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At first glance, PETA would appear to have a pretty admirable mission, as I think the average person would agree that championing the “ethical treatment” of animals is a pretty worthwhile cause—at least in theory.
However, as you likely know, the organization hasn’t really done itself a ton of favors when it comes to garnering the sympathy of the general public.
PETA has received plenty of heat for allegedly betraying its own mission at a shelter it operates in Virginia, but that pales in comparison to the criticism and mockery it’s received for the steady stream of fairly shameless publicity stunts it’s long relied on to make headlines.
That includes a push to refer to pets as “companions” in an apparent attempt to defend the feelings of animals that don’t understand the English language, lobbying baseball teams to abandon the term “bullpen,” and using Steve Irwin’s birthday as an excuse to criticize the deceased icon.
PETA also has a long and storied tradition of accusing celebrities of betraying its philosophy, and earlier this week, Pete Davidson found himself in the organization’s crosshairs after he drew its ire after he and his current girlfriend Chase Sui Wonders purchased a new puppy at a pet store in New York City instead of rescuing a dog at a shelter.
According to TMZ, the former Saturday Night Live star did not take kindly to their feedback, as he called PETA and left a strongly-worded voicemail where he responded by saying:
“I just wanna let you know I’m severely allergic to dogs, so I have to get a specific breed. I’m only not allergic to cavapoos and those type of dogs…
F*** you and s*** my d***.”
The outlet reports Davidson apologized for his choice of language but that he took issue with PETA opting to target him and his family following the recent death of another dog that led to the decision to get a new one, saying, “I am not sorry for standing up for myself and my family.”