As Hollywood stars gathered to enjoy a night full of glitz and glamour at the 77th Golden Globes Awards ceremony, they heard acceptance speeches that mentioned climate change. But they also received a call to action to do more than just talk about climate change.
Several award winners mentioned the wildfires that have scorched millions of acres across Australia.
Joaquin Phoenix — who won the award for Best Actor for his performance in “Joker” — urged his fellow stars to do more than just vote for candidates or give their money to cause. Instead, he called on them to make lifestyle changes to help fight climate change.
“It’s really nice that some many people have come up and sent their well wishes to Australia. But we have to more than that. It’s such a beautiful gesture.”
Watch his comments below:
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama goes to Joaquin Phoenix for "Joker". #GoldenGlobes pic.twitter.com/QCEAo33CYd
— NBC Entertainment (@nbc) January 6, 2020
“But I think together, hopefully, we can be unified and actually make some changes,” Phoenix said. “It’s great to vote, but sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves and make changes in sacrifices in our own lives.”
Finally, he suggested that one sacrifice his colleagues could make is giving up their use of private jets, “We don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs for the awards sometimes or back.”
He also commended the Hollywood Foreign Press for “recognizing and acknowledging the link between animal agriculture and climate change,” and serving food from an all-vegan menu.
Hollywood stars have become somewhat notorious for talking about climate change, and some have given money to causes to try to help preserve the planet.
But the issue of the use of private jets has begun to receive more attention. In November, The Independent reported that England’s Labour Party was considering pushing a ban on private jets because they would allow “billionaires to trash the climate” by using them rather than flying commercial.
Conservatives in America have regularly accused celebrities and Democratic presidential candidates of hypocrisy for urging average Americans to make sacrifices, while they continue to fly on private jets.