Sharing nine-month-old River with actress partner Rooney Mara, the 'Joker' star stresses that he will educate his son about the reality of the food industry, but won't force the boy to follow his footsteps.
- June 8, 2021
AceShowbiz - Joaquin Phoenix is opening up about parenting. The actor reveals that he plans to educate his son about the "reality" of the food industry so he can decide for himself if he wants to follow in his father's footsteps and become a vegan.
The "Joker" star, who shares nine-month-old River with his actress partner Rooney Mara, has abstained from animal products in his diet ever since he was three years old, but he won't be forcing his boy to stick to the same regimen - unless he wants to.
In an interview with Britain's The Sunday Times newspaper, he said, "Certainly I would hope that [he is vegan], but I'm not going to impose my belief on my child. I don't think that's right."
Instead, Phoenix will be making sure River grows up well aware about where meat products come from.
The Oscar winner continued, "I'm going to educate him about the reality. I'm not going to indoctrinate him with the idea that McDonald's have a Happy Meal because there's nothing f**king happy about that meal."
"And I'm not going to tell him that it's OK to read books about all the wonderful little farm animals, and they say 'oink oink oink' and 'moo moo moo,' and not tell him that that's what a hamburger is."
"I'm not going to perpetuate the lie, but I'm also not going to force him to be vegan. I'll support him. That's my plan."
