Meet the Cheeky Chick Making Everyone Choose Vegan 

Picture this: You’re walking down the street when a life-sized robotic chicken sidles up to you, cocks her head, and says in Jennifer Coolidge’s unmistakable voice, “I want you to go vegan real bad.” That’s Hennifer Coolidge in action – PETA’s feathered phenomenon who’s proving that sometimes the best way to reach people is with a little fowl play. 

Named after the vegan White Lotus and Legally Blonde icon, this AI-powered ambassador has been winging her way across North America, turning sidewalks into impromptu dance parties. She poses for selfies, busts a move, and dishes out high fives – all while delivering a message: “Look into my eyes. I am someone who wants to live.” And it’s working. Between the laughter and the TikToks, something shifts. People pause and think – and tell Hennifer they’ll try vegan eating “because I don’t want animals to suffer.” 

At the Super Bowl, our MVP (Most Valuable Pullet) drew crowds in the tens of thousands – folks lining up for Just Food Company’s vegan wings, grabbing PETA’s vegan starter kits, and pledging to leave chickens off their plates. When Hennifer and her robuddy Charli XC Cow hit the Grammy® Gift Lounge, they turned heads and changed hearts. Celebrities including Sheryl Lee Ralph, Lauryn Hill, and Leon Bridges sampled Crossroads Kitchen’s vegan chicken while chatting with our dynamic duo. When Hennifer told Reba McEntire, “I’m counting on you to make kind choices,” the music legend responded earnestly, “I will.” 

The Truck That’s Serving Up Truth (and Nuggets) 

PETA’s Free (the) Chicken truck isn’t your typical food truck – though the vegan nuggets and dipping sauces flying off the counter would fool you. What makes people stop isn’t just the free food. It’s the screen mounted on the side, playing footage of real chickens – pecking, playing, caring for their chicks – accompanied by a simple invitation: “Meet Her – You Won’t Want to Eat Her.” 

Every chicken is an individual. Chickens dream just as we do. They form tight-knit social circles and remember faces. Mother hens teach their babies to “speak” while they’re still tucked inside their shells, peeping back and forth in a language all their own, and they stress out when their chicks are in danger. 

As one kind convert put it: 

“Chickens are adorable! Thanks to videos like this one, I’ve finally stopped consuming meat, dairy, and eggs, and I’ve never felt happier and closer to animals!” 

The Other Side of the Story 

But here’s what most people never see: Chickens used for their flesh spend their short lives – just 6 or 7 weeks – crammed into filthy, windowless warehouses where ammonia fumes sear their lungs, eyes, and skin. They’re bred to grow so grotesquely oversized that their legs buckle and their hearts give out. At slaughterhouses, workers shackle them upside down by their feet on conveyor belts. Mechanical blades slice their throats – but because the lines move so fast, many are still conscious, panicking and flapping frantically to escape. Those who miss the blade end up being boiled alive in the scalding-hot tanks used for feather removal. 

Hens used for eggs are pushed to produce 10 times more eggs than they would naturally, leading to broken bones, infections, and painful prolapses. When their bodies finally wear out – usually around 18 months – they’re sent to slaughter, too. Most end up as ingredients in pet food or cheap meat products. 

PETA’s Fight for Every Feather 

Since shutting down our first chicken slaughterhouse in 1980, PETA has been relentless. Our supporters have dangled upside down outside Raising Cane’s restaurants, their throats “slit,” while PETA UK offers buckets of “bloodied body parts” to passersby. 

A PETA Asia investigation revealed deliberate abuse and piles of dead hens in South Korean cage-free egg operations, as its new “Hell on Wheels” mock slaughterhouse truck hits the road. PETA India staff locked themselves in cages outside busy markets, and PETA Asia offered to pay passersby willing to spend just one minute in a cramped cage to get a taste of the suffering hens endure all day, every day.