Joaquin Phoenix Made the Golden Globes Go Vegan

By Meg Zukin

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Joaquin Phoenix was an influential voice at the Golden Globes on Sunday night not just because he won best actor in a drama for his performance in “Joker.”

According to sources, the actor — who is a staunch animal rights activist — also convinced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that runs the , to implement its first all-vegan menu at the ceremony’s star-studded dinner.

Phoenix suggested the idea to the Globes, and played a key role in persuading them to make the switch, insiders told Variety.

Usually, guests that arrive at the Golden Globes sit down to plates of steak or fish. But this year, the menu featured chilled golden beet soup, oyster mushroom “scallops” with mushroom risotto and a chocolate opera dome for dessert.

The plant-based ingredients also carried over to the backstage bar, where celebrities go to snack between commercial breaks. None of this year’s finger-food sandwiches had meat.

“I’m starving!” lamented one attendee.

Phoenix obliquely acknowledged his role in the menu when he took the stage to accept his acting prize. “First I would like to thank the Hollywood Foreign Press for recognizing and acknowledging the link between animal agriculture and climate change, it’s a very bold move, making tonight plant-based,” he said. “We don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs sometimes or back, please.”

After the Globes, Phoenix headed to the WB/InStyle after-party with his fiancee Rooney Mara, and he received congratulations from well wishers.

But the party, which was co-chaired by the studio that released “,” deviated from only serving vegan food.

Guests such as Jason Momoa and Sofia Vergara hungrily chowed down on beef burgers as they danced the night away.