The Heat Is on Gordon Ramsay After SeaWorld Promotion

As Theme Park’s Profits Tank, PETA Calls On Chef Not to Tie Himself to SeaWorld’s ‘Sinking Ship’

For Immediate Release:
November 6, 2014

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Last night’s Hell’s Kitchen episode sent a winning team on a trip to SeaWorld San Diego—and PETA is calling on Gordon Ramsay to make sure that the show never partners with the notorious theme park again. In a letter sent to the chef today, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that SeaWorld’s profits have dropped ever since the documentary Blackfish exposed how animals suffer in SeaWorld’s barren concrete tanks, leading many companies to sever ties with the park.

“Even Taco Bell has distanced itself from the park,” writes PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Do you want a fast-food eatery to be more avant-garde than the Hell’s Kitchen team? Please, for Hell’s Kitchen‘s sake—and the sake of the animals who suffer every day at SeaWorld—don’t tie yourself to SeaWorld’s sinking ship.”

For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com.

PETA’s letter to Gordon Ramsay follows.

November 6, 2014

Dear Mr. Ramsay,

I am writing today on behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters regarding last night’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen, in which a winning team received a trip to SeaWorld San Diego. With all due respect, partnering with a public-relations disaster such as SeaWorld is a losing proposition. Please consider the following information about SeaWorld’s tanking reputation and make the kind—and business-savvy—decision never to partner with this notorious theme park again.

The pressure of a commercial kitchen has nothing on the constant stress and deprivation that orcas endure in SeaWorld’s barren concrete tanks—and ever since the 2013 documentary Blackfish exposed how the animals at SeaWorld are denied everything that is natural and important to them, SeaWorld has felt the heat. In a recent earnings call, during which SeaWorld announced that it had missed estimates on both the top and bottom lines, the company’s CEO openly admitted for the first time that Blackfish and its subsequent “media attention” have negatively affected park attendance, its popularity, and public opinion. The following day, SeaWorld’s shares hit an all-time low, and its credit rating was downgraded to junk status.

Now that the public knows SeaWorld’s shameful secrets—such as the 44 orcas and dozens of other dolphins who have died at SeaWorld parks from causes such as severe trauma, intestinal gangrene, and chronic cardiovascular failure—no kind person or reasonable business wants anything to do with this park. STA Travel, Southwest Airlines (which was a partner of SeaWorld’s for more than a quarter century), and Virgin America have severed ties with the park. The Los Angeles Times and other publications have condemned it, and nearly a dozen musicians pulled out of gigs at the park this past summer. Even Taco Bell has distanced itself from the park. Do you want a fast-food eatery to be more avant-garde than the Hell’s Kitchen team?

Please, for Hell’s Kitchen‘s sake—and the sake of the animals who suffer every day at SeaWorld—don’t tie yourself to SeaWorld’s sinking ship. May I please hear from you that you will decline the next time that SeaWorld asks you for some free publicity?

Thank you very much for your time and attention. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President