In recent years, it has become trendy for celebrities to claim to be vegan. While this is great for exposure to veganism, there are unfortunately many cases of these celebrities later renouncing veganism for a variety of reasons.
However, there are many public figures, celebrities, activists and athletes who continue to be committed to vegan lifestyles. Many vegan public figures have been using their platforms in significant ways to promote vegan principles. Many have also put their money where their mouth is to invest in significant vegan progress. For this blog post, I wanted to share some recent examples of initiatives and significant vegan promotion from people in the public eye. All of these examples were shared recently by Veg News.
Venus Williams- Invests in Plant-Based Marketplace
Venus Williams is a tennis legend, a seven-time Grand Slam Champion and four-time Olympic Gold medalist. In 2011, Williams was diagnosed with Sjögren’s Syndrome, which forced her to drop out of the 2011 US Open. She transitioned to a plant-based diet to alleviate symptoms of her chronic illness, and was able to return to the game within one year, winning multiple titles.
Williams recently announced she is investing in PlantX, a Canadian-based company that offers more than 10,000 plant-based products, including food and beauty items, supplies for companion animals, vitamins, clothing, and household plants, for delivery to customers across North America.
Last year, Williams also launched her own vegan protein company, Happy Viking. After the recent PlantX announcement, PlantX will carry Happy Viking products, and Williams will curate a “Venus’ Favorites” section of PlantX products on the company’s website.
Alexis Gauthier- Making Vegan Transformations
Michelin-star chef Alexis Gauthier recently announced that he will re-open his London-based French restaurant, Gauthier Soho, in June as a completely vegan restaurant.
In response to an international campaign led by PETA, in 2015, Gauthier removed foie gras from his menu and went vegan himself. Since then, he has been working to develop a 100% vegan menu for his restaurant. He is quoted as saying “I’m vegan myself, it would be unethical for me to profit from selling dead animals.”
Since announcing that the restaurant will be reopening as a vegan restaurant, Gauthier said he has received pushback from customers, and he reassures his fan base that the food will be as good as it was before.
In addition to converting Gauthier Soho to a vegan restaurant, Gauthier also recently launched a plant-based cafeteria called 123 Vegan inside a London department store.
Billie Eilish- Sharing her Vegan Lifestyle
At only age 19, American singer Billie Eilish has already made a global impact with her catchy pop music. You’ve probably heard her song Bad Guy, or maybe her most recent single Your Power.
Recently, Eilish has been using her global platform to promote her vegan beliefs. In a Q&A video from Vogue with over 8 million views on YouTube, Eilish answers a number of questions from other celebrities. Orlando Bloom, who claims to be 90% plant-based himself, asks Eilish why she decided to go vegan. Eilish responds by saying she learned about the harms of the dairy and meat industry many years ago, and “once you know about that kind of thing and you see it, it’s really hard to go back.” She said she couldn’t “go on in her life, knowing what’s going on in the animal world, and not doing anything about it.”
Lizzo- A New Vegan on the Scene
Another pop-star vegan who has been using her platform to promote veganism is Lizzo. Veg News shared that Lizzo recently uploaded a TikTok sharing a recipe for vegan nachos using brussels sprouts.
As one of her many TikTok followers, I can personally attest that Lizzo regularly shares TikToks of tasty vegan recipes, including recreating popular TikTok recipes in a vegan way.
Lizzo is a relatively new vegan. She announced her transition to a fully vegan lifestyle in 2020. Prior to this, however, Lizzo was vegetarian for seven years. One of her TikToks featuring a vegan recipe is captioned with the quote: “As a new vegan, I’m enjoying exploring flavors from plants & plant-based proteins! Every journey is personal and deserves to be celebrated.”
Joaquin Phoenix- Reunites with Rescued Animals
If you follow vegan news, it’s likely you’ve heard of Joaquin Phoenix’s commitment to veganism, especially following Phoenix’s passionate Oscar-acceptance speech in February 2020 when he spoke about the cruelties of animal agriculture and the dairy industry.
Following this speech, in 2020, Phoenix and others visited a slaughterhouse and negotiated the release of two animals and facilitated the transfer of the cows to a farm sanctuary to live out the rest of their lives in peace. He named the cows, a mother and her calf, Indigo and Liberty.
Phoenix recently returned to the sanctuary to visit Liberty and Indigo. Phoenix said his only interaction with the cows was during the rescue, so he was pleased to see “how at ease they were with us; how welcoming.” He further described it as “almost like being with somebody’s dog or horse, there was a real warmth and intelligence in their eyes… there was clearly a unique soul in there.”
Genesis Butler- Recognized by American Girl
Genesis Butler is a 14 year old vegan and climate activist who has been vegan since the age of 6. She is the founder of Genesis for Animals, a nonprofit that helps to fund animal sanctuaries across the USA.
In April, the American Girl doll company celebrated Butler and other impressive young activists as part of its Conversations for Change web series on the company’s website.
An editor from American Girl selected Butler for recognition after Butler made headlines for asking the Pope to go vegan during Lent.
In addition to being featured on the brand’s website, Butler is also included in two American Girl books: Love the Earth, a resource guide outlining how girls can channel their interests to help fight climate change, and Kira’s Animal Rescue, a work of fiction inspired by the Australian bushfires of 2019.
Earlier last year, Butler was also recognized by Marvel in a Disney+ series Marvel Hero Project which highlighted real life community heroes.
Conclusion
These are just a few examples of celebrity vegans using their platforms for good. We hope this is a trend that continues! Let us know if any of your favourite celebrities are vegan.
Photo by Jorik Kleen on Unsplash
