Lecrae and Colton Dixon Called On to Skip SeaWorld Show

For Immediate Release:
February 5, 2015

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Lecrae and Colton Dixon have agreed to play Praise Wave, SeaWorld’s music festival targeting the Christian community—and members of Jesus People for Animals, PETA’s Christian outreach division, are rallying to call on the musicians to cancel the planned performances, noting that SeaWorld has become synonymous with cruelty to animals.

“SeaWorld separates young orcas from their mothers and sentences them to a lifetime of swimming in circles in tiny concrete tanks—acts that most Christians would agree defy the Bible’s message of mercy and kindness,” says PETA Director of Christian Outreach and Engagement Sarah Withrow King. “PETA’s motto reads, in part, that ‘animals are not ours to use for entertainment,’ and we’re calling on Lecrae and Colton Dixon to follow the examples of singers Martina McBride, Willie Nelson, Trace Adkins, and many others and cancel their planned SeaWorld performances.”

“I don’t agree with the way they treat their animals,” Nelson explained when he canceled his planned appearance at last year’s Bands, Brew & BBQ event at SeaWorld.

Other musicians who have pulled out of SeaWorld performances include The Beach Boys, Cheap Trick, Pat Benatar, and 38 Special, among others. These acts canceled after hearing from their fans that orcas at SeaWorld suffer physically and psychologically from the stress and deprivation of captivity, as revealed in the critically acclaimed documentary Blackfish. At least 25 orcas have died in U.S. SeaWorld facilities since 1986—and not one died of old age.

For more information, please visit JesusPeopleForAnimals.com.