In the midst of the global climate emergency, a whole host of people have been hailed a winner for doing their bit to save the environment. Greta Thunberg, Jane Fonda, Joaquin Phoenix…
It’s easy to see why. One of them, when just 16 years old, led a global movement and inspired an entire generation of young people with her ‘Fridays for Future’ movement.
Another, a Hollywood A-lister, keeps getting herself and her famous friends arrested as part of an ongoing campaign to raise awareness of climate change through acts of civil disobedience.
And the latter? Well, he’s apparently an outfit repeater…
Yep, you heard that right. Apparently Joaquin Phoenix is now a ‘winner’ because (in addition to winning the Golden Globe) he’s chosen to wear the same tuxedo for the entire award season – as though the rest of us don’t outfit repeat on a weekly basis.
The comments were made by British fashion designer Stella McCartney, whose custom-made tux the Joker actor apparently wore to several award ceremonies over the past year.
She wrote on Twitter, alongside a picture of 45-year-old Phoenix holding his Golden Globe award for his Joker performance:
This man is a winner… wearing custom Stella because he chooses to make choices for the future of the planet. He has also chosen to wear this same Tux for the entire award season to reduce waste. I am proud to join forces with you… x Stella.
Unsurprisingly, the designer’s comments sparked backlash almost immediately, with many saying McCartney was so far removed from reality she couldn’t even see the irony in her comments – that her clothes are so expensive the average person couldn’t even afford to buy them.
While one person wrote: ‘I cannot believe how out of touch this tweet is,’ another said: ‘I wonder how many weeks a family of four could feed themselves for the price of that TUX.’
Another Twitter user sarcastically wrote: ‘Oh my god, this is just so touching. Yours and this man’s brave sacrifice is an example to us all. Thank you,’ while another simply said: ‘Is this parody?’
Yikes. Many said the designer’s comments were a prime example of what Ricky Gervais was getting at with his scathing opening speech at the ceremony, where he wasted no time in telling the entirety of Hollywood exactly what he thought of them.
Gervais, who had the honour of hosting the 77th annual Golden Globe awards on January 5, begged winners not to make political speeches because, in his words, they know ‘nothing about the real world’.
McCartney’s praising of Phoenix only proved this, with the overwhelming feeling of the 12,000 people commenting beneath her tweet being: ordinary people wear the same outfits all the time, so why should it be worthy of praise as soon as a Hollywood A-lister does it?
Thankfully, Phoenix’s suit wasn’t his only contribution to saving the environment at the Golden Globe Awards. The actor – who is a lifelong vegan and can often be seen at climate crisis and PETA protests – continued his activism on stage, speaking about climate change, veganism and the Australian wildfires.
Phoenix began his acceptance speech by thanking the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for ‘recognising and acknowledging the link between animal agriculture and climate change’ by offering a plant-based menu for the ceremony. ‘It really sends a powerful message,’ he said.
In fact, according to sources, the actor played a key role in convincing the organisation to implement its first all-vegan menu at the ceremony, Variety reports.
Whereas usually guests enjoy plates of steak or fish, this year the menu featured chilled golden beet soup, oyster mushroom ‘scallops’ with mushroom risotto and a chocolate opera dome for dessert.
So while McCartney’s comments might have been misguided and ever so slightly out of touch, it’s important to note her intentions were good. And rather than pulling each other down, we should support each other to help better ourselves.
After all, we’re in this together.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).