Tommy Lee: Shamu Rocks? SeaWorld Sucks!

Published August 10, 2012 by PETA Staff. Last Updated August 20, 2024.

2 min read

Tommy Lee might be one of the “bad boys of rock,” but he’s always good to animals. While on tour in Southern California, the upside-down drummer flipped right side up to tell SeaWorld San Diego that it wasn’t welcome to use his music at its “Shamu Rocks” shows. During these shows, sound-sensitive captive orcas are forced to perform while rock music blasts through the tank and lights flash all around them.

In a letter penned on PETA’s behalf to SeaWorld San Diego President John T. Reilly, Tommy wrote:

Although we like to torture the human fans who willingly come to our shows, we don’t want to be a part of making innocent animals’ lives hellish. I’ve learned from my friends at PETA that these marine animals are very sensitive to sound, as they communicate by sonar, and loud noises mess with their most basic instincts and drive them more nuts than they already are when trapped in your tanks.

Tommy noted that while all of SeaWorld’s captive animals should be released to sanctuaries, the least the park can do is spare orcas from being forced to perform while loud music terrifies and confuses them. To find out more about how orcas suffer in the tanks at SeaWorld, check out David Kirby’s new book Death at SeaWorld.

Collapsed dorsal fins are rarely seen in the wild, and when they do occur in the wild, it’s usually only in orcas who are injured or ill.
Olivier Bruchez|cc by 2.0

You don’t have to be a rock star to be a rock star for animals. Tell Reilly to stop tormenting orcas and cancel the “Shamu Rocks” shows.