There wasn’t any turkey served at Brian May’s Christmas feast. The animal rights activist and legendary lead guitarist for Queen took to Instagram to talk about his plant-based holiday dinner with his 2.7 million followers.
“I hope you all had a better Christmas than you expected! Mine was peaceful and hopeful,” he captioned.
He went on to write that one of his favorite highlights from the evening was playing “a very silly Pictionary game” with his kids. “Another highlight was our Turkey-free Christmas dinner—which although not quite Vegan was about 90 percent plant-based,” he wrote.
May continued: “The thought of having a dead bird on the Christmas table is not attractive to me now, even though it was a big part of my childhood. Tradition has a lot to answer for. We’ve been challenging the merits of a lot of traditions around here lately. I recommend it! Happy Boxing Day! Cheers!”
The musician is no stranger to speaking out about veganism. Earlier this year he voiced his concerns about the connection between eating animals and pandemics such as COVID-19. He told NME: “We’ve seen more of the effects of how eating animals has brought us to our knees as a species. I think it’s time to re-examine our world in a way that doesn’t abuse other species.”
In April 2020, May also urged British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tax meat in order to prevent future pandemics. The songwriter said he believed veganism is the “way forward from the coronavirus pandemic.”
May has also advocated for a vegan lifestyle beyond just food choices. In 2019, he took to Instagram to praise Italian brand Yatay for his new pair of vegan shoes. May also encouraged his followers to support vegan businesses.
“You don’t have to be a Vegan to eat vegan food. Or buy vegan stuff,” May wrote. “But every time you invest in vegan merchandise you invest in the health of the planet and the animals that live on it, including ourselves. And you don’t have to make any more excuses!”
Celebs Go Vegan for the Holidays
May wasn’t the only celebrity to enjoy a meat-free Christmas feast.
During an Instagram Live, Maggie Baird shared she was enjoying a festive blend of green tea with Kite Hill eggnog. “It’s so good mixed together. I highly recommend it,” she said. The actor is the mother of vegan singer Billie Eilish and the founder of Support + Feed, a nonprofit that helps people experiencing food insecurity.
Baird was also joined by Nicole Shakti, who owns the Los Angeles-based vegan bakery Plant Based Bake Shop. Shakti showed Baird how to make vegan peppermint bark and shared sustainable options for gift packaging.
Alicia Silverstone also whipped up a delicious-looking chocolate recipe for the holidays. On Instagram, the actor shared a recipe from her cookbook for chocolate apricot coins. “Happy Holidays,” she said. “I’m going to show you a really easy, super quick recipe from The Kind Diet that you can make for Christmas or Hanukkah.”
And Jonathan Ross also enjoyed a meat-free holiday spread. On a Christmas Eve special for UK talk show Loose Women, the British television presenter said he celebrated his first vegan Christmas after going plant-based about a year prior. He made the switch with his wife, Jane Goldman.
“This year we went vegan, so this is my first year as vegans, me and Jane, to try and help save the planet,” he said.
