Written by Michelle Sherrow
How do you like to celebrate your birthday? How 'bout rockin' out and helping animals? That's what birthday boy Morrissey did: When his vegan tour stopped in San Diego, SeaWorld's hometown, on May 22, the longtime animal advocate gave all of his bandmates PETA's "SeaWorld Sucks" T-shirts to wear onstage.
Joe Scarnici/FilmMagic
Any SeaWorld folks who were in the audience should have ducked their heads if Moz played "You Should Have Been Nice to Me" or "Shame Is the Name." What else did they expect from the guy who never misses an opportunity to speak up for animals?
Rock out for orcas with your own "SeaWorld Sucks" tee.
Rihanna got busted by the fashion police for wearing a dress made of crocodile. Kelly Osbourne rocked for crocs by proclaiming that she's not down with people wearing crocodile skins.
Over on one of our other favorite shows, Ellen, Carrie Underwood dished about how her hubby, hockey player Mike Fisher, is getting cozy with vegan cuisine. And since Ellen DeGeneres gave Underwood Vegan Cooking for Carnivores by her chef, Roberto Martin, we're betting things will really be heating up in the couple's kitchen.
Ellen, Portia de Rossi, and Roberto also veganized the Rachael Ray Show. While Roberto and Portia cooked, Ellen quipped that cheese is so heavy that if you skip it, "there is more room for cocktails!"
In the Philippines for a performance, outspoken vegetarian Morrissey (a few chords from Meat Is Murder, anyone?), urged President Benigno Aquino III to send Manila Zoo's lone elephant, Mali, who has spent the last 35 years imprisoned, to a sanctuary that PETA has secured for her in the U.S.
Captivating actor Marion Cotillard is also against holding animals captive. On the orca training scenes that appear in her upcoming film, Rust and Bone, she said, "I've always had a repulsion going in a place where animals are in captivity."
Of course, celebrities were also tweeting for animals this week, including Jonah Hill and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino:
To keep up with what the stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.
Just two months after telling Ellen DeGeneres, "I want to be a vegan," Meredith Vieira has done it. After seeing her Ellen appearance, PETA rushed Meredith a copy of Sir Paul McCartney's slaughterhouse exposé Glass Walls, a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, and Tal Ronnen's The Conscious Cook to help her along. On The Chew, she told chef Mario Batali about why she made the switch: "I've done a lot of stories on the way food is, you know, processed in this country—animals—and it's very disturbing."
CNBC's Jim Cramer isn't just mad about money—now he's gone mad for vegetarian cuisine. In the wake of the "pink slime" debacle, Cramer announced on Squawk on the Street that he is going vegetarian, just like his doctor and his daughter.
There will soon be less to see of Seattle Seahawk Deuce Lutui. He went vegan to lose weight and improve his performance in the coming season.
Sexiest Vegetarian alum Leona Lewis finds the song formerly called "Theraflu" by the tool currently called "Kanye West" "awful." She tweeted, "Heard that awful Kanye W song talking about minx dragging on the floor. What an awful thing to be proud of! I take all my love for him back!" She then tweeted a picture of an adorable mink and the words "Lil minx <3."
Leona's celeb pals joined her in sticking up for animals on Twitter this week:
After learning about Walter, a severely abused dog who was starved and then thrown out of the window of a moving car, Ashley Judd is picking up the tab for his medical expenses, visiting him every day, and updating her Twitter followers on his condition. "This never should have happened to Walter, and through his story, we can make sure that it never happens to another animal again," she said.
Rock legend Morrissey wants to help make sure that no more sheep are mutilated in a cruel process called "mulesing." While touring in Japan, Moz reached out to Tokyo-based international clothier Uniqlo and asked the company to stop sourcing wool from Australian farmers who still mules sheep.
The Rock and Roll of Fame's Class of 2012 has been announced, and animal-friendly stars will be boogieing in. The Red Hot Chili Peppers earned a spot, but we're wondering if this honor could top the Sexiest Vegetarian of 2008 title that Anthony Kiedis snagged. We'll call it a wash. Guns N' Roses was gunning for a spot and rose to the occasion too. We hope the awards ceremony will be fur-free, since Duff McKagan will be in attendance.
What Morrissey said about having his handsome mug on the new PETA postage really rocks: "I am delighted beyond words to be a PETA postage stamp. The rise and rise of PETA is the rise of common sense in modern society. Join the aims of PETA and join a better world."
Other celebs are rocking the Twitterverse with their awesome animal-friendly tweets:
We love what Eliza Dushku said about Forks Over Knives, the documentary that is changing the way Americans eat. Maybe Emily Blunt watched it? She was spotted at the California vegan restaurant Café Gratitude.
We've been watching adorable Fivel Stewart sporting our "Adopt, Don't Buy" tee on the YouTube channel that she shares with brother, Booboo. Guess respect for animals runs in the family.
Written by PETA
Never one to shy away from speaking up for animals plainly and forthrightly, Morrissey urged fans who were upset about the tragic bombing and shooting rampage in Norway to consider the animals who face needless, terrifying deaths every day. Before launching into "Meat Is Murder" during a concert in Warsaw on Sunday, Morrissey told the crowd, "We all live in a murderous world, as the events in Norway have shown, with 97 dead. Though that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald's and Kentucky Fried sh*t every day."
It's easy to be horrified by someone else's cruelty, but what about the cruelty that we're responsible for? As PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk points out, "Morrissey dared to speak his mind, but if we are honest about it, it makes absolute sense to suggest that instead of crying and waving roses in the air, a more effective way to show repulsion at needless carnage is to go vegetarian and to stop supporting slaughter oneself—even if only for one day a week."
We can't stop all the senseless violence in the world, but everyone can say no to bloodshed and suffering every time we eat simply by choosing plant-based foods. Please help make the world a less murderous place—get started by ordering your free vegetarian/vegan starter kit today.
Do PETA staff secretly play backup for Morrissey, or did all his bandmates wear our McCruelty shirts?
Moz and his group's stage wear at their York, U.K., concert was music to chickens' ears. And we're betting that after the audience chowed down on Morrissey's meatless fare and rocked out to "Meat Is Murder," they won't be committing a "drive-through" anytime soon.
To be a flock star like Morrissey, grab your McCruelty tee from the PETA catalog.
Ellen DeGeneres, Gordon Ramsay, and Entourage star Adrian Grenier are among the many stars who have recently done something noteworthy for animals:
Written by Alisa Mullins
My anger is mostly a civically oriented one ... I am tired of the little guy getting bullied by the rich, the mean and the opportunistic.
Call him Morrissey on steroids. Henry Rollins—the oft-apoplectic musician, DJ, author, and actor—has been tapped to host Animal Underworld, a new show on the National Geographic Wild channel that will explore humans' relationships with exotic animals. When those relationships turn abusive, you can expect Rollins, a self-described animal lover and "basically" vegetarian, to get testy.
One of Rollins' scheduled stops is at Seligman, Arizona's Road Kill Café, a kitschy Route 66 tourist trap where the "road kill" (taxidermied wildlife) mostly adorns the walls, as opposed to the menu. Nevertheless, we think it's safe to say that Rollins will give tourists something to take home on their iPhones.
Organizers of the Lokerse Feesten music festival in Belgium have assured their headlining act, PETA pal Morrissey, that in his honor, the festival will serve only vegetarian fare on the day of his performance. What, did you expect anything less from the man who did for vegetarian diets what Bret Michaels did for bandanas?
Instead of burgers and horse-meat sausages (yes, they eat horses in Belgium), organizers said festival food stands will offer "an array of healthy vegetarian dishes."
Perhaps after Morrissey performs "Meat Is Murder," they'll decide to keep it that way.
PETA pal Morrissey isn't shy about telling British Prime Minister David Cameron what he thinks about Cameron's penchant for deer hunting. (Former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr even publicly "forbade" Cameron from liking their music.) In a recent pre-concert interview, Morrissey told the BBC that he probably wouldn't even open his dressing room door for Cameron, saying, "It's a moral issue. Killing a stag is like killing a child. What's the difference?"
Perhaps the prime minister should have done some homework before expressing his fondness for The Smiths, whose second album was titled Meat Is Murder. Morrissey is a vegetarian who is outspoken about the Chinese fur trade, the Canadian seal slaughter, and The Queen's Guards' bearskin hats. In 2005 he grabbed PETA's Linda McCartney Memorial Award for reaching out to millions of people with a message of compassion. Maybe he can convince Cameron to be the next to follow in his kind footsteps.
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.
Follow PETA on Twitter!