Alicia Silverstone has opened up about the time she was “booed off stage” at an animal rights convention.
The vegan actor, who is perhaps best known for starring in 1995 film Clueless, spoke about the experience on the Plant Based News (PBN) podcast with Robbie Lockie.
They were discussing the best ways to convey the vegan message to meat-eaters. Silverstone said that she didn’t know how to broach the subject “gracefully” at first.
She revealed that, in her early days of veganism, she would often discuss graphic depictions of animal cruelty during media appearances. She added that she later realized doing so was “not helpful” to as it “turned people off.”
Silverstone then detailed how she once gave a speech at an animal rights convention. In the talk, she argued that vegans should convey the message in a more “kind” way. It was then that she says she was booed off stage. “I got taken into a room to be with the main people at the event. Because the people in the audience were p*ssed,” she said. “It was a specific group that was very upset with what I was saying. So, even within the animal rights movement, you could get in trouble.”
She went on to say that she thought it was “really stupid” of them, as it could have made her drop out if she wasn’t so committed to the cause. “Because it was scary,” she added. “But luckily they have a true believer here, I’m on board. They can’t shake me.”
Does The Perfect Vegan Exist? Alicia Silverstone On The Dangers of Burnout, Mental Health, And More – The Plant Based News Podcast
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Alicia Silverstone’s vegan advocacy
Silverstone has been an outspoken advocate in the vegan movement for a number of years.
She was vegetarian on and off from the age of eight. She went completely vegan in 1998 when she was 21 years old.
Silverstone has written two books on veganism. The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet became a New York Times bestseller after it was released in 2009. Her second book, The Kind Mama, focuses on pregnancy and fertility.
Opening up on what she believes are the best ways to convey the message to the general public, Silverstone told Lockie: “I learned over time that the only way to make change is to make it look desirable. To be a poster child for health, so people want to know why you look and feel so happy and well. I also was spending so much energy trying to convince those who were not interested. And I found that’s not helpful either.”
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“for everything there is a season”, i think people should follow their heart for whatever situation. you know, sometimes jesus is blessing little children and seeking the “lost sheep”, sometimes he’s flipping over tables with a whip, turning people off and threatening people with hell… different circumstances require different actions.
personally, i went vegan after someone held a bus full of people hostage with a machine gun and forced the president of ukraine to tweet “everyone should watch Earthlings”.
and also god beat the sh*t out of my life to make me go vegan and be able to see the sufferings of others, i honestly believe that.
also, people should be themselves. and share what they feel inspired to share, in the way they feel inspired to share it, at that time.
if it inspired them, it will inspire others. but if something else or a different approach inspired someone else, that person can inspire others with something else or a different approach.
“be all things to all people”
I agree with Alicia completely. Alienating people (who likely are already aware of the inherent cruelties) is not helpful to the vegan cause.
Silverstone hits on an important point. A lot of vegans downplay the health benefits as if they’re secondary. We can persuade a lot more people by being role models of good health.
I was with Alicia at the AR conference. I remember Alex Hershaft, who ran the AR convention, handed Alicia Silverstone to my husband, Justice and I. We took Alicia up the back elevator to our hotel room. I was on her side about being kind. She didn’t realize the audience was full of militant vegans. Alf, protesters, etc. We talked about a past trip she took to the Amazon. We were acquainted for a few years till she had her child.
I agree with Alicia. We’re here to serve each other. If she wants to share her experience with others, it’s possible her testimony or approach educated or enlightened someone about the benefits of being vegan.