Joaquin Phoenix Won't Force Son To Be Vegan

Joaquin Phoenix says he won't force his son to be vegan.

The actor, an outspoken advocate for animal rights, has opened up about how he plans to raise his boy River.

And while he won't tell him what to do, Phoenix says neither will he 'perpetuate the lie' that there is anything 'happy' about McDonald's.

He told the Sunday Times: "Well, certainly I would hope that [he is vegan], but I'm not going to impose my belief on my child. I don't think that's right.

"I'm going to educate him about the reality. I'm not going to indoctrinate him with the idea that McDonald's have a Happy Meal because there's nothing f***ing happy about that meal.

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"And I'm not going to tell him that it's OK to read books about all the wonderful little farm animals, and they say 'oink oink oink' and 'moo moo moo,' and not tell him that that's what a hamburger is.

"So I'm not going to perpetuate the lie, but I'm also not going to force him to be vegan. I'll support him. That's my plan."

This isn't the first time the actor has spoken publicly about his beliefs.

During his acceptance speech for his Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Joker, Phoenix said: "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, and then we take her milk that's intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal."

Phoenix and Rooney Mara welcomed their baby boy in September last year.

The couple named their son after Phoenix's later brother River, who died in 1993.

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Phoenix has mentioned the passing of his older brother in several interviews over the years.

When he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, he told the crowd: "When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric and he said 'run to the rescue with love and peace and the rest will follow'.

"Thank you."

Earlier this year, Joaquin told Anderson Cooper that there is always a bit of River in his own performances or movies.

"I feel like in virtually every movie that I made, there was a connection to River in some way," Joaquin said.

"And I think that we've all felt his presence and guidance in our lives in numerous ways."

Topics: Entertainment, Joaquin Phoenix, Vegan, Actor, US Entertainment, Oscars

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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