Rooney Mara opened up about motherhood in rare comments she shared ahead of her first Mother’s Day.
The 36-year-old actress made the remarks in an open letter for the Farm Sanctuary Mother’s Day campaign that she shared with People magazine on Wednesday.
‘As a new mom, Mother’s Day has taken on a special meaning this year,’ Rooney said, who shares a baby boy, River, nine months, with Joaquin Phoenix, 46.
Speaking out: Rooney Mara opened up about motherhood in rare comments she shared ahead of her first Mother’s Day. The 36-year-old actress made the remarks in an open letter for the Farm Sanctuary Mother’s Day campaign that she shared with People magazine on Wednesday. Seen in 2019
‘Raising our baby, River, has opened my heart to a whole new life filled with hope and more determination than ever to create a kinder and more sustainable world,’ said the movie star.
‘I feel so fortunate to be able to nurture my son in all of the ways that nature intended,’ the Academy Award nominee continued, ‘and I wish all mothers in the animal kingdom could experience that sacred maternal bond with their young, devoid of exploitation by humans.’
Founded in 1986, Farm Sanctuary is an American animal protection organization that shelters farm animals and advocates for laws and policies that promote animal welfare, animal protection and veganism. Joaquin and Rooney are both vegans.
To celebrate Mother’s Day, Farm Sanctuary’s campaign is seeking donations of $35 for the care of cow Jackie and her adopted calf, Dixon, goat Cynthia and her son Bruce, and Henrietta, a turkey who is also a grandmother.
Baby makes three: The notoriously private couple never officially announced the birth of their firstborn and Rooney’s pregnancy, speaking about him for the first time in a 2020 op-ed. Seen in 2019
The private couple confirmed the arrival of their son in November 2020 after quietly welcoming him into the world last September.
The couple spoke about their child for the first time publicly in an impassioned People op-ed about the 545 children who have yet to be reunited with their parents after being separated at the US-Mexico border.
Phoenix and Rooney called the thought of being separated from their own child ‘unbearable’, and imagined having to answer to him as he grew curious about the subject later in life.
‘How will we explain it to our son’: Joaquin Phoenix and Rooney Mara have spoken about their son for the first time since quietly welcoming him into the world two months ago (pictured 2020)
‘As new parents, it’s unbearable to imagine what it would feel like to have our child taken away from us for a day, let alone years,’ the engaged couple wrote.
‘But that’s the very situation those 545 children and their parents have been living through. As Americans, it’s our responsibility to continue paying attention to the plight of these families and get answers for why they still have not been located.’
The couple also wondered how they would be able to explain the situation to their son once he grew more curious about the topic.
‘We have to ask ourselves: Is this the country that we want? Are these our values? How will it feel to explain to our son, when he asks us about this time and how we treated scared, defenseless children, some of whom may never see their parents again?’ Rooney and Joaquin wondered.
Being held accountable: The couple imagined having to answer to their own son, who may one day grow curious about the subject. Seen in 2017
‘For the sake of our nation’s character, I hope we will be able to tell him that America unequivocally rejected this cruelty and demanded that our representatives did everything in their power to find those missing parents.’
A recent court filing revealed that the parents of 545 migrant children separated from their offspring at the US border have yet to be located.
The separations occurred in 2017, during a crackdown on illegal crossings at the US southern border, which Donald Trump promised to make a key part of his Presidency.
New addition: Joaquin and Rooney reportedly welcomed a baby boy named after the actor’s late brother River Phoenix in August. Pictured in 2013
More than 1,000 parents were separated from their children during a ‘pilot program’, which occurred from April and December 2017, according to NBC.
The children separated from their parents allegedly include ’22 children who were one year old and 28 children who were two years old’.
Joaquin and Rooney reportedly welcomed a baby boy named after the actor’s late brother River Phoenix in August.
Director Victor Kossakovsky spilled the beans at the 2020 Zurich Film Festival after a screening of the film Gunda, on which Joaquin served as executive producer.
‘He just got a baby by the way… A beautiful son called River,’ the director told audience members at a Q&A.
The couple never officially announced the birth of their firstborn and Rooney’s pregnancy, making the op-ed the first time they had ever spoken about him.