Will Arnett Hit With Cease and Desist From PETA Over Misleading Egg Ads
For Immediate Release:
May 14, 2024
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
“Will, you’ve made a huge mistake.” That’s the message that PETA’s sending Will Arnett since he continues to shell … er, shill, for the egg industry on the podcast SmartLess, which he cohosts with actors Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes. Today, a lawyer for PETA fired off a letter to the Arrested Development star informing him of the cruelty to chickens that’s inherent in the egg industry and calling on him to stop making misleading marketing claims on behalf of Happy Egg Co., a deceptively named “free-range” egg producer.
“There’s nothing ‘happy’ about chickens whose beaks are cut without pain relief or who may only experience fresh air when they’re shipped off to slaughter when their egg production slows,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Arnett to stop shilling for the egg industry and warning consumers to recognize humane-washing claims—because the only humane eggs are vegan.”
PETA points out that chickens on farms marketed as “free-range” are still typically crammed into sheds by the tens of thousands—Happy Egg Co. admits that it keeps 16,000 to 20,000 hens per farm—sometimes with only a square foot of floor space each, making it difficult or impossible for them to reach the hatches that allow them access to the outdoors. A study of such farms revealed that, on average, only 12.5% of hens were ever seen outside, and at some facilities, the number was as low as 3%. Now that avian flu is sweeping through commercial chicken flocks, many facilities are locking their chickens indoors 24/7, but they’re still marketing their eggs as “free-range.”
Happy Egg Co. cuts off parts of hens’ beaks to prevent the stressed birds from mutilating each other or themselves and slaughters them when they no longer produce enough eggs—yet in an ad for the company featured on an episode of the podcast with guests Steve Martin and Martin Short, Arnett propagates its shady assertion that the chickens it uses “live their best hen lives.”
PETA first contacted Arnett last month through a letter from Willamena, a hen the group rescued from an egg factory and named after the actor. PETA is considering taking further legal action if Arnett continues to make misleading claims on behalf of Happy Egg Co.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
