Joaquin Phoenix went straight from the SAG Awards to a pig vigil: 'I had to be here'

Joaquin Phoenix had more than enough occasion to celebrate on Monday night, as the Joker star won a SAG Award for Male Actor in a Leading Role alongside fellow stars Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

While he did make a quick appearance after picking up his statue to schmooze with Brad Pitt and chat with a snubbed Taron Egerton at an after party, he cut his celebrations short to ‘bear witness’ at a pig vigil - saying he “had to be here.”

Phoenix joined the animal rights organisation LA Animal Save at one of its regular “Pig Vigils”, held outside a Vernon, California processing plant owned by Farmer John Clougherty Packing Company.

This isn’t the first time the Joker star has joined them, though this time he went straight from People’s SAG Awards after-party to attend it - still dressed in his tuxedo.

LA Animal Save shared pictures of Phoenix at the event on its Instagram, in which he was seen talking to other activists and calling it an “obligation” to be there.

In other videos shared to the organisation’s Instagram stories, he was also seen “doing outreach” and posing alongside a sign which read “STOP KILLING ANIMALS.”

Phoenix was approached by vlogger Jane Velez-Mitchell of Jane Unchained while at the vigil, in which he discussed why he was there and why he regularly attended the vigils. The full video can be seen below - Phoenix appears at around the 16 minute mark.

Calling the vigil “heartbreaking” and a “fight against injustice”, he said, “People come down here week after week after week, so I just had to be here tonight to support. And it’s a little antidote to what I just was doing.”

Saying that not many people were aware of the “torture and murder that goes on in the meat and dairy industry”, he said, “I think that we have a moral obligation to talk about it and to expose it for what it really is. We’re so indoctrinated with these images of happy animals on farms, on the covers of milk containers and at restaurants and all kinds of advertisements. It’s a lot and I think people need to know the truth, and I think that we have the obligation to do that right.”

The pig vigils see animal activists heading to the Vernon slaughterhouse to watch trucks filled with pigs shipped into the property.

Those in attendance are encouraged to ‘bear witness’ and ease the pigs’ suffering by bringing bottles and sprayers to give the animals water before they’re eventually taken off to be killed.

In photos on the website, Phoenix is seen with a sprayer giving a pig water while fellow actor Craig Robinson is also seen in other images talking to attendees. The organisation also holds chicken and cow vigils.

Phoenix is a long-time vegan and previously told Collider he chose to cut out meat and dairy after he watched fish being killed as a four year old - a moment he described as a “real injustice” and a “gross abuse of power”.

From there, he said it spurred his family to become totally vegan and he’s since used his platform to promote animal rights - even narrating a 2014 undercover investigation into a Wal-Mart pork supplier by Mercy For Animals.

He revealed at the vigil that many people were “really receptive”. While he didn’t name anybody in particular, he also added that there were a few famous faces on his side. He said, “I’ve gotten a lot of emails and texts from friends in the industry that have said thank you.”

Phoenix called out the impact the “appalling” meat and dairy industry has not just on animals but on the “most desperate communities” of people.

He encouraged people to switch to veganism, saying, “What is it really going to do for your life if you give [meat and dairy products] up? How difficult is it going to be, to like, not have a glass of milk or not have cheese?”

“And whatever sacrifice you make pales in comparison to the sacrifice the animals make,” he finished.

The Vernon Police Department, who were on the scene, also shared a photo of Phoenix with a police officer. In it, the department thanked Phoenix for his "support".

Prior to attending the pig vigil, Phoenix paid tribute to his “favourite actor” Heath Ledger in his acceptance speech for his role in the Joker - a role Ledger famously played prior to his death.

Saying he was “standing on the shoulders” of Ledger, he was later seen chatting with Brad Pitt at People’s SAG Awards after-party at the Shrine Auditorium and in an intense conversation with Rocketman actor Taron Egerton.