The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are handing out their own version of the Oscars: the Oscats, honouring the year’s most animal-friendly films and actors.
On Tuesday, PETA announced the winners of its third annual awards, with Oscats going to Joaquin Phoenix, Cynthia Erivo, Tom Hanks and Disney’s “The Lion King”.
According to PETA’s announcement, “The Lion King” took the Best Picture honours, lauding director Jon Favreau’s “use of breathtaking computer-generated animals instead of real ones in this spectacular remake.”
RELATED: Joaquin Phoenix Named PETA’s 2019 ‘Person Of The Year’
Joaquin Phoenix, a vegan since age three, and Cynthia Erivo were named Best Actor and Best Actress, with the announcement noting that Erivo — also a vegan — “saves the lives of hundreds of animals every year by refusing to eat them.”
Meanwhile, PETA introduced a tongue-in-cheek new category, Best Movie Starring Cats Without Using Any Cats. A gold star for anyone who guessed the winner to be “Cats”.
“PETA’s Oscats show that no decent filmmaker will force wild animals to perform — and animal-friendly messaging is what modern audiences want,” PETA senior vp Lisa Lange said in a statement.
A complete list of this year’s Oscat winners can be found right here.
