Celebrities can use their star power to raise funds and attention to issues related to animal cruelty and the benefits of a vegan diet. Several entertainers are vegan and have joined hands with animal rights groups to promote a vegan lifestyle and educate the world about the harm humans cause to animals. This post highlights celebrities who have come out as vegan and actively promote harmonious coexistence with nature.
Ricky Gervais
Ricky Gervais is an ardent animal rights campaigner and was PETA’s person of the year in 2013. The award was recognition of his compassion towards animals. The Office star is especially incensed by animal testing and argues that it encourages the caging and torturing of animals. He is also a dreamer and joined hands with other celebrities in 2011 to call on other vegans to have a holiday season free of animal cruelty. They also requested animal rights activists to avoid buying pets and embrace vegan makeup.
Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney has been a vegetarian all her life and has incorporated animal rights activism into her fashion designs. Her fashion label has been in operation since 2001 and features designs that are free of leather and fur. She urges her fans to buy clothes that are free from animal products and live a humane lifestyle. During the 2018 Paris Fashion Week, she told journalists that she looks forward to a fur-free fashion industry. She carried on the message during the 2020 Paris Fashion Week by showcasing animal suit designs to send the message that animal products should not feature on the runway.
Bob Barker
Back in the day, Bob Barker was a popular TV game host who would end his shows by urging the audience to spay or neuter their pets. He may have quit television, but still fights for animal rights on various platforms. He actively supports the work of PAWS wildlife sanctuary. Barker also collaborates with Cruelty-Free International in lobbying the US government to ban animal cruelty in the cosmetics industry. Bob Barker recently joined hands with other celebrities in urging Congress to ban the use of exotic animals in circuses. He hopes that humanity will eventually end the antiquated practice of using animals in exhibitions and circuses.
Kesha
Kesha is a renowned singer, rapper, and songwriter and is also known in the vegan circles for her role as a global ambassador for the Humane Society. She is an active supporter of animal rights and has campaigned against lion and shark hunting for trophies. She also promotes vegan makeup because it is free from products extracted through animal cruelty.
Maisie Williams
The GoT star, popularly known as Arya Stark, is a vegan and has a soft spot for dolphins. In 2015, she joined a large protest at Trafalgar Square, London, condemning dolphin hunting and capture in Japan. The procession was addressing the issue of the annual slaughter and capture of dolphins in Taiji bay. The captured dolphins end up in animal parks around the world. Maisie Williams chastised those who visit such parks by arguing that the best way to connect with animals is to meet them in the wild.
Joan Jett
Joan Jett’s fiery music conceals her softer side as she is an ardent supporter of animal rights. Joan confesses that she is “almost vegan.” She avoids animal products save for the occasional purchase of honey and butter. The “Give Meat The Boot” singer collaborates with PETA in educating her fans about animal cruelty. Her campaign highlights animal suffering on factory farms, which cram thousands of livestock in small cages. She advises fans to eat animals bred in the natural environment or even adopt a vegan diet. Joan Jett has also linked the meat industry to climate change and environmental degradation.
James Cameron
It is not surprising that James Cameron is vegan, as some of his most illustrious films promote the intimate connection between humans and nature. The award-winning director of Avatar told Men’s Journal that he became vegan to lower his carbon footprint. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it enhanced his health. Cameron asserts that people who live in the blue zones consume little amounts of animal protein but live the longest. He reckons that humans need to stop animal farming for their own sake because the earth will not support so many meat consumers in the next 20-30 years.