As Joaquin Phoenix Gears Up for the Napoleon Biopic, Animal Rights Activists Blast the Actor for His Horse Riding Scene

Ever since Ridley Scott announced his plans to make a biopic on the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the Entertainment world has been abuzz with the news. After Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix signed on to play the lead, the excitement of fans doubled. However, when the public learned about certain scenes involving him horseriding, a large faction of the audience turned against him. Phoenix, a vegan and an animal rights activist himself, riding a horse for a film was seen as cruel and hypocritical.

Riding on horseback like an equestrian for the sake of recreation, be it of any kind, is seen by activists as a gross misuse of animal rights. Hence, when Phoenix, who himself advocated against such practices, was reportedly doing the same for a film, it didn’t sit well with a lot of people. As the movie is slated to release later this year, controversies regarding the subject are creeping up.

Joaquin Phoenix is horseriding again to lend authenticity to the biopic

As per an article by Daily Mail, pictures from the sets of the Napoleon biopic are out and it clearly shows Joaquin Phoenix wearing the emperor’s costume and riding a horse. The actor has previously talked about the need to care for animals and how various industries are squeezing every opportunity to make use of them.

While Phoenix hasn’t commented anything regarding the matter yet, his previous interviews suggest that he never enjoyed riding a horse. In 2018, Joaquin Phoenix starred in the Western movie The Sisters Brothers, which involved a ton of horseriding scenes. He said about it, “‘I didn’t really think about it until I was there and realized: ‘Oh, it’s a western and we’re on horses a lot'”.

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He continued, “I felt bad about riding them. I had the feeling that they were like, ‘I don’t really want you on my back'”. The exact sentiment is shared by thousands of animal-rights activists worldwide, who have called out the actor for going against his words. But that’s not the only time Phoenix spoke about animal rights.

Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscars speech sealed his image as an animal lover

Joaquin Phoenix’s shining moment in his 3-decades long career came at the 92nd Academy Awards, where he won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in Joker. His portrayal of Joker earned laurels from various celebrities, including Joe Rogan, who was blown away by his performance. He utilized his 5-6 minute long speech duration to talk about the dairy industry and animal farming in general. He criticized them for using cattle against their will for milk and other purposes. It was met with a resounding applause then. However, 4 years later, Phoenix finds himself in troubled waters for his actions.

While 5 years ago, Phoenix got away with riding a horse in The Sisters Brothers, his Oscar speech sealed his image as an animal rights activist. At the moment there isn’t any statement regarding the subject from anyone from the film. But people’s anger on social media knows no bounds.

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