Star Launches Undercover Fur Expose in Hollywood 

For Immediate Release:
November 24, 2009

Contact:
Amanda Schinke 757-622-7382

Hollywood -- Fashion icon Eva Mendes has some advice for holiday shoppers this season: Leave fur on the racks. To drive the point home, the screen siren hosts PETA's new fur industry expose, which includes the latest investigation of fur farms and markets in China, the world's largest fur exporter.

Says Mendes, who has just launched her new PETA video in Hollywood, "Millions of animals are killed for their pelts each year. ... The thing is, I didn't always know how animals were killed for their fur, and I even wore fur once myself. But when I learned how cruel the fur industry is--and that there are no laws protecting these animals--I swore that I'd never wear it again. Please join me today as we go behind the scenes of the international fur trade, and find out how you can look glamorous without supporting animal suffering."

In an exclusive PETA interview, Mendes--who used to wear fur--opens up about what made her change her mind (and her wardrobe). Says Mendes, "I have a dog named Hugo, and it literally changed my life getting my dog. Every choice that I make, I always think about my little Hugo and think, 'God, would I eat him? Would I cage him up, and you know, would I skin him?' No, of course not."

Mendes is one of dozens of celebrities--including Charlize Theron, Christina Applegate, Roselyn Sanchez, Pamela Anderson, Nia Long, and Christy Turlington--who have joined with PETA to speak out against fur.

For more information and to view the video, please visit PETA.org or click here.