Bradley Cooper, Natalie Portman, and ‘Black Panther’ Win PETA ‘Oscat’ Awards

Group Recognizes the Most Animal-Friendly Stars and Films of 2018

For Immediate Release:
February 12, 2019

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

At the height of the awards season, PETA’s Animals in Film and Television Division is announcing the winners of its Oscats, awards that honor the movies and stars who promoted kindness to animals through positive actions, story lines, and the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) during the previous year.

Bradley Cooper nabbed PETA’s Best Director Oscat for his enlightened decision to cast his own canine companion in A Star Is Born, rather than using one supplied by a notorious animal exhibitor. Best Actor went to Winston Duke for his punchy one-liners as vegetarian tribe leader M’Baku in Black Panther, a PETA favorite that won The Cat’s Meow award for its CGI panthers and rhinos. Meanwhile, longtime animal rights proponent Natalie Portman won Best Actress for her all-vegan wardrobe in Vox Lux.

Annihilation won Best Stunt Team for its all-vegan crew, and Tully was named Birds’ Pick for its educational anti–factory farming moments. The award for Best SeaWorld Side-Eye was a tie between Love, Simon—which describes the way animals live at the abusement park as “really sad”—and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which takes a strong anti-captivity stance.

“PETA’s Oscats show that fur and leather are dead, SeaWorld is considered the pits, vegan eating is exploding, and CGI is the future of film,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “PETA is thrilled to recognize the people and projects behind Hollywood’s most significant animal rights advances of the year.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—also awarded Oscats to Isle of Dogs, which won Best Animated Film for its creatively rendered, cruelty-free imagery, and Free Solo and Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, which tied for Best Documentary for highlighting notable vegetarians. The In Memoriam award was dedicated to Stan Lee for creating characters who inspired a generation of fans to act with compassion and stand up against injustice. The winners will each receive a beautiful framed certificate, and the full list is available here.

Note: “Oscar,” “Oscars,” “Academy Award,” and “Academy Awards” are registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which isn’t affiliated or associated with PETA, nor does it endorse, sponsor, or otherwise approve of PETA’s Oscats.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.