PETA India lashes Amul for Joaquin Phoenix tribute, writes 'The joke's on you'

WION Web Team
New Delhi, Delhi, India Updated: Feb 12, 2020, 02:14 PM(IST)

Joaquin Phoenix won Best Actor Oscar for his performance in 'Joker' Photograph:( X )

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The Oscar ad is now receiving flak on social media and leading it is PETA India (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) that lashed at Amul for being insensitive.

Indian dairy company Amul gave a tribute to Hollywood actor Joaquin Phoenix who recently won his first Oscar for his role in ‘Joker’. Best Actress Oscar was picked up by Renee Zellweger. 

In their Oscar advertisement, Amul shared a cartoon of Joaquin receiving his Oscar while the presenter feeds him with Amul butter, something that is the company’s most sellable product. The post read “Joaquer. Have on a Renee Day”. 

The ad is now receiving flak on social media and leading it is PETA India (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) that lashed at Amul for being insensitive. The issue arose after PETA pointed out that that Joaquin Phoenix is a vegan and does not consume dairy, thus it was highly inappropriate for the dairy company to show a caricature of the actor feeding on butter made of cow’s milk. 

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What has angered people more is that Joaquin had, in fact, spoken against the “injustices of the world” in his acceptance speech, with special mention to how “we feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable.”

He said, "I think we've become very disconnected from the natural world. Many of us are guilty of an egocentric world view, and we believe that we're the centre of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources. We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable,"

"Then, we take her milk that's intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal. We fear the idea of personal change, because we think we need to sacrifice something; to give something up. But human beings at our best are so creative and inventive, and we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and the environment," he added.

PETA India thus replied to Amul’s post and wrote, “The joke's on you @Amul_Coop! In his #Oscar speech, #JoaquinPhoenix spoke against dairy cruelty. Do the cows a favour and switch to making soya, almond, oat or other plant milk."

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Sachin Bangera, PETA India's Director of Celebrity and Public Relations, wrote, "It's nonsensical @Amul_Coop! Wish you had done a little more research, or just heard #JoaquinPhoenix's Oscar speech. He's VEGAN! He DOES NOT consume dairy. His speech was about ditching dairy. #NotCoolAmul"

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