‘Too Graphic’ for NOLA: Dawn Richard’s PETA Ad Banned in Hometown
Native R&B Superstar’s Skin Is ‘Torn Off’ for Anti-Leather Fall Fashion Campaign
For Immediate Release:
October 16, 2017
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
Just in time for the fall shopping season, native R&B superstar and former Danity Kane singer Dawn Richard bares it all for a new PETA ad that shows someone “tearing off” her skin next to the words “Leather Is a Rip-Off. That Leather Jacket or Upholstery Was Someone’s Skin.”
PETA tried to run the ad (shot by top celebrity photographer Brian Bowen Smith) in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Richard’s hometown of New Orleans—but it was rejected, with advertising companies telling PETA, “It is the graphic photo! If you had a different image it may work,” and “It [is] due to the skin being ripped off the woman.”
“Anyone shocked by Dawn Richard’s PETA campaign should take a closer look at what they’re wearing,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “When every single leather boot or jacket is made from skin torn from someone else’s body, the only ethical choice is to wear vegan.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—notes that cows killed for leather endure castration, tail-docking, and dehorning without painkillers. At slaughterhouses, they are dismembered and may be skinned alive. A recent PETA exposé of the world’s largest leather processor showed workers branding calves on the face and electroshocking and beating cows and bulls. Animal agriculture and leather—one of its most valuable co-products—are also top producers of the greenhouse-gas emissions that contribute to climate change.
There are cruelty-free fashion options for every budget, from bargain-priced vegan leather shoes at Zara to posh handbags by Stella McCartney. See PETA’s vegan-friendly fashion rankings here.
Dawn Richard is part of a growing list of celebrities—including Jhené Aiko, Penélope Cruz, Taraji P. Henson, Nia Long, Eva Mendes, P!nk, and Alicia Silverstone—who have bared it all to help PETA promote kinder wardrobe choices.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
