Written by Michelle Kretzer
Tonight on The Real Housewives of Orange County, viewers will see Vicki Gunvalson in fur for the last time. When she received a mink coat as a gift on last week's episode, PETA immediately sent her our video exposé of the fur industry narrated by none other than fashion guru Tim Gunn.
As soon as she saw that her coat was made of animals who had been beaten, electrocuted, or skinned alive, Gunvalson refused to wear fur again. In a statement to Bravo TV's The Dish, Gunvalson revealed:
The world has changed and I must change as well. Fur, while it was never something I needed or specifically wanted, it was in my mindset as something glamorous and a sign of success for a woman. That is no longer the case. When PETA sent me video footage of investigations on fur farms, I was horrified by the cruelty involved. These animals endure terrible pain and this cruelty is something I do not want to ever be a part of. After seeing what happens in this industry, I have chosen to partner with PETA to raise awareness and will not wear fur in the future.
The world has changed and I must change as well. Fur, while it was never something I needed or specifically wanted, it was in my mindset as something glamorous and a sign of success for a woman. That is no longer the case.
When PETA sent me video footage of investigations on fur farms, I was horrified by the cruelty involved. These animals endure terrible pain and this cruelty is something I do not want to ever be a part of. After seeing what happens in this industry, I have chosen to partner with PETA to raise awareness and will not wear fur in the future.
Gunvalson joins a growing list of celebrities, including Sharon Osbourne, Bethenny Frankel, Lea Michele, Eva Mendes, Olivia Munn, Joanna Krupa, and others, who publicly shun fur.
Gunvalson asks any Real Housewives fans who are still harboring fur in their closets to join her in donating it to PETA.
Written by PETA
"Skinnygirl" Bethenny Frankel might be calling us for tips—she is raising baby Bryn on a healthy vegetarian diet.
Award-winning singer Leona Lewis is also a champ for seals. The longtime vegetarian and fur foe is calling for an end to the seal slaughter in Namibia. But one place that fur was welcome—and, in fact, required—was at a dog fashion show hosted by Kevin Nealon, which raised money for spay-and-neuter clinics.
Many stars have been letting their fingers do the talking, sending pro-animal messages to their millions of Twitter followers:
American Idol veteran Jordin Sparks and her four dogs would probably have enjoyed the show—Sparks makes sure that they get plenty of quality time together. The dogs travel right alongside her on her tour bus, and (get your "Awww!" ready) she says that she strives to be a better person because of them.
Is Elle Fanning thinking about becoming an animal parent too? The Super 8 star was spotted in Santa Monica looking at cats who were up for adoption.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Whatever Milwaukee is brewing, we want some of it. We were already rooting for the Brewers because of veggie royalty Prince Fielder, and now we learn that vivacious outfielder Nyjer Morgan, with whom Fielder shares this week's Sports Illustrated cover, attributes his out-of-the-ballpark energy and .306 batting average to his healthy vegetarian diet.
Could Roseanne Barr be the next star to "do a Clinton" and convert to a vegan diet? Extolling the virtues of faux meat and tweeting at McDonald's to stop abusing chickens sounds like a great start.
Eli Roth is such a talented tweeter for animals that we gave him his own web feature. (Wait 'til you see what he says about Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons. #hilarious.)
Fellow animal-friendly tweeters Pink and Tommy Lee took to Twitter to express their outrage over Indiana's barbaric "snapperfest." And Indiana native Bree Olson was so determined to stop the turtle torture that the Green Goddess posted the local sheriff's department's contact info on her website and asked people to call and complain.
Not to be out-tweeted, Glee star Lea Michele opined about her dream of retiring all the horses who are forced to spend long, hot days hauling around carriages full of tourists in her native New York City.
The next time she visits New York, Lea may spot Whoopi Goldberg out buying toy and treats for the lucky kitten she adopted after he was tossed from a moving car. Adopting instead of buying is catching on across the pond, too, if we can judge by Camilla Parker Bowles and her new rescued pup, Beth. We think dedicated dog guardian Michael Vartan, who stars in this weekend's highly anticipated thriller Colombiana, as well as a new PETA ad, would approve.
While Michael steams up the big screen, fellow PETA pal Bethenny Frankel will be taking over the small one with her new talk show. Will she get naked for animals again? Stay tuned.
To stay up to date on all celebrity/animal happenings, follow PETA on Twitter.
"These animals are kept in stables that are too small, often they're cold, they work long hours and they don't have time off. … There was a horse about three months ago that got his foot caught on a parking meter and had to be destroyed—it's awful. You know, it looks nice when you go to the park and see a horse-drawn carriage, but unless there is some way to care for these horses properly, and it doesn't appear that there is, I think we should ban it completely." —New York Governor David Paterson
"These animals are kept in stables that are too small, often they're cold, they work long hours and they don't have time off. … There was a horse about three months ago that got his foot caught on a parking meter and had to be destroyed—it's awful. You know, it looks nice when you go to the park and see a horse-drawn carriage, but unless there is some way to care for these horses properly, and it doesn't appear that there is, I think we should ban it completely."
—New York Governor David Paterson
In the wise words of Alicia Keys, "Let's hear it for New York!" With this gubernatorial compassion and Bethenny Frankel's scorching new ad, I've never been more proud to be a New Yorker—or more inspired tell all my friends in NYC to contact their councilmembers.
Written by Logan Scherer
Yesterday, we asked you to guess which quip-firing, sass-making, cruelty-free-baking, real scorcher was the star of our newest "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad. Today we're thrilled to unveil Bethenny Frankel's stunning new ad. Check out these scenes from the queen of the Big Apple's photo shoot:
Frankel used to wear fur, but then she saw a skinned animal on display at a demonstration outside a cocktail party. After being exposed to images of animals who are anally electrocuted or have their necks broken before their skin is peeled from their bodies, Bethenny ditched fur forever. As one of the classiest and kindest people on reality television, the story behind her decision to go fur-free is sure to inspire others to make the same easy and humane pledge.
We told you that Bethenny Frankel was going to prove that she'd rather go naked than wear fur … and yesterday, we made it a reality.
The Real Housewives of New York City star stripped down on a rooftop in (surprise!) New York City.
The ad isn't ready yet, of course, but we couldn't resist giving you a small preview:
We worked with a top-notch team on this campaign, including celebrity photographer Joseph Cultice at Weiss Artists, stylist Cannon at Judy Casey, makeup artist extraordinaire Ingeborg at Workgroup, and fantastic hairstylist Stacey Weinstein at Loft 26.
The ad will be released this fall, so stay tuned!
Written by Amanda Schinke
When I was in college, Bravo was one of the only channels I watched in my NYC apartment. I spent hours glued to Project Runway marathons, but the most addictive show was always The Real Housewives of New York City. The housewives were full of can't-turn-away drama, and I secretly hoped to catch one of them casually walking down my street.
While I'm no longer in NYC, I'll still be getting the chance to see a housewife in the flesh (and nothing else) very soon. Bethenny Frankel has agreed to pose for PETA's newest "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad on the roof of one of New York's iconic skyscrapers.
Bethenny—queen of sass, class, and vegan cookies (that’s right, she bakes vegan!)—will follow in the footsteps of Khloe Kardashian, Pamela Anderson, and Christina Applegate and bare some skin to draw attention to the suffering of animals who are killed for theirs.
Look out for the ad this fall. In the meantime, why not help Bethenny spread the word by wearing one of our popular "Mean People Wear Fur" T-shirts?
Written by Lianne Turner
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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