A brief but awkward exchange between actors Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival has gone viral, after the former tried to save the latter from a PR headache by stopping him from performing an offensive gesture.
The incident occurred during the red carpet premiere of Eddington, the pair’s upcoming western horror film directed by Ari Aster. As the actors greeted fans and photographers, Phoenix raised his hand in a high wave—only for Pascal to quickly grab his arm and lower it.
Internet sleuths and news outlets scrambled to find out exactly what Pascal had told his colleague, going as far as to hire lip readers to figure out the nature of the exchange.
Pascal was allegedly trying to stop Phoenix from inadvertently performing a WW2 salute
Netizens speculated that Pascal feared the gesture could be misinterpreted as resembling a WW2 salute, and warned Phoenix about the impact it could have on the movie’s promotional tour.
“Argh, don’t do that,” Pascal said, according to lip reader NJ Hickling. “You’re affecting the cred. Try and act cool, like you’re about to score, my man.”
According to Hickling, the Joker star was initially caught off guard, but then took a moment to absorb the comment before replying with a terse, “Alright man.”
In the footage, Phoenix seems to stumble a bit, and then mutters to himself, “Oh my goodness,” as if realizing the social media storm he had narrowly avoided.
“Joaquin was really enjoying that wave until he got told he looked like a N*zi,” one viewer wrote on X, as the moment went viral with people sharing theories, concerns, and jokes.
“The way Pedro Pascal pulled down Joaquin Phoenix’s arm before an accidental salute has me fried,” another said.
Others reflected on social media’s penchant for exaggeration, able to turn the smallest of mishaps into career-damaging public relations nightmares overnight.
“Pedro just saved Joaquin’s entire career,” one viewer pointed out. “What if photographers snap a photo at just the wrong time, and then suddenly everyone on the internet thinks he did something bad?”
Some viewers believe Pascal overreacted, while others say he “saved Phoenix’s career”
Some netizens, on the other hand, believe the gesture was a sign of a political climate that has become overtly sensitive and is now bordering on paranoia.
“A decade ago, no one would have mistaken a simple wave for a N*zi salute. But in today’s heightened political climate, such misinterpretations have become not only plausible but, unfortunately, unsurprising,” one viewer said.
The way Pedro Pascal pulled down Joaquin Phoenix’s arm before an accidental salute has me fried 😂🤣😭 pic.twitter.com/8G8irgQ4W9
— 🖤 Physical Media Forever 🖤 (@VHSDVDBLURAY4K) May 17, 2025
Others took issue with Pascal himself, believing him to be overreacting and creating drama out of nothing. “Hey Pedro, leave Joaquin alone. There’s nothing you have to school him or correct him on,” another stated. “He’s been famous and walked the red carpet way longer than you.”
“Stop. Just stop. Seriously let people wave for god’s sake. This is ridiculous.”
The actor was dubbed by some as an “entitled narcissist” who wants others to act and think the same way he does. “I doubt anyone would have mistaken Joaquin’s wave for a N*zi salute.”
Scheduled to premiere on July 18, 2025, Eddington tackles the social unrest the COVID-19 pandemic has caused
Pascal’s wariness might be explained by the themes of the movie he and Phoenix were promoting. Eddington is described as a contemporary Western film that follows the political and social turmoil in the eponymous fictional city located in New Mexico, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
With a tagline of “Hindsight is 2020,” the movie also takes place during the onset of the Black Lives Matter protests that began in Minneapolis on May 26 of that year.
Phoenix stars as a small-town sheriff, while Pascal plays the local mayor. The cast also includes Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Michael Ward, and Luke Grimes. While it is unclear whether the film tackles racial conflict, it nevertheless takes place during a period of sensitive social unrest.
Early reviews have been lukewarm. The film holds a 65% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with negative reviews describing it as a “weirdly self-important satire” that ultimately fails to target the “myriad ills still plaguing the nation.”
Positive reviews, while being favorable, are still mixed. For instance, one critic labeled it as a “step back” for director Ari Aster, but valued the visceral way in which he was able to show the impact of the pandemic on people’s lives.
“Ari Aster allows the mask of America’s decency to slip off completely, and what’s revealed beneath is the rotting flesh on the face of the chaotic beast we’ve been becoming for so long,” another critic wrote.
“These are dumb times.” Netizens took to social media to share their thoughts on the viral moment
