Joaquin Phoenix Speaks on Racism During ‘Joker’ Academy Award Speech

The actor also touched on his past during his viral acceptance speech.

Joaquin Phoenix took home an Academy Award yesterday evening for his performance in Joker. 

READ: Watch Joaquin Phoenix Call Out The Film Industry’s “Systematic Racism” During Joker BAFTA Speech

Phoenix who won the Best Actor category was up against a few of Hollywood’s most buzzy performances of the year including Leonardo DiCaprio’s role in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Adam Driver’s buzzy role in the critically acclaimed film Marriage Story was also nominated. 

During his acceptance speech he shared:

“I do not feel elevated above any of my fellow nominees because we share the same the love of film and this form of expression has given me the most extraordinary life. I don’t know what I’d be without it … I’ve been a scoundrel in my life. I’ve been cruel at times, hard to work with. Many of you in this room have given me a second chance.”

Later in his speech he touched on issues that are facing our society at the moment including gender inequality and racism:

“Whether we’re talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we’re talking about the fight against the belief, one nation, one race, one gender or one species has the right to dominate, control and use and exploit another with impunity.”

He went on to share, “I think that we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world and many of us, what we’re guilty of is an egocentric world view, the belief that we’re the center of the universe.”

Phoenix recently won a Golden Globe and BAFTA for his role as Joker.

Take a look at Joaquin Phoenix’s entire speech below.