Joaquin Phoenix ‘drowns’ in provocative PETA ad

Joaquin Phoenix is in hot water… well, just water… over a controversial new TV advert for animal rights group PETA.

The ad, which shows the ‘The Master’ star unconvincingly drowning, has now been banned by ABC from its proposed Oscars broadcast spot for being “too political and controversial.”

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“In water, humans drown. Just as fish suffocate on land,” the narrator tells us as Phoenix reenacts, flailing arms and all, “the terror fish experience”.

“It’s slow and painful and frightening,” it continues, “and we do it to more than one trillion fish every year.”

The clip concludes with the simple message: “Go vegan”.

Speaking about his reasons for doing the ad, Phoenix, a vegan himself, said:

“I was 3 years old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one fish was caught, he was writhing, then he was thrown against the side of the boat.

“You couldn't disguise what it was. This was what we did to animals to eat them. The animal went from a living, vibrant creature fighting for life to a violent death. I recognised it, as did my brothers and sisters.”

The ad has certainly proved controversial, but that was probably PETA’s plan all along.