PETA has called out The Offspring for featuring a pair of chimpanzees in their ‘We Never Have Sex Anymore’ video.
The video, directed by Daron Keet and Matt Egan, sees two chimpanzees dressed up in various different outfits while acting out roles on sets that include a strip club.
Today (May 14), PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has sent a letter to the band’s frontman, Dexter Holland, asking him to pull the video because “it risks legitimising a cruel industry, propping up the exotic-‘pet’ trade, and reversing years of animal advocacy work that has nearly ended the use of chimpanzees in Hollywood”.
“The out-of-touch video for ‘We Never Have Sex Anymore’ risks resurrecting the chimpanzee trade in Hollywood,” the letter reads. “Dressing up chimpanzees, presenting their feargrimaces as ‘smiles’, and placing them side by side with celebrities is a dangerous messaging trifecta, and there isn’t a primate expert alive who doesn’t condemn this kind of old-school exploitation. If you were going for counterculture, you hit it out of the park.”
The animals were reportedly supplied by Steve Martin’s Working Wildlife, a notorious training outfit that has been cited numerous times by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Two of his chimpanzees “ended up at the atrocious G.W. Zoo, which was featured in Netflix’s Tiger King,” according to PETA.
“There are plenty of things we all miss about the ’90s—but animal exploitation isn’t among them,” PETA’s letter continues. “Every minute your video remains online, it risks legitimising a cruel industry, propping up the exotic ‘pet’ trade, and reversing years of animal advocacy work that has nearly ended the use of chimpanzees in Hollywood.
“These chimpanzees’ tragic story is something that just can’t repeat. We urge you to pull the video immediately.” You can read the letter in full here.
NME has reached out to The Offspring for comment.
Meanwhile, The Offspring have announced a 2021 UK and Ireland arena tour, with The Hives set to support.
The tour will visit Dublin, Cardiff, Birmingham, London, Glasgow, Manchester and Leeds in November, with The Hives set to support on all dates.
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