes and hear how an animal responds to pain." His statement led Anthony to respond by saying, "An animal will perish in less than 60 seconds - it has to. That is the most humane, human harvest process in the country."
Joaquin continued to point out, "You're the only one that you know of that has a process that you have, so that means a majority of them don't have that." He further spoke about how cows at slaughterhouses were separated from their calves right after the birth. To which, Anthony clarified that he refused "to take the mother away from its baby."
Their debate got heated when Joaquin started to refer to the slaughtering process as "murdered." Anthony, on the other hand, insisted on using the word "harvested." After several back-and-forth over their preferred term, Joaquin stated, "I understand, language is powerful. You say tomatoe, I say tomatoh."
The over-8-minute footage then followed Joaquin as he took the cow Liberty and her baby Indigo from the Los Angeles slaughterhouse and transported the pair to a Farm Sanctuary facility in Acton, California.
In a statement about his encounter with Anthony, Joaquin said, "I never thought I'd find friendship in a slaughterhouse, but meeting Anthony and opening my heart to his, I realize we might have more in common than we do differences." He continued, "Without his act of kindness, Liberty and her baby calf, Indigo, would have met a terrible demise."
Joaquin went on to acknowledge the people who helped the liberation of all animals. "Shaun Monson, Amy Jean Davis, and the entire LA Animal Save community, have taken their pain of bearing witness and turned it into effective, diplomatic advocacy for the voiceless," he noted. "As a result, Liberty and Indigo will never experience cruelty or the touch of a rough hand."
The fiance of Rooney Mara concluded his statement by saying, "My hope is, as we watch baby Indigo grow up with her mom Liberty at Farm Sanctuary, that we'll always remember that friendships can emerge in the most unexpected places; and no matter our differences, kindness and compassion should rule everything around us."
Back on Oscars night on February 9, Joaquin raised awareness over animal agriculture when accepting his Best Actor award. "We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow, and when she gives birth, we steal her baby," he said on the stage. "And then we take her milk that's intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and cereal."
