Monkeys Aren’t ‘Pets’ or Service Animals: PETA Calls For ‘Gigi & Nate’ Boycott

For Immediate Release:
September 1, 2022

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Ahead of Gigi & Nate’s theatrical release, PETA is urging moviegoers to stay far away from the film because of its dangerous promotion of monkeys as “pets” and its use of a real capuchin, reportedly named Allie and apparently supplied by Bob Dunn’s Animal Services, which has received multiple citations for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

PETA points out that the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn’t recognize monkeys as service animals and that the film’s portrayal of monkeys as “helpers” could lead to a spike in purchases of wild animals as “pets.” Monkeys, the group adds, aren’t domesticated—and keeping them in human households is inhumane and can and will lead to attacks.

“Glamorizing monkeys as ‘pets’ doesn’t do a thing to help people with disabilities, but it does help line the pockets of seedy wildlife dealers who tear families apart,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Welfare Debbie Metzler, a primatologist. “PETA is calling on everyone to boycott the movie and stand up for the real-life monkey who was exploited to make this flop.”

PETA notes that most monkeys kept in human homes are sold as infants by unscrupulous animal breeders and dealers, who tear the babies away from their mothers prematurely. In Hollywood, monkeys and other animals fare no better: It’s well known that trainers often use violence behind the scenes in order to get wild animals to perform on cue.

PETA urges anyone who witnesses animals being used for film or television productions to report it at PETA.org/Report or call the whistleblower hotline at 323-210-2233.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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