Cloris Leachman Gets Candid—And Sassy—In New PETA Pro-Vegetarian Holiday Ad

Film and TV Icon’s Advice: Leave Turkeys and Other Animals off the Table

For Immediate Release:
December 19, 2018

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

As families prepare their holiday menus, Oscar winner Cloris Leachman cuddles up to a rescued turkey named Frank in a brand-new ad for PETA that proclaims, “Give Thanks and Go Vegetarian.” Now, she’s challenging everyone to join her: “Step out of your dark shadow. Be a little progressive. If you wouldn’t eat a dog, why would you want to eat a turkey?”

In an exclusive video interview with PETA, Leachman—who’s been acting for more than 70 years—credits her longevity to meat-free eating. “You can discover it for yourself, but I’m ninety-f***ing-two and I’m coming on ninety-f***ing-three, and I haven’t eaten meat for a long, long time,” she says. “There’s no reason to eat animals. When you’re eating one, you think, Ew, I’m eating [someone who] just lost his life to me.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat “—notes that in addition to sparing many animals every year immense suffering on factory farms and the decks of fishing boats, going vegetarian lowers a person’s risk of suffering from heart disease, cancer, and obesity. It also drastically reduces one’s carbon footprint.

Leachman is a longtime PETA supporter whose previous campaigns include a “Let Vegetarianism Grow on You” ad in which she wore a cabbage gown. She’s part of a long list of celebrities—including Bob Barker, Joaquin Phoenix, Paul McCartney, Forest Whitaker, James Cromwell, Joan Jett, and many others—who’ve teamed up with PETA to promote healthy, humane, meat-free eating.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.