PETA and Pete Davidson are in an increasingly bizarre publicity battle
In response to a viral voicemail TMZ leaked where Pete Davidson cusses out PETA, a new billboard in New York City praises Davidson's "BDE"
Aux News PETA
Pete Davidson, continuing to prove his aptitude at collecting viral feuds like infinity stones, has taken on a new opponent: PETA. After TMZ leaked a voicemail wherein Davidson cussed out the organization for publicly decrying his decision to purchase a new puppy, a billboard is set to go up in Times Square today defending Davidson and opining that PETA “can’t handle Pete’s B.D.E.” (In this case, “B.D.E.” stands for “Buy Dog Energy.”) Any kind of PETA feud may seem like a relic of publicity trends past, but with the air in New York City barely breathable, perhaps it’s time to dip back into the comforting classics.
PETA initially criticized Davidson earlier this month, after TMZ shared footage of Davidson and his girlfriend, actor Chase Sui Wonders, purchasing a new dog on June 1. In a statement to TMZ, Senior VP of Investigations Daphna Nachminovitch urged Davidson to “show some big heart energy by adopting, not shopping, in the future,” calling the actor’s decision to go to a pet store over a shelter “tragic.”
Responding to the statement, Davidson left a scathing, profanity-heavy voicemail for Nachminovitch, where he told her to do her research before talking to the media, calling her statement “uneducated” and “premature.” Davidson later clarified that he’s allergic to dogs, and was purchasing the pet for his mother, who recently said goodbye to the Davidson’s family dog Henry; he says that he didn’t know he could “adopt a specific hypoallergenic dog.”
“This organization made a public example of us, making our grieving situation worse,” Davidson told E! News yesterday. “I am upset. It was a poor choice of words. I shouldn’t have said what I said, but I am not sorry for standing up for myself and my family.”
Not deterred from its cause by Davidson’s mournful story, PETA released yet another statement to TMZ, arguing: “If Pete had done his research, he would know that there’s no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog, that at least a quarter of dogs in shelters are purebreds, and that Petfinder has listings for homeless dogs of every breed under the sun, including the one he purchased.”
Why does any of this matter? It doesn’t, really: but as middling reviews of Davidson’s new semi-autobiographical series Bupkis roll in somewhat covertly, it may not have to. What’s that classic saying: if it’s an NSFW angry voicemail PETA responds to with a statement about hypo-allergenic breeds, it leads?
48 Comments
absolutely nothing about this is bizarre at all
Pete Davidson’s presence and/or involvement is enough to make any scenario “bizarre”.
He’s got that Bizarre Davidson Effect.
I’m definitely on the “adopt, don’t shop” side of things and have a neutral-at-best view of Davidson. But fuck PETA. They’re a disgrace to the animal rights movement and I hate that they are its most prominent face.
Well, they’re it’s loudest. They constantly make sure of that.
Yeah I am torn here because I agree with what they said here but PETA In general sucks hard.
They are the PETA of animal rights.
Don’t you mean “Britta”?
I get it, but…..are we just saying the dogs in pet stores can fuck off?They don’t get to have homes?
Literally no one said that. Don’t be weird.
I agree. PETA’s an activist group, not judges. They have no right to call out someone for adopting a pet that they deem unworthy. Davidson has done a lot of idiotic stuff in his life, but in this case he’s absolutely right.My family has typically adopted rescues. There have been some exceptions—one of my daughters wanted a puppy of a specific breed so she went to a trusted breeder (read NOT A PUPPY MILL). My only beef with breeders is there are too many out there who only breed animals for profit and don’t care about their welfare. I don’t see an issue when the breeder is responsible. If someone wants a specific breed, finding a trusted breeder is the first step. I lived in Southeast Virginia for a couple of decades—PETA is headquartered in Norfolk. The locals pretty much treat the outfit as a joke. The organization often oversteps its bounds. There are numerous incidents of PETA activists rounding up people’s pets because they deem they aren’t treating them to PETA’s standards. In one instance, they took a family’s dog off their porch because they thought it was unattended, then euthanized it. Lawsuits and criminal charges ensued.
People would respect PETA more if they focussed on real issues of animal abuse and environmental collapse instead of treating every single practice they disagree with as morally equivalent. PETA doesn’t even believe in pets anyway.
So I am confused by this stance and it may be PETAs new image but in the past the organization has been actively against pet ownership at all and ran kill shelters to eliminate adoptable pets.
What nonsense. PETA euthanized dogs that could not be adopted, ie they were mercy killings.People don’t appreciate that half of what they think is true about PETA is actually anti-PETA false propaganda pushed by the meat industry. Right now you’re repeating meat industry fake news, just saying.
Yes! I didn’t imagine that, right?? I did a quick search before commenting and it was stuff from them saying they aren’t against “companion animals” but I thought I remembered them being extremely anti-pet.
I think the issue is we think of PETA is one big giant organization with one specific goal but I suspect that there are a lot of factions and different chapters and parts of the organization have different people running it. I think most are probably not great people but I think there are some extreme zealots among them. People who believe pet ownership is slavery and that animals need to be free and not interact with people at all and would rather see a dog dead then in a loving home. The thing is that humans and dogs have been living together for 30,000 years. I feel like claiming its unnatural or cruel is silly.
“I think the issue is we think of PETA is one big giant organization with one specific goal but I suspect that there are a lot of factions and different chapters and parts of the organization have different people running it.”-The GOP-
PETA is run by insane people and can kindly
You’re hostile toward people who promote animal rights? Why? Must hit at some point of self-doubt for you, huh?
Had a friend adopt through a service that guaranteed it would find them a non-shedding purebred dog from the shelter system. Got them a little puppy it said was a labradoodle. That thing started shedding everywhere and eventually grew to 120 pounds. They ran a DNA test and it came back like 80% Great Pyrenees
adopt pets who need homes.
So he’s got BDE with his THC? Hope it can be contained by his BVDs.
What is a viral feud?
What is an infinity stone?
When did what was it stop being it? And when did it become things I can’t understand?
So he bought a dog. He’s feeding, it, right? Taking care of it? I don’t see anything about maiming it or eating it, so… probably he’s an okay pet owner.That’s right, I said “owner”. Come at me, PETA….I’ve gotten my dogs from shelters, and in one case on the street (an abandoned stray). I do understand the objection to pet-store-buying, but Davidson made it clear he wanted a particular type of dog, wasn’t aware you could get a hypoallergenic dog from a shelter. You can, I did – but it took months of searching and Davidson wanted his dog right away.Look, the guy spend 200k+ on a ferry boat, I bet he’ll treat the dog pretty well.
Personally by biggest complaint is that he is spreading the lie of the “hypoallergenic” dog. The whole hybrid poodle thing is a marketing gimmick. The fact is some dogs produce less allergens then others and some breeds are more likely to then other but no one has successful found a breed mix that has continently produced that result.
I mean “hypo” literally means “below normal”, so a breed that tends to produce a below-normal level of allergens is the exact definition of “hypoallergenic”
True, but I think people believe that it means that their dog doesn’t produce any. Which is a problem that actually leads to a lot of these hypoallergenic dogs ending up in shelters and foster care. People adopt it because they are allegeric, find out that they are more sensitive to it(or that the dog just isn’t hypoallergenic) and then end up giving it to a shelter.
‘i said it was hypo not zero GAWD’
“Personally by biggest complaint is that he is spreading the lie of the “hypoallergenic” dog.”
Then you seriously need to re-prioritize, for fuck’s sake.
I was in NYC over the long weekend and visited the Pet Shop Pete got the dog from. they do a great jb there and im the same, adopt don’t shop but that doesn’t mean every pet shop is bad..and plus this is their manager there, reason why I had to make a stop:
I would definitely not trust a dog store ran by a cat
Why? You think it’s a front for a mafia dogfighting ring?And now you get to testify under oath. =)
I feel like a lot of folks here might could benefit from spending some time in the PETA section of Snopes.
https://www.snopes.com/search/peta/
N’thanks.
“PETA and Pete Davidson are in an increasingly bizarre publicity battle”
And now he’s an article about something that was done by neither PETA nor Pete.
PETA is the liberal version of the Westboro Baptist Church or the Mormons who baptize those killed in the Holocaust.
1 – I don’t track it closely but I feel like Davidson’s feuds happen to him rather than him proactively collecting them. I don’t think he’s out there picking fights and starting shit. Maybe Crenshaw, who lets be honest, deserved it. Usually when 10 people call you an asshole you’re probably an asshole but dude seems like an innocent drama magnet. 2- My understanding is hypoallergenic is a real thing. I know just about all dogs, even hypoallergenic breeds, are producing some allergens. But… yea, some produce significantly more/less than others and some folks may be more/less susceptible to certain breeds. Is that junk science?
1 – I don’t track it closely but I feel like Davidson’s feuds happen to him rather than him proactively collecting them. I don’t think he’s out there picking fights and starting shit. Maybe Crenshaw, who lets be honest, deserved it. Usually when 10 people call you an asshole you’re probably an asshole but dude seems like an innocent drama magnet. 2- My understanding is hypoallergenic is a real thing. I know just about all dogs, even hypoallergenic breeds, are producing some allergens. But… yea, some produce significantly more/less than others and some folks may be more/less susceptible to certain breeds. Is that junk science?
Peta kills more animals than they save.
PeopleEatingTastyAnimals
Phantom Zone
Escapee
Trying
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Poorly-designed comment-hosting service; home to an
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Cool! Did you come up with that?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, PETA definitely sucks. But this goofy stringbean lost his shit over nothing. Made a public example of him? So what? All they said was that he should have adopted. Didn’t call him a monster. Didn’t attack his family. As if they should have somehow known his family recently lost a pet?Targeting a celebrity is exactly how you draw attention to an issue. In terms of an organization calling out a celebrity for a behavior, this is a pile of nothing and his response was wildly out of proportion. PETA is well known for some awful takes and shady actions, but their conduct in this particular case was pretty mild. Adopt don’t shop, essentially. Wow, what a brutal attack. lol.
Wow not one mention of PETAs deplorable practices? i really hope someone get fired for that blunder
What, was PETA pissed that they had extra space in a dog crematorium, or…?
Any time I hear anything from the PETA people I think of the sketch in Portlandia where they lose their minds about a dog leashed to a light pole but walk right past a baby in the same situation.
I wish the adoption situation was better, but it’s horrible, at least in the South. Every dog at the shelter or Humane Society is a pit mix. While these dogs need and deserve love, a pit mix is not the best prospect for the majority of owners, especially families with children. They can be great pets, sure, but an adult pit with an unknown history isn’t for the inexperienced dog owner.As for Petfinder…it has created a needless middle-market of organizations that snap up purebred dogs for adoption and then gatekeep by putting applicants through an absurd vetting process before being allowed to pay an outsized adoption fee, although most applicants aren’t allowed. My dad’s 14 year old Collie recently died, and he applied to adopt a Sheltie. He has a lab mix and a big yard in a very rural area with a decently-sized fenced-in section. He clearly had the experience for taking care of a herding dog; he’d even had a Sheltie that went with him on the shrimp boat before I was born. He loves these dogs. His application was denied, and he found a breeder with a Border Collie/Australian Shepherd mix and went that route. Meanwhile, my family is a Miniature Schnauzer family; if you love Schnauzers (or even can’t stand them). We lost our last dog in January 2020, right before the pandemic began. This year, we decided to get another. We combed Petfinder for the breed, or even for mixes, that were at actual shelters. We found a few mixes, pretty far away, that needed end-of-life care. It was disheartening. PETA can shove off with this nonsense. Pet stores suck, but the current adoption situation in some areas is bleak.
Whatever your thoughts on buying vs. adopting, breeders, etc., can we all agree on “fuck PETA”? They’re bunch of extremist trolls who kill animals because they think the “slavery” of pet ownership is worse than death itself.