Downey Jr. announced he went vegan on the set of “Dolittle” in 2020, hinting that the decision originally came from his wife. 

“She is the greatest creative producer in the history of cinema,” Downey said of his wife at the 2020 film premiere. “And I make faces for cash and chicken. Even though no, I’m off chicken now.”

“Not chicken anymore,” his wife added.

“I’m going plant-based! For cash and legumes,” joked Downey.

Downey Jr. hinted that his decision was made in part due to the “climate crisis” and the supposed negative impacts of meat on the environment. 

In recent years, many claims have been debunked about the negative environmental impacts of meat, and data has shown that agricultural practices to sustain the vegan lifestyle have deeply negative impacts on the environment and the quality of soils. 

Only two years after announcing his new diet, Downey Jr. looks older than ever, according to fans. 

“@RobertDowneyJr looks worse as a vegan than when he was a drug addict”, one user wrote on Twitter. 

Vegan diets can often generate deficiencies in Vitamin A, B6, B12, D, F, K2, as well as iron and important compounds such as creatine, carnitine, CoQ10, taurine and numerous others. 

“The lack of creatine I had in my body almost killed me last year. I was projected to live for another 6 months before my kidneys would fail and take me with them. Veganism is not it”, one user wrote on Twitter. 

Downey Jr’s sickly look has earned him the new nickname of “iron deficiency man”, referring to his past role playing Iron Man.