Love is in the air! Joaquin Phoenix gave a special shout-out to his fiancée, Rooney Mara, at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, January 5.
While accepting Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama for his titular role in Joker, Phoenix, 45, looked over at Mara, 34, and said, “I love you” before wiping away tears.
Throughout his acceptance speech, the actor dropped multiple F-bombs, all of which NBC managed to censor during the broadcast. He also took a moment to praise his fellow nominees for their “beautiful, mesmerizing work,” and called Joker director Todd Phillips an “amazing friend and collaborator.”
Phoenix later thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for making “a very bold move” by serving only plant-based food at the 77th annual ceremony. He also urged people to take action and help those who have been affected by the devastating wildfires in Australia.
“It’s really nice that so many people come up and sent their well-wishes, but we have to do more than that, right?” he said. “I have not always been a virtuous man. I’m learning so much. So many of you in this room have given me multiple opportunities to get it right. … I’ll try to do better and I hope you will too.”
In the press room later on Sunday, Phoenix reiterated that he was “so moved by the decision to make tonight plant-based,” adding, “Animal culture is the third leading cause of climate change, uses 70 percent of the water and pollutes the most water. The statistics are staggering. And I think we’re coming to a point now where the evidence is irrefutable and undeniable. … And so I think that it was totally brave and compassionate of the HFPA to make that bold decision. I really commend them for that. I’ve never been so proud to attend an awards ceremony as tonight.”
The Walk the Line star became the second actor to win a Golden Globe for portraying the Joker. The late Heath Ledger posthumously won in 2009 for his role in The Dark Knight.
Phoenix and Mara started dating in 2016 after meeting on the set of the movie Mary Magdalene, which was released in 2018. They made their red carpet debut as a couple at the Cannes Film Festival in 2017.
Us Weekly confirmed in July 2019 that the pair are engaged. The news came nearly two months after they sparked engagement rumors when the Carol actress was spotted wearing a diamond ring on her left hand.
Phoenix and Mara have been living together in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles since 2017. A source previously told Us, “They don’t really like to go out. They mainly just like to be with each other as the two of them. They’re in their own bubble.”
