A number of stars attended the Mercy of Animals 20th Anniversary Gala over the weekend, where they explained why they went vegan.
Kevin Smith was on hand to present Lindsay Oliver with the Hidden Heroes Award. He credits veganism for helping him lose 70 pounds after a heart attack and thanks his daughter Harley Quinn, who encouraged him to change his lifestyle.
RELATED: Kevin Smith Announces Netflix Limited Series ‘Masters Of The Universe’
“It’s to the point where I include a trigger warning,” Smith told Variety. “Whenever I post something about being vegan, they get pretty upset and say, ‘I’m going to eat four times as much meat,’ and I’m like, ‘See you in hell.’ I’m not saying you need to do this. I’m just responding to questions about why I look the way I look suddenly, so you have to be very careful about how you couch it because some people feel like I’ve had so much taken away, now you are going to take away my meat. Do what you want. I took away my meat to save my life.”
Kat Von D was also at the gala where she was given the Hope Award.
“I think hiding behind the idea of things being cage-free is a joke,” Von D said. “There’s no humane way of exploiting an animal. It’s like he had an awesome life up until when we slit his throat. To me, it doesn’t make sense. I think the whole purpose of being an environmentalist in general is that you can’t do that unless you really contemplate what you are putting on your plate.”
Other famous faces to support the non-profit animal advocacy group include Kat Graham and Joaquin Phoenix.
