“There is a true vegan revolution happening. It’s not a trend, it’s an awakening!” Hot off stealing the show at the Olympics and a Grammy nod, metal stars Gojira are the new faces of PETA

Joe Duplantier of Gojira performing live in 2024
(Image credit: Steve Jennings/Getty Images)

Gojira singer/guitarist Joe Duplantier stars in a new ad campaign for animal rights group PETA.

The musician, who was a vegetarian for decades before going vegan in 2014, appears in a new video and posters which urge viewers to “join the vegan revolution”. It’s the latest piece of mainstream exposure for the French metal band, who played the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games this year and are currently Grammy-nominated.

In the video, embedded below, Duplantier is interviewed in his New York City recording studio Silver Cord. “There is a true vegan revolution happening,” he begins. “It’s not a trend, it’s an awakening.”

He adds that his entire family have been vegan since the birth of their second child in 2014. “It’s going fabulous. They love not hurting animals,” he says.

Duplantier also claims a vegan diet helps his onstage performances. “I became vegan for the animals. But another benefit to being vegan is for your health. I have more energy now when I perform since I became vegan.”

Watch the full clip below.

In an interview with Chaoszine last year, Duplantier said that he almost passed out several times onstage before going vegan. “At the beginning of our career, we were opening a lot, so we would eat and then go on stage, for example,” he remembered (via Blabbermouth).

“This is very dangerous, because your body is trying to process the food, and if you wanna use your entire body to sing, as you should if you’re a singer, there’s gonna be a lot of things in the way and the body gets confused. And I almost fell [and] passed out onstage multiple times because I was not done digesting.”

Gojira’s performance of French revolutionary song Ah! Ça Ira! at the 2024 Olympics, which got released to streaming services in August, is currently nominated for a Grammy Award For Best Metal Performance. The band are up against Metallica, Judas Priest, Knocked Loose and Spiritbox, and the recipient will be named at the Los Angeles ceremony on February 2.

Gojira Vocalist Joe Duplantier: ‘Join the Vegan Revolution’ | PETA - YouTube Gojira Vocalist Joe Duplantier: ‘Join the Vegan Revolution’ | PETA - YouTube
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Matt Mills
Contributing Editor, Metal Hammer

Louder’s resident Gojira obsessive was still at uni when he joined the team in 2017. Since then, Matt’s become a regular in Prog and Metal Hammer, at his happiest when interviewing the most forward-thinking artists heavy music can muster. He’s got bylines in The Guardian, The Telegraph, NME, Guitar and many others, too. When he’s not writing, you’ll probably find him skydiving, scuba diving or coasteering.