Natalie Portman Dropped 4 Healthy Truth Bombs While Eating so-Spicy-She-Cried Vegan Wings

Well+Good Creative
The web series Hot Ones has found a golden recipe for subverting the celebrity interview by posing mind-opening questions to stars who are munching on wings doused in some of the world's most fiery sauces. When it came time for Natalie Portman to take the hot seat (get it?), she handled the challenge flawlessly—and injected the experience with a hearty helping of health.

Since Portman is among the celebrity set of vegans, she had meatless drumsticks—but host Sean Evans made sure the spiciness aspect of the setup remained constant. And despite her mouth being on fire during, like, 80 percent of the interview, she was still able to drop some hot knowledge bombs. She shared tidbits from her new documentary, Eating Animals (out June 15)—which explores the consequences of factory farming—and her thoughts on social media, among other things.

One thing is for sure: Portman didn't let the tear-inducing heat of the vegan wings get in the way of sharing her healthy opinions.

Here are 4 healthy takeaways from Natalie Portman's fiery interview.

1. Going even a little bit vegan can make a huge difference

When Portman first started working on the documentary, she didn't realize most meat, dairy, and eggs originate from factory farms—which not only leads to animals suffering but also greatly impacts human health and the environment. Because of that, she's hoping to open viewers' eyes even the tiniest bit to the state of food production.

"If everyone cut out meat, dairy, and eggs from one of their meals a day or from one day a week—if you could commit to that for yourself—that would make such a huge impact environmentally and with how many animals are put into difficult conditions," she says.

2. She's fully aware of just how toxic social media can be

There's a reason why Portman isn't on the 'Gram: She think's social media downright toxic. (And, hey—the science backs her up.)

3. She loves that ballet is becoming more mainstream

Though she says she can only do two pirouettes, Portman says she'll always love dance. (Hello, Black Swan!) So she's really happy that ballet has taken center stage in the media—whether through Missy Copeland's Under Armour collection or Kanye West's "Runaway" video. "I think it's great that more ballet gets exposed to larger audiences. There are great artists and athletes, and what these professional dancers can do is so incredible and should be part of pop culture," she says.

4. She idolizes Diane Keaton and Lily Tomlin for their #girlpower vibes

Whenever Portman needs a dose of #girlpower, she looks to her comedic heroes, Diane Keaton and Lily Tomlin. "They have such unique voices and personalties. There are so many stereotypes of how we want to see women and how we want women to behave in society; we're just not seeing enough different types of people. Because there's a whole spectrum—not just girls wanting to get married and talk about boys with each other."

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