Joaquin Phoenix has been criticized - for defending animals (Photo: Harald Krichel)

Joaquin Phoenix has been branded 'a disgrace' in an opinion piece published by the New York Post.

The article, titled Oscars 2020: Bong Joon Ho is a saint, Joaquin Phoenix is a disgrace, criticized the vegan performer for using his massive platform to highlight the horrors of the dairy industry.

Describing Phoenix as 'rambling like a street bum' the author sarcastically refers to the speech as highlighting 'the unspeakable injustices of cow's milk...to virtually no one's amusement'.

Joaquin Phoenix's Oscar speech

Speaking about dairy during his speech, Phoenix said: "I think we've become very disconnected from the natural world. Many of us are guilty of an egocentric world view, and we believe that we’re the center of the universe. We go into the natural world and we plunder it for its resources.

"We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakeable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.

"We fear the idea of personal change, because we think we need to sacrifice something; to give something up. But human beings at our best are so creative and inventive, and we can create, develop and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and the environment."

Praise

While some have criticized Phoenix for the speech, he has been praised by many for using his huge platform to highlight the immense suffering of animals in the dairy industry.

Australian singer/songwriter Ashton Irwin tweeted about the speech to his 6.3 million followers, saying: "Not only did Joaquin wake up as an Oscar winner. He displayed bravery and stopped acting in front of his largest audience yet. I aspire to speak up and be unafraid of truth. Our heroes are slowly coming to the forefront of pop culture and are no longer in black and white."

Mercy for Animals quoted Phoenix's speech, adding: "Retweet if you know Joaquin Phoenix's powerful words at the Oscars will go down in history."