For Immediate Release:
December 9, 2020
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
Los Angeles – On Saturday, December 12, PETA will mark its 40th anniversary with a virtual, star-studded party, cohosted by Alan Cumming and Edie Falco. The event will celebrate the group’s landmark victories for animals—including the seismic shift in scientific circles acknowledging that animal experiments don’t work, the shutdown of Ringling Bros. circus, the demise of the fur and angora industries, and the skyrocketing interest in vegan food—and honor the celebrities who have helped make them happen.
When: Saturday, December 12, 8 p.m. ET
Where: Livestream link available upon request
The evening’s centerpiece will be the Humanitarian Awards, whose recipients include rapper/producer Jermaine Dupri (presented by Mariah Carey), Emmy Award winner Lily Tomlin (presented by Dolly Parton), Kansas City Chiefs star Tyrann Mathieu (presented by Patrick Mahomes), “Godfather of Punk” Iggy Pop (presented by Chrissie Hynde), and actor Kat Graham (presented by Kate del Castillo). Joaquin Phoenix and family will also present the River Phoenix Award to one of PETA’s intrepid undercover investigators.
The event will also include special appearances by Sir Paul McCartney, Gillian Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Anjelica Huston, James Cromwell, Belinda Carlisle, Casey Affleck, Pamela Anderson, Bill Maher, Tim Gunn, Jillian Michaels, Paulina Rubio, and Vivien Lyra Blair and will feature a special performance by Jesse & Joy. More information about the event is available here.
“Forty years ago, car companies used pigs as crash-test dummies and people thought a vegan was someone from Las Vegas,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “Today, animals in laboratories are being replaced with supercomputers and organs-on-chips, fur is dead, elephants are out of the circus, and the ‘Tiger King’ is in jail.”
PETA—whose motto reads, “Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
