Of all the reasons why Project Runway is turn-off-the-phone-and-lock-the-door must-see television, the inimitable Tim Gunn, whose superb taste is surpassed only by his kindness, is at the top of the list. On last week's episode, Gunn, ahem, shot down designer Josh Christensen when he tried to use real fur. That wasn't about to fly with PETA's 2009 Man of the Year, who promptly told Christensen to part with the pelt, saying, "We're fur-free."

Christensen must not have known that Project Runway has a strict fur-free policy, thanks to Gunn, who narrated PETA's fur farm exposé and  sent it to furry designers. If any Runway fans weren't aware that designers have to go faux or go home, they are now.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

After coming under the Gunn, the Miss Florida USA pageant will no longer award fur coats to its winners. PETA's 2009 Man of the Year, Tim Gunn, wrote a letter to Grant H. Gravitt Jr., the executive producer of the pageant, explaining that animals killed for their fur are electrocuted, drowned, bludgeoned, or skinned alive and asked him to drop animal skins from the competition. Gravitt apparently agreed that ugly fur has no place in a beauty competition, earning him a thank-you from the Project Runway star.
 

 
There is nothing glamorous about cruelty to animals. It's time for all pageants that still give fur coats as prizes, such as the Miss Maryland pageant, to celebrate the beauty of kindness. Sign PETA's fur-free pledge and be beautiful in your own skin so that animals can keep theirs.  

 
Written by Michelle Sherrow

robad0b/CC by 2.0

The Top Model shows are supposed to be about wannabe models crushing the competition, not animals. So why, then, would an ad for New Zealand's Next Top Model include footage of a woman in red heels stomping on a bleating stuffed lamb? The commercial is creepily reminiscent of "crush videos"—sick fetish films in which women in high heels stomp on real animals. Crush videos are so disturbing that Congress recently passed a law banning them. Under the law, anyone deranged enough to possess one of the videos can be sentenced to up to seven years in prison.

The ad has New Zealanders in a frenzy: The New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority has been swamped with angry phone calls, but since the commercial aired in Australia, not New Zealand, the authority can't do anything about it. Now animal advocates are calling on Australia's Network Ten, which aired the disturbing ad, to pull it off the air and apologize.

New Zealand's Next Top Model should take a clue from Project Runway and "make it work" without hurting animals—or even pretending to.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Project Runway judge Michael Kors has been judged by Santa to be firmly lodged in the "naughty" column because of the designer's continued use of fur. That's why a clutch of angry Santas gathered outside of Kors' Rodeo Drive flagship store yesterday, blocked the entrance, and chanted, "Michael Kors, where's your soul? Selling fur will get you coal!" before they were stopped by intrepid police officers .

Who knows? Maybe Michael Kors' heart will grow three sizes and the only fur in his next collection will be as fake as his tan.

Written by Alisa Mullins

I know I'm not in her target demographic, but she's starting to grow on me, this Jessica Simpson—not only because she put up a good fight for Mondo during the infuriating season finale of Project Runway but also because she's shown a willingness to give a vegan diet a try. Now, reports suggest that her diet might stick, thanks to the influence of her new fiancé, former NFL player Eric Johnson, who is apparently a vegan.

Not only has Jessica been experiencing the joys of tofu, she's also apparently learning to cook vegan dishes to share with Eric, who may be planning to open a chain of vegan fast-food restaurants.

If true, that's not only cool but also instructive: Our day-to-day activities and interactions offer as many chances to get the word out about ways to help animals as organizing a huge public protest!

Written by Jeff Mackey

Project Runway's eighth season premieres tonight, and coincidentally I just heard about an opportunity to let judge Michael Kors know what we think of his designs—which include real fur. Kors tweeted that he will be answering questions from his fans in a Facebook video on August 4. Let's take him up on his offer and flood him with questions, such as "Did you know that animals are skinned alive for their fur?" and "With all the luxurious faux furs that are available, why do you continue to kill animals?" or maybe "Would you submit to a brain scan to see if your empathy neurons are underdeveloped?"

Perhaps your question will be the nudge that Kors needs to get him to follow the lead of Runway star and PETA's 2009 Man of the Year Tim Gunn. Tim narrated PETA's video exposing what animals endure for fashion, he ensures that Project Runway's challenges are never fur-related, and he has worked to make a fur-free zone out of Liz Claiborne, where he is chief creative officer.

Let's all urge Michael Kors to say "auf Wiedersehen" to fur! E-mail your questions to: events@michaelkors.com

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

It wasn't easy to choose two people out of the slew of celebrities who have taken action for animals this year—heck, just during the past two months, Joanna Krupa bared her true feelings about purebred pups, Ana Ortiz blasted McDonald's, and a blinding number of stars all agreed that protesting the Canadian seal slaughter fit their caring personalities to a T.

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But we had to make a decision, so this year, PETA's Man of the Year is Tim Gunn and PETA's Woman of the Year is Ellen DeGeneres. I must say, we're over the moon about it!

Let's start with Ellen—ever since she and her wife, Portia De Rossi, decided to ditch all animal products in 2008, Ellen has made sure that her wildly popular talk show includes features to raise people's awareness of animal issues. She made vegan pizza with Chef Wolfgang Puck, spoke with Dr. Neal Barnard about the health benefits of a vegan diet, and just in time for Thanksgiving, "talked turkey" about the everyday abuse of animals on factory farms with Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals. Ellen also created pages on her Web site that feature insight, info, and tips about cruelty-free living. Visitors can find recipes, read about why Ellen went vegan, learn where to shop, and more.

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Now on to Tim Gunn: The connoisseur of class, the guru of good taste, the titan of tact (I could go on all afternoon with these) narrated our video exposing skin-crawling atrocities suffered by animals who are slaughtered for their pelts, and the media have been buzzing ever since. Tim recently told the L.A. Times, "Wearing fur is like wearing a big sign reading, 'I'm in favor of inflicting cruelty and pain on animals as a fashion statement.' Unspeakable torture is inflicted on dogs, cats, bunnies, raccoons, foxes, minks, and myriad trapped, helpless creatures in the name of fashion—yes, dogs and cats."

And thanks to Tim, fur challenges are noticeably absent from Project Runway—and there's zero fur at Liz Claiborne, where he is chief creative officer.

So, to Ellen DeGeneres for her exuberant embrace of cruelty-free living and to Tim Gunn for his thoughtful and thought-provoking messages of compassion for animals, we at PETA are dancing in the halls. Thank you, thank you! And conga-rats!

Written by Karin Bennett

I know we've got Project Runway fans out there, especially after the show's guru of good taste, Tim Gunn, appeared in PETA's anti-fur video.

If, like me, you watch the show obsessively caught last night's episode, you probably did cartwheels in the living room when one "Divorcee Dress Challenge" client, Stephanie, insisted that Nicolas use no wool, silk, leather, or fur in his transformation of her old wedding dress into an outfit she could enjoy as a single woman. I believe her exact words were that she wanted him to be certain "no animals have to suffer."

Now if only Stephanie's snarky designer had spent less time rolling his eyes and more time fashioning a knock-out design instead of ho hum separates, he might have won the challenge. Either way, Stephanie gets top marks for speaking up for animals.

Written by Karin Bennett