Fresh off his Best Actor win at the Golden Globes, Joaquin Phoenix was among the stars arrested Friday as part of Jane Fonda’s Fire Drill Friday climate change protests in Washington D.C.
Phoenix was one of several actors arrested at the rally, at which Fonda, Martin Sheen, June Diane Raphael and Susan Sarandon were also in attendance. Both Phoenix and actor Martin Sheen were among those arrested at the rally Friday, a representative for Fire Drill Friday told TheWrap.
Outside the steps of the U.S. Capitol building, Fonda said that this will be the last of the Fire Drill Friday protests in Washington D.C., though the rallies will continue elsewhere.
Since October, Fonda has led the protests every Friday in order to call attention to the impact of climate change. The protests aim to spur action to avert what the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calls irreversible climate disaster if atmospheric CO2 warms the planet by another 1.5 to 2 degrees Centigrade in the next 11 years.
Phoenix marched with the crowd and briefly went on stage to speak at the rally. He reiterated some of the comments he made during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, in particular, about going vegan and changing eating habits as a way to influence climate change.
“I struggle so much with what I can do at times,” Phoenix said. “There are things that I can’t avoid — I flew a plane out here today, or last night rather. But one thing that I can do is change my eating habits.”
Joaquin Phoenix: "I struggle so much with what I can do [to combat climate change] at times. There are things that I can't avoid — I flew a plane out here today, or last night rather. But one thing that I can do is change my eating habits." pic.twitter.com/RaZILYq0La
— The Hill (@thehill) January 10, 2020
Some of the other celebrities who have been arrested at the weekly rallies include Sam Waterston, Ted Danson, Rosanna Arquette and Catherine Keener.
Fonda will return to Los Angeles next week to begin filming on the final season of “Grace and Frankie.” She’s been arrested five times in association with the rallies and has even spent the night in a D.C. jail on one occasion.