Joaquin Phoenix’s speech at this year’s Golden Globes differed from the typical award-show oration.
Other celebrities used their time on stage after winning to bring light to certain issues including the wildfires in Australia and the importance of voting.
Phoenix, who won the award for best actor in a drama, however, decided to take a different approach.
The Joker actor dropped multiple f-bombs on stage, spoke on climate change, and called the award show a “thing to sell advertisements for the TV show.” Possibly the most important part of his controversial speech was his urging of fellow actors to use their privileges to make a difference — not just claim to care in public, but actually take action.
“It’s great to vote but sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves and make changes and sacrifices in our own lives. I hope that we can do that — we don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs sometimes,” said Phoenix.
While celebrities using their platform to highlight political and social issues is incredibly common, Phoenix’s speech begs the question of whether these wealthy individuals are actually doing something to help.
It’s not just Phoenix who is pointing out the discrepancy between the actor’s words and actions. The everyday person who watches these celebrities at home have also been calling celebrities out on their priorities through social media.
When Kendall Jenner retweeted information about the Australian wildfires on Jan. 3, she added a simple comment: two grimacing and two broken heart emojis.
The now deleted retweet received immense backlash from Twitter users who found the addition of these emojis callous; many in the replies said she should use her money to help those suffering instead of using social media.
“Do something. You have MONEY and a platform,” said Twitter user @fallingolden.
The same thing occurred to Jenner’s sibling, Kim Kardashian, who tweeted “Climate change is real” followed by a broken heart and earth emoji.
Celebrities do have a platform – one the average person does not have access to. They have the resources and spotlight to create an impact. So, why don’t they?
Well, some certainly do. There are celebrities who go out of their way to not only donate to charities, but assist individuals in need themselves.
However, even if celebrities are making donations, are they really giving as much as they possibly could? In a study done by The Philanthropy Roundtable, a nonprofit organization serving and advising philanthropists, it was found that while wealthy individuals “give away a much larger chunk of their earnings than others,” data suggests many of these donations “are comparatively modest. Others are extraordinarily copious—and these push up the donation average.”
The Philanthropy Roundtable also found that middle-class Americans donate less in comparison to the wealthy, but “the lower-income population surprises by giving more than the middle—and in some measures even more than the top” in terms of the percentage of their available income.
Phoenix’s speech touches on an issue the rich themselves do not often acknowledge.
The people on our screens dressed head to toe in designer clothes, enjoying champagne while they wait for their awards are out of touch with the world outside of these events even if they acknowledge that very world in their acceptance speeches.
Even if one does have a platform to make a change, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are using it properly. There is a discrepancy between what celebrities say on stage and social media versus the actions they take when not under the spotlight.
Maybe future award shows and speeches will be impacted by Phoenix’s words, as well as the actions that follow afterwards.
