Bella Thorne Stars in Edgy New PETA Ad for ‘Boycott SeaWorld’ Day

Actor, Who Filmed Commercial for the Abusement Park as a Child, Urges Company to Release Orcas Into Seaside Sanctuaries

For Immediate Release:
July 23, 2018

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Just ahead of “Boycott SeaWorld” Day on July 24, Famous in Love actor Bella Thorne appears as half-human, half–suffering orca in a powerful and provocative new PETA campaign shot by top celebrity photographer Brian Bowen Smith that proclaims, “Break the Chains: Boycott SeaWorld.”

In an accompanying video spot, the singer explains that she shot a promo for SeaWorld when she was younger but now regrets supporting the abusement park, where seven marine mammals died last year alone: “When I was a little girl, I did a commercial for SeaWorld, and even then, I knew there wasn’t something right. … These beautiful animals are in so much pain. They’re taken away from their community, their homes, their mothers, and they don’t have a choice. They’re locked in there.”

And she urges fans to speak up and take action on Tuesday, adding, “F**k SeaWorld! … Don’t be afraid to show up with your signs and make your point.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—notes that in the wild, orcas form complex relationships, work cooperatively to find food, and travel up to 140 miles in the ocean every day. But those at SeaWorld are housed in incompatible groups inside tiny tanks, and some are even given the drug diazepam in order to manage their stress-induced aggressive behavior. So far, 41 orcas have died on SeaWorld’s watch.

Thorne joins a long list of celebrities—including Noah Cyrus, Jhené Aiko, Steve Aoki, Madelaine Petsch, Kesha, and P!nk—who’ve teamed up with PETA to promote kindness toward animals.

The ad was conceptualized and produced by creative director Nim Shapira and Photoshop artist Shine Horovits. For more information, please visit PETA.org or SeaWorldOfHurt.com.