Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar award winning speech has upset the dairy industry that feels he is ‘out of touch’ and ‘blinded to the sacrifice and struggles of America’s dairy farmers’.

When the 45-year-old vegan actor dedicated his three-minute podium speech to speak up for equality, compassion and animal welfare, the dairy lobby felt his speech was callous, uninformed and ‘detestable’.

In fact, Phoenix’s anti-dairy speech prompted dairy farmers to ask him to “get out of Hollywood for a while,” because “The natural world isn’t there, it’s out here and it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, ” wrote dairy farmer Carrie Mess from Lake Mills, Wisconsin in her blogspot.

‘Out of touch’ and ‘detestable’

Even Rep. Fred Keller, R-Pennsylvania, seemed to disagree with Phoenix’s opinion and said his comments befitted the role he was being awarded for. He presented his argument in a statement:  

“Joaquin Phoenix winning Best Actor for playing the Joker fits him to a T because his comments would have been laughable were they not so offensive.

"Joaquin Phoenix’s rambling remarks about America’s dairy industry prove how out-of-touch he is with the hardworking Americans who grow our food and create healthy communities."

More on this callous and offensive display from last night

⬇⬇⬇https://t.co/btWhwTRXYc

— Congressman Fred Keller (@RepFredKeller) February 10, 2020

“Phoenix’s rambling remarks about America’s dairy industry prove how out-of-touch he is with the hardworking Americans who grow our food and create healthy communities.

“Phoenix’s Hollywood-elite world view has clearly blinded him to the sacrifice and struggles of America’s dairy farmers.”

Keller continued stating that dairy farmers were honest, diligent, thoughtful, and were always willing to help despite being criticized by anti-dairy activists.

“The callousness he (Phoenix) showed in his speech last night proves he needs to get out of his Hollywood bubble to see how real Americans make a living,” added Keller.

“His remarks were detestable not just to me, but to many hardworking family farmers.”

Joaquin Phoenix's offensive remarks about the dairy industry show he is out of touch with the very people who go to his movies. Thanks to @WENYTV for catching my thoughts on how people in #PA12 think about his Hollywood-centric world view. pic.twitter.com/cTcn380uwn

— Congressman Fred Keller (@RepFredKeller) February 11, 2020

Elsewhere,  Alan Bjerga, a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation, told FOX Business: “If he [Phoenix] studied the commitment of dairy farmers to animal welfare and had a fuller understanding of the contribution of dairy products to a nutritious diet, especially for children, he might have a different perception of the value that dairy contributes to global health and the importance of the dairy sector to global livelihood.”

Milk sales

According to Nielsen, over 23.6 million people watched the Oscars, and Joaquin’s speech has already attracted more than 1 million views on YouTube, still Bjerga feels Phoenix’s speech is not going to impact dairy sales because people are not influenced by celebrities.

“People buy milk because it’s nutritious and healthy for their families, not because they’re following the thoughts of celebrities using a platform.

“Oscars acceptance speeches have long been an outlet for celebrity opinions. The hard, worthwhile work of dairy farmers will continue long after everyone has forgotten who won best actor in 2020,” he said.

However, compiled Neilsen data has highlighted that while milk sales plummeted to $12 billion in 2019 from $15 billion in 2015, sales for almond milk have jumped nearly 6 percent to $1.35 billion and oat milk has spiked 662 percent to $59.8 million last year.

‘Thank you’

Although the dairy industry has lashed out at Phoenix, the passionate vegan and animal welfare activist has been lauded for being brave and speaking up against the exploitations of the animal industry.

Post the speech, Ellen DeGeneres tweeted to thank Phoenix: “That was a brave speech straight from Joaquin Phoenix’s heart. Thank you, Joaquin.”

That was a brave speech straight from Joaquin Phoenix’s heart. Thank you, Joaquin. #TheOscars

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) February 10, 2020

Animal welfare organization, The Gentle Barn also wrote a Twitter post to express its gratitude:  “Wow! Thank you Joaquin Phoenix for using your platform to speak up for animals (especially cows exploited for dairy) in your powerful Oscar speech.

“We are moved beyond words by your dedication to using your voice for the voiceless.”

Wow! Thank you Joaquin Phoenix for using your platform to speak up for animals (especially cows exploited for dairy) in your powerful Oscar speech.

We are moved beyond words by your dedication to using your voice for the voiceless. https://t.co/lnmzWSN1ij

— The Gentle Barn (@TheGentleBarn) February 10, 2020

• Read: Joaquin Phoenix joined London protest to urge people to ‘go vegan’ for the planet

Will Joaquin Phoenix’s speech influence people to ditch dairy? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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