When someone decides to follow veganism, they are cutting out all animal products from their diet, including meat, eggs, and dairy. Therefore, switching to a vegan diet is a major lifestyle change as it comes with both benefits and drawbacks.
There are many celebrities who have spoken out about choosing to switch to a vegan diet, but eventually we saw many of those stars quit eating plant-based with no animal products.
Here we list some of the celebrities who gave up veganism.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman, for many years now, has been an outspoken supporter of a vegan lifestyle. Back in 2008, she even launched her own vegan shoe line which is now defunct.
But when she got pregnant in 2011, she revealed that she has given up on the vegan diet for the period she is pregnant. She said in a radio interview, “I actually opted to go back being vegetarian when I became pregnant, just because I felt like I wanted that stuff. I was listening to my body to have eggs and dairy.”
This change was temporary. In 2018, Portman said that she is now back to being vegan and that even her children follow a vegan diet.
Chris Hemsworth
Famous for his stellar body, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth adopted a vegan diet to get in shape for filming the Thor and Avengers movies.
Men’s Health magazine published a headline last year saying that Chris’ vegan diet is “saving the world”.
However, it appears that Chris may not be restricting himself to a purely vegan diet.
According to his personal trainer, Luke Zocchi, while Chris was training he was about 95 per cent vegan. He told in an interview that Chris was eating a little bit of meat every few days.
A few months ago, a YouTube video with Korean Englishman shows Chris trying Korean snacks while in Korea promoting the new Men in Black International movie. In the video, Chris can be seen eating chicken drumsticks and drinking a banana yogurt.
Anne Hathaway
Back in 2011, the actress decided to fully give up meat and dairy products and go for a vegan lifestyle. Much like famous vegan diet advocate Beyonce, Hathaway wanted to try eating vegan to get in peak physical shape for the role in the move The Dark Knight Rises. She eventually stuck with the diet even after the film wrapped until in 2013 when she was shooting for the film Interstellar.
In 2014 she told Harper’s Bazaar that the shoot for the movie took place in Iceland and it was physically demanding — she spent most of her day in a 40-pound space suit.
She also told the publication that she gave up her vegan diet when she felt compelled to try a fresh piece of fresh fish while at a restaurant in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Hathaway said the next day, after eating the fish, she “just felt better.” She added that when she was following a vegan diet, she “just didn’t feel good or healthy, not strong.”
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson was vegan until he filmed the movie Tarzan, when they wanted him to gain weight.
In 2015, the then 66-year-old star claimed that the movie bosses were going to “fire” him if he didn’t put on 20lbs for his role as George Washington Williams in the motion picture, but after losing 40lbs as a result of being a vegan he had to stop the eating practice and start chowing down on protein meals to fatten himself up.
Ellen DeGeneres
In her Netflix special Relatable, the comedian and television star stated that she started eating pieces of fish ‘for no real reason’ a year or two ago – after nearly eight years of being vegan.
DeGeneres spoke about her tie being a vegan and how difficult it was for her to order animal-free meals in restaurants.
But then she said: “I’m not really vegan, I say it for the joke. I was vegan for eight years and I really believe that it’s great for you.
“I was healthier than I’d ever been, I loved being vegan. But in the last year or two for no real reason, I started eating a piece of fish once in a while. Or I’ll eat eggs from chickens I know – if they are in someone’s backyard or are happy.”
Waka Flocka Flame
In one 2017 interview, which was sponsored by animal-rights organization PETA, rapper Waka Flocka Flame said he first opted to follow a vegan diet back in 2014 as he wanted to lose weight. He explained he had gained 45 pounds in one month and he was “tired of” his weight.
But in a 2018 interview with Paper magazine, Flame said he had “dropped the vegan card.”
“I think the public scared me from being vegan,” he told the publication. He expressed how he didn’t like the title of being vegan. He followed by adding that vegans scare people. “They are like the f–king cops. When vegans are around, people try to throw their food under the table, like oh, the vegans!”
He said that he is now a pescatarian (meaning he follows a vegetarian diet but makes an exception for fish) and he calls himself “a conscious eater,” meaning he thinks carefully about what he eats and drinks.
Kristen Bell
Kristen Bell has been a vegetarian since she was 11-years old. According to her, she decided to opt for a vegan diet in 2012 after watching Folks Over Knives, a documentary examining degenerative diseases and their connection to animal-based and processed foods.
But Bell said she realized that the diet wasn’t sustainable for her while she was pregnant with her first child. She told in an interview, “During my first pregnancy, I was working and it felt like I needed more calories. I was pretty conscious of it.”
Bell said she is now happily a vegetarian and supports those who follow a vegan diet.
Being vegan is a choice and not everybody needs to stick to it.
