‘Was He Supposed to Wrestle a Real Wild Bear Like in The Revenant?’: Internet Trolls PETA after It Accuses Zac Efron’s Ad for Showing Bear in Captivity
Zac Efron has come a long way from his High School Musical days. The actor has made a name for himself in Hollywood by playing roles in films such as Baywatch, Neighbours, The Greatest Showman, and The Lucky One. Considering the star’s popularity, it is no surprise that he is offered to advertise products for several companies. However, recently one of his advertisements became the subject of harsh criticism.
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Zac Efron’s latest co-star is a grizzly bear
The actor appeared in an advertisement for a pancake company known as Kodiak Cakes. In the advertisement, the Neighbours actor is shown talking to a grizzly bear about day-to-day things such as dating, football, and food, among others. The ad was for the “Keep It Wild” campaign by Kodiak Cakes, under which every dollar spent on the purchase of the company’s products would be equated to a donation to Vital Ground Foundation, an NGO that ensures the protection of grizzly bears, as well as their surroundings and habitat.
It is a normal advertisement that you would see on TV while scrolling through the channels. However, the animal rights organization PETA is not a fan of the ad.
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PETA’s director criticizes Zac Efron for starring in the advertisement
The organization’s director, Debbie Metzler, criticized Zac Efron for the advertisement and stated to TMZ that he needs to “come down to earth.” PETA’s criticism of the ad stems from the fact that the bear was bred in captivity.
PETA said that the company should have used CGI to depict the animal since using a captive animal in the ad defeats the purpose of the ad. Using a CGI bear would have allowed the company to donate to the foundation without exploiting the bear. The foundation stated,
“It’s hypocritical to exploit one animal to potentially help another. No true conservation group would ever force captive animals to perform tricks for the camera in order to raise awareness about their wild counterparts.”
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Twitter defends Zac Efron after PETA calls out the actor
However, PETA’s criticism of the actor was opposed by Twitter users.
Really @peta was he suppose to appear with a wild bear…the headlines would have been a bit more bleak@ZacEfron Slammed By PETA For Appearing In Ad With Captive Bear https://t.co/KgVzC57BfB via @TMZ
— shanna (@momofwondertwin) August 6, 2022
The bear is alive and well, PETA move on and get a life. You have nothing better to do than call out celebrities, waste of your time and energy.
— Tony Gonzalez 🇵🇷 (@primcewllm) August 7, 2022
Him and everyone paying to go to a zoo. Come on y’all do better. @peta y’all need to do better as well. I bet everyone in peta isn’t vegan.
— GSplashing (@GSplashing) August 7, 2022
You can never be woke enough… The mob will always come for you, eventually
— Unvaxxed & Overtaxed (@whiskey_misery) August 7, 2022
PETA= People Eating Tasty Animals.
— Lord Rev. Dr. Erich Von Blücher, Esq., A.S. (@Slapdaddyj) August 7, 2022
Get a life @peta
— hazeycazey (@hazeycazeytv) August 7, 2022
PETA is known for calling our celebrities for their problematic behavior toward animals. However, the actor seems to be ignoring the criticism since he hasn’t responded to the organization’s statements yet.
Source: Marca
