Lily Tomlin’s ‘Ernestine’ Debuts On San Antonio Television in Anti-SeaWorld Ad

PETA Spot on Comedy Central Urges Tourists to Stay Away From Cruel Marine Park This Summer

For Immediate Release:
June 6, 2016

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As tourist season gets underway in San Antonio, Lily Tomlin is making a splash on Comedy Central with her new, never-before-aired PETA ad (available here) in which her iconic “Ernestine” character fields complaint calls at SeaWorld, “where everybody has a whale of a time—except for the whales.”

The new PETA ad—which debuts in advance of SeaWorld’s “Summer Nights” events—will air Monday through Friday this week from 8 to 11 p.m. during The Daily Show, South Park, Tosh.0, and other prime-time programs.

“Yes, the orcas lose teeth gnawing on the concrete walls,” admits Ernestine in the spot, scripted by Modern Family writer Alex Herschlag. “But if you were a trainer, wouldn’t you prefer to swim with a toothless killer whale?”

Though SeaWorld recently stopped breeding orcas as a result of public pressure, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—is calling on the park to release the 29 orcas and hundreds of other animals still trapped in SeaWorld’s and its partners’ tanks to seaside sanctuaries where the animals could feel the ocean currents, hear other orcas in the sea, and enjoy some semblance of a natural life.

In addition to appearing in PETA’s spot on Comedy Central, Tomlin—who was nominated for two Golden Globes this year—can currently be seen in the new season of her hit Netflix series, Grace and Frankie.

For more information, please visit SeaWorldOfHurt.com or click here.