Backlash Over Rihanna’s Fur Jacket at Show Prompts Faux Fur Gift From PETA

For Immediate Release:
May 15, 2017

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Rihanna fans have flooded social media with complaints over the fur jacket that the singer wore to a recent Dior show, and PETA has heard the SOS and rushed her a special gift: a gorgeous faux-fur coat that will take all the work out of achieving a stylish, cruelty-free look.

In an accompanying letter, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—encourages her to retire her animal pelts and consider donating them to PETA, which sends unwanted furs to homeless shelters and refugee camps.

PETA’s letter to Rihanna appears below. For more information, please visit PETA.org.

Dear Rihanna,

We saw the numerous comments from fans who were disappointed to see you wearing fur at the Dior event last week. Like us, they wish you would please retire your furs and instead choose a look that kills but doesn’t actually kill anyone.

Please accept this faux fur as a gift from PETA. In addition, we’d like to request that you please consider donating your furs to us. Every fur item causes a tremendous amount of pain and suffering to the foxes, minks, and coyotes who are beaten, electrocuted, gassed, and often skinned alive by the fur industry—and fur production takes a toll on humans as well. In the U.S. alone, fur farms are directly responsible for nearly 1,000 tons of phosphorous entering our rivers and streams each year, not to mention the toxic soup of chemicals used to keep animal skins from decomposing, which are hazardous to workers and the surrounding environment.

Your donated furs would go to good use: In the past, we’ve sent furs to Syrian refugees and to homeless shelters, which has an impact on “as many lives as possible in a positive way,” as you said so eloquently in your Harvard Humanitarian Award acceptance speech.

Warm regards,

Andrew Bernstein

PETA