Looking to add a bit more controversy to his resume, Oscar nominated actor, Joaquin Phoenix has had his PETA ad banned by ABC.
Phoenix, who isn’t afraid to be unorthodox, stars in a new PETA commercial that shows him drowning. In the commercial, Phoenix struggles to breathe and panic sets in his eyes. The ad looks even more realistic because Phoenix brings his talent to the scene. With all the strange things he does, the man can truly act.
PETA organizers were planning to show the ad during the TV broadcast of this month’s Academy Awards so that it could reach a worldwide audience, but ultimately the suits and ties at the ABC network voted against it. A spokesman for PETA states:
“Capitalizing on the buzz surrounding Phoenix’s critically acclaimed performance in The Master, PETA U.S. moved to place the ad during the Academy Awards, but U.S. television network ABC deemed the video to be too political and controversial to run during the broadcast.”
Yes, while PETA can be annoying at times (all the time) this recent ad doesn’t seem too controversial so it baffles me as to why ABC would decide not to air it. It also baffles me that ABC thinks people will stick around for the entire broadcast of the Oscars, and that they stick people still watch commercials.
The commercial can be seen below. What do you think of it? Too controversial?
Check out the video on page 2.
PETA ads are always getting banned.