Written by Michelle Kretzer
Pretty, pleasant Pia Toscano bears a striking resemblance to another PETA pal—Lea Michele—and the similarities don't stop at their lovely faces, with voices to match and rhyming monikers. Like Lea, Pia jumped at the chance to use her platform to help stop cruelty to animals.
In her debut single, "This Time," Pia bids a powerful adieu to a bad boyfriend. And she thinks it's time that everyone broke up with two businesses that are bad for animals: the fur industry and circuses.
In an exclusive interview with PETA, Pia expounded, "It was very difficult for me to watch the videos on how fur coats are made and how these animals are brutally beaten and skinned alive. There's no excuse for that." And when talk turned to the circus, she was quick to express her disgust. "I'm a performer, and I make a conscious decision every time I get up on that stage to do what I love, but these animals, they don't have a choice, they don't have a voice, and they are not choosing this lifestyle."
Since animals don't get to choose not to be forced to perform or killed for their fur, as Pia notes, it's up to us to add our voices to the ever-growing chorus of people speaking up for them.
As half of one of the world's cutest on- and off-screen couples, we figured that Lea Michele would have some great ideas for how to spend Valentine's Day. We were right. Lea doesn't want expensive jewelry or a massive bouquet of flowers. Her idea of a lovely evening is laid-back and simple.
"My idea of the perfect romantic Valentine's Day is staying at home, cooking a yummy dinner, and watching a really scary movie," she told us.
Sounds like the real-life Rachel loves simply snuggling up under a blanket with her beloved. But Lea made it clear where we'll never catch her canoodling: in a horse-drawn carriage.
"The one thing I find the least romantic is taking a horse and carriage ride," she said. "I can't express enough how unhappy these horses are and how much pain and suffering they go through each day. Please do not ride [in horse-drawn carriages]. Take a beautiful walk together with your loved ones instead of bringing more pain to these beautiful animals."
Yeah, there are few things less romantic than watching horses breathe exhaust fumes and dodge traffic. Watching your loved one breathe in yummy aromas coming from the oven and dodge a playfully lobbed strawberry, however …
Lady Gaga, a one-time anti-fur advocate and supposed anti-bullying advocate, seems to flip-flop more than a new pair of Havaianas. Now Sharon Osbourne is calling the singer out on it, saying:
[W]hen I saw you wear a dress made out of raw meat, I was sickened. When I see you wearing fur, and using it as a fashion statement, the fact that defenseless animals have been killed so you can get your picture in the press is abhorrent to me. Shouldn't you be teaching your 'little monster' fans to respect animals and life?
Whether the target is people or animals, no one likes a bully. Maybe that's why staunch animal advocates have been scooping up so many awards lately.
At the People's Choice Awards, Glee stars Lea Michele and Chris Colfer claimed Favorite Comedic TV Actress and Actor awards and Jason Mraz was named Favorite Male Artist. Ellen DeGeneres was named Favorite Daytime TV Host, Jared Padalecki's show Supernatural took Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show honors, and Mayim Bialik's The Big Bang Theory was voted Favorite Network TV Comedy. Presenters Olivia Munn and Ian Somerhalder were a huge hit, and host Kaley Cuoco even took a page out of PETA's book and fought back against dog shaming with a little "people shaming" of her own.
Bones' David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel were named TV Guide's Best Actor and Best Actress. Onscreen, the TV couple focus on investigating deaths, but off-screen David and Emily are all about saving animals' lives.
Animal advocate extraordinaire Russell Simmons is being honored with the Visionary Award from the Producers Guild of America for his philanthropy and ethical approach to business. And several stars snagged our nominations for best animal-friendly tweets of the week:
With all the love for animals and the folks who defend them that's been going around this week, guess who got named among the least popular people in America? That'd be the Kardashian family, who ranked lower than Congress, root canals, and traffic jams.
Unlike some members of the Kardashian clan, Lena Dunham prefers her fur attached to its rightful owner. She happily shared photos of her fluffy new rescued dog, Lamby, on Instagram.
It's also a boy for Miley Cyrus, who just added new rescued puppy Bean to her family. Meanwhile, her sister Noah Cyrus was celebrating another milestone. For her 13th birthday, Noah asked her friends to donate $13 toward getting horse-drawn carriages off New York City's streets.
Vocal horse advocate Kathy Najimy put her money where her mouth is, competing on Food Network's Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off to benefit PETA. Of course Kathy, along with competitor and fellow PETA supporter Cornelia Guest, cooked all vegetarian meals.
Perhaps Kathy and Cornelia could swap recipes with Gwyneth Paltrow, who is releasing a new vegetarian-friendly cookbook. Their expertise may even come in handy on the final frontier. One of America's most respected space entrepreneurs, PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, is making plans to establish the first colony on Mars—but no meat-eaters are allowed.
That means that even on Mars we could still enjoy the musical stylings of longtime vegetarian Paul McCartney. And it's a good thing that Elon's shuttles will likely be made without animal skins, because Macca won't ride in a vehicle with leather seats.
To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.
Why can't Kim Kardashian just stick to showing skin instead of wearing it? In one of her furry ensembles, she claimed the top spot on the ultimate list of dishonor: Our buddy Perez Hilton named her "Worst Dressed."
Ke$ha doesn't think that any animals should die young. That's why she's designing her own line of faux-fur clothing and accessories.
Snooki could be Ke$ha's best customer. The guidette was quick to tell her millions of Twitter followers—in her own hilarious way, of course—that she sports only faux fur. No wonder she's one of the stars whose funny animal-friendly tweets always make us titter over Twitter.
While the city of Los Angeles isn't exactly a celebrity, it's certainly full of them. And we're so proud that L.A. became the first major city in the world to embrace and endorse Meatless Monday!
Lea Michele is reportedly helping her boyfriend, Cory Monteith, have Meatless Everydays. When he wanted to drop some weight, Lea helped him embrace vegan foods, and now that Cory is 20 pounds lighter, this former "meat and potatoes" guy is a "quinoa salads and veggie burgers" hunk.
Fellow Glee star Becca Tobin plays a mean girl on the show, but offscreen she's all heart. While shooting her campaign for BullyVille, Becca, in an exclusive, told The PETA Files, "As Kitty on Glee, I do my share of bullying. But bullying in real life—whether towards a human or an animal—is no laughing matter! If you see or hear of someone abusing an animal, tell your local authorities or PETA right away before someone else gets hurt."
Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs is back to putting a hurting on opposing teams, after missing part of the season because of a torn Achilles tendon. We're pumped to be cheering on one of our favorite fur-free players again.
We're also cheering for our friend Jay Sean, who was named Best Male Artist and British Artist of the Decade at the UK Asian Music Awards. We are down, down, down with his music and his support of adopting animals.
LeAnn Rimes is also down with adoption. When a friend of hers rescued a puppy who had been abandoned on a busy road in Los Angeles, LeAnn was smitten and brought the dog home the same day. Her son named the pup Eveie, and LeAnn wrote on her blog, "Eveie has a new home and family and we have a new love!"
Written by Jeff Mackey
Update: After this latest tragic horse-drawn carriage accident, New York native Adrien Brody has thrown his support behind PETA's campaign to get horses off New York City's streets. The Academy Award–winning actor wrote to City Council Speaker Christine Quinn on PETA's behalf urging her to adopt the proposed pilot program to replace the carriages with eco-friendly replicas of classic cars. You can read Adrien's letter here.
Originally posted August 19:
Yet another scary incident involving a horse occurred in Manhattan last week as Oreo, a horse forced to pull carriages around Central Park, panicked at the chaotic automotive traffic at Columbus Circle and fled down Broadway, overturning the carriage, which contained the driver and two passengers. Shocked onlookers—including Soledad O'Brien of CNN—watched as the carriage struck an object, splitting in two. Oreo was finally restrained and tranquilized by the police.
In addition to the public danger that crashes like this pose, as PETA has often pointed out in its campaign to help New York City's horses, it's simply cruel to make horses pull heavy loads on hard pavement in all kinds of weather, dodging loud traffic and inhaling exhaust fumes. Celebrities—including Martina Navratilova, Pink, Kristen Johnston, and Lea Michele—have offered their support for PETA's campaign to get these anguished animals off the mean streets of Gotham.
It's high time for the horse-drawn carriage industry to be put out to pasture permanently. Please join PETA in asking City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to support a bill seeking to replace the carriages with eco-friendly classic cars.
Lea Michele is always helping animals win, and now it's Lea who's scooping up a trophy. At VH1's Do Something Awards, lovely Lea accepted the Do Something Award in the "TV Star: Female" category for her work with PETA and used her acceptance speech to remind the audience not to ride in cruel horse-drawn carriages.
Over on NBC, America's Got Talent judge Howard Stern used his critique of a performer with a cockatoo to speak up for birds used for food. "I recently stopped eating turkey and chicken and all birds and now I know why," he said. "They seem to have some sort of intelligence and I don't want to wreck their lives, so I'm not eating them anymore. I'm not, like, a bird vampire."
The singer who recorded the jingle for Marineland is now raising her voice against the notorious animal abuser. After eight former trainers publicly revealed that the park forced animals to swim in water so filthy that it blinded them and caused pieces of their skin to fall off, Suzie McNeil is trying to have her voice removed from Marineland's commercials and is encouraging people not to go to the park.
Lady Gaga found herself the target of massive backlash from fans, animal advocates, and fellow celebrities when she reneged on her vow not to wear fur and draped herself in the skins of foxes and rabbits. Russell Simmons wrote Lady Gaga a letter asking her to reconsider her support of the fur industry:
Lady Gaga, you are a great artist who has used your celebrity to fight for equality and fairness, so I know you are a compassionate loving human being who would not publicly defend others for their unconscious behavior. LET'S NOT SET OFF A CHAIN REACTION WHERE ARTISTS ACT AS SUPPORT FOR A SOCIETY'S UNCONSCIOUS BEHAVIOR. Let's instead do what artists have done throughout history and be on the side of love and compassion, because that is our natural state.
Olivia Munn, who starred in an anti-fur ad for PETA, tweeted, "When u see FUR, an animal was TORTURED for it. Watch this video & tell me if you think it's 'art'." As Olivia's fur-farm exposé makes clear, there is nothing artistic about skinning animals alive.
A host of other celebrities used their tweets to be sweet to animals:
To keep up with what your favorite celebrities are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.
Did you catch this online video showing a New York City horse-drawn carriage driver who spewed homophobic and racist slurs at some people who were peacefully distributing literature about the cruel carriage industry during NYC's Pride weekend?
Well, PETA pal, tennis legend, and gay icon Martina Navratilova has sent the video footage to NYC City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, also an outspoken gay rights advocate, along with a request on behalf of PETA to pass an initiative that would phase out the use of horse-drawn carriages in the city and allow electric, 1920s-era replica cars to gradually take their place.
As the list of accidents involving horse-drawn carriages grows and horses continue to endure pain and suffering on hot and hostile city streets, PETA has been campaigning to bring attention to the animals' plight. Martina says in her letter:
We share a heightened sense of responsibility in fighting the callous disregard that many have for animal suffering because we have experienced a similar disregard for the cruelty that we ourselves have faced. You are a champion of gay rights; won't you extend your compassion to the city's beleaguered working animals?
If horse-drawn carriage drivers are this abusive toward women, imagine how they treat their horses. Animal abuse and virulent bigotry are hardly appealing to visitors of tourism-dependent NYC.
Please join Martina Navratilova, Lea Michele, Kristen Johnston, and many others in supporting an end to horse-drawn carriages in New York City by urging Speaker Quinn to support the initiative to replace them with eco-friendly classic cars.
Things got rockin' at our "Summer Is No Vacation for Animals on Fur Farms" demonstration in Portland, Maine, when Gavin Rossdale and his son Kingston stopped by:
Gavin thanked the demonstrators for being there and mentioned that he and his fur-free wife, Gwen Stefani, are teaching their children to be kind to animals.
Chad Ochocinco (whose sizzling PETA anti-fur ad might be part of the reason why he's considered "the ultimate catch") tied the knot last weekend with fiancée Evelyn Lozada. So PETA sent the happy couple—what else?—an elegant faux-fur throw from Donna Salyers' Fabulous-Furs.
Fur foe Lea Michele is being recognized for her animal activism. She earned a 2012 Do Something Award nomination for her work with PETA to shut down New York City's cruel horse-drawn carriage industry. Be sure to cast your vote here!
PETA pals are snagging nominations right and left this week. Eva Mendes, Penélope Cruz, Benicio Del Toro, Roselyn Sanchez, Martin Sheen, and Constance Marie are all nominated for 2012 National Council of La Raza ALMA Awards.
And vegetarian wrestler Austin Aries just claimed the title of TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
When 11-time Olympic medal winner Natalie Coughlin heads to London, she'll have some new reading material for the plane. PETA sent the swimmer vegan cookbooks and a vegetarian/vegan starter kit to help her maintain her nearly 100 percent vegetarian diet on the road.
NFL star Arian Foster is hopping on the vegan-athlete bandwagon. His inspiring tweets were some of the best in the Twitterverse this week:
Dominic Monaghan also took to Twitter to defend animals this week, calling the show Swamp People, which glorifies the killing of alligators, "death entertainment" that "continues to demonize reptiles as monsters and animals that are okay to torture and kill." He then vowed, "I'm gonna stop them."
Bob Barker is ready to put a stop to the Calgary Stampede. Everyone's favorite game show host said of the cruel 10-day rodeo festival, in which three horses have already died this year, "I would like very much to see them celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede by saying that is enough animal cruelty. Let's wind it up and close it down."
To keep up with what the stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.
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.
Adorable Aussie Cody Simpson has girls around the globe in full-on swoon as they scramble to grab his new EP, Preview to Paradise, today and catch him on tour with Big Time Rush this summer. But who's really got him good? His dog, Buddy.
Zachcordner.com
In his new campaign for PETA, Cody asks all his fans to take excellent care of their own animals and always speak up anytime they see or suspect animal abuse:
Cody joins a growing list of compassionate stars, including Justin Bieber, Sean Kingston, Jay Sean, Travie McCoy, Lea Michele, Megan Park, and Daniella Monet, who have taken time out of their intensely busy schedules to ask that people never be silent when animals are not being treated with the kindness and respect that they deserve.
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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