Jessica Alba was involved in a head-scratching incident of guerrilla activism in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma last week. Alba somehow met up with an activist named White Mike, who tries to bring awareness to the issue of illegal shark fin hunting, which is wiping out the population of great white sharks. The huge predator is a key part of the oceans’ ecosystems and if the great white shark population is diminished the rest of the oceans, and the planet, will suffer. Alba tried to make this point with White Mike in landlocked Oklahoma City by pasting posters of the menacing-looking sharks on public property and on a billboard for the United Way. The shark posters had no text and could have been advertisements for a film or aquarium. They were pasted on with industrial glue that made the confusing posters hard to remove.
Alba issued an apology after pictures surfaced featuring her posing triumphantly by the posters, and stated in part that she “made a spontaneous and ill-advised decision to let myself get involved with the people behind this campaign.” The police in Oklahoma city said at the time that an investigation was underway, but they announced yesterday that it has been dropped and that no charges will be filed:
Jessica Alba will not face any criminal charges for plastering shark posters all over Oklahoma City on behalf of a conservation group.
“The decision has been made to close the case,” police Sgt. Gary Knight says in a statement. “The case will not be presented to the district attorney’s office.”
Alba found herself in hot water last week when photos surfaced of her papering over a United Way billboard as part of a guerrilla-style campaign for White Mike, an L.A.-based group aiming to raise awareness of the endangered great white shark. She quickly apologized for the “spontaneous and ill-advised stunt.”
The 28-year-old Fantastic Four star could have faced a felony vandalism charge and possible jail time over the incident, but the property owners targeted by Alba and pals declined to press charges. As a result, Knight says there’s no reason to pursue the case.
There has been no comment from Alba’s camp on whether she will pay for the damages.
[From E! Online]
That last sentence is key: “There has been no comment from Alba’s camp on whether she will pay for the damages.” If Alba really wants to make it up to Oklahoma City, she’ll compensate them for having to clean up the posters. It probably would have happened without her involvement, as White Mike has pasted posters in other cities. She brought awareness to it though and it would be wise to make a gesture to show that defacing public property is not acceptable. She could also lend her celebrity to a campaign for the United Way. Maybe she just wants this embarrassing incident to go away, though. The OK City police probably feel the same.
Jessica Alba and her daughter Honor, 1, are shown at LAX on 6/6/09.
What was she on when she thought plastering the city with scary images of great whites was a good idea?
Granted that every one now has some awareness of the sharks, but she ended up looking like an over excited, undereducated, shark groupie.
I’m sure the OK police and city are loving this media attention!
I lived there for 7 years and after the Federal Bombing they’ve been struggling to make OKC a tourist spot. They even put it a riverwalk like San Antonio. It probably at least revived the town enough to get locals into the city.
someone plant some Ganj on this chick…..she needs a slap of reality. (I say the Ganj, because it seems it’s all people get slammed for!!!!)
she just doesn’t seem like the brightest bulb on the tree, nor the sharpest tool in the shed.
BUT…her kid’s cute (it looks like the dad)
There’s a better way of making a point than vandalizing. She’s an adult and she knew that the destruction of property was not only wrong but against the law. If it was you or me, we would be prosecuted so why she is not is disturbing. Getting special treatment just because you are a celebrity is ridiculous. She has more than enough money to make restitution to correct what she did. Unbelievable!
At least put her in the pokey for a few minutes and make her pay for damages!
I can’t believe she doesn’t think she should be held responsible for her actions!
Hold on just a minute now. I am sure the Great White Shark population of Oklahoma City really appreciates Ms. Alba’s activism. It’s not every day that someone as beautiful and talented as Jessica Alba focuses her attention on the OK Great Whites. Makos, tigers, maybe – but the OK Great Whites are historically neglected. It’s quite tragic, actually.
If it were you and me, we probably wouldn’t be prosecuted because no one would have recognized us in the pictures that were posted. So it’s kind of stupid to say otherwise. Alba got totally screwed by this guy and his inane campaign since the only pictures ever posted of someone actually doing the postering were of her. Oh, and no one does jail time for damages of less than $1000 for vandalism in OKC, so it’s still not celebrity justice.
Also, TMZ were reporting more than once that Alba’s rep had offered to pay for the billboard so it seems weird that suddenly E! online has no idea if that will happen.
Thank you for noting that she didn’t come up with this idea and that it would have happened anyway given White Mike’s grand “activism.”
Hmm, maybe she should have tried that tactic in a place where there were actually sharks. Or water.
I dont see what the big deal is….. if anything, she should be rewarded or something for standing up for what she believes in……. she took an active roll to try to get the point across that sharks are endangered……. good for her. I give her a pat on the back and two thumbs up. Its not like you see someone with a voice as strong as hers taking action for what they believe in.
It doesnt matter whether there is water or sharks here or not. People use things made out of sharks everyday and dont even realize it.
Make-up
Lipstick and skin care are made out of shark’s stomach.
Medicine
Pills are used out of the liver of sharks called shark liver oil pills.
These pills are used for medicine.
Food
There are various types of foods that are made out of sharks, like shark-fin soup and shark and chips. People say that shark-fin soup is very good.
Eye transplant
They transplant human eyes for shark eyes. This surgery is not usually seen.
Tourist items
Swords are also made out of shark’s skin. They are used for the grip of the sword.
The teeth of the shark can be made for necklaces.
People design drawings on the tooth of the shark.
The jaws are also used for many things.
Shark’s jaws are taken out so they can be sold.
There is a box, called the box of happiness, which is shark skin or shark leather to cover the box. You can put all kinds of things in it.
Everytime we use anything that is made from a shark…. it makes them even more endangered. Jessica Alba was just speaking for something that can’t speak for itself.
Wouldn’t it have garnered just as much publicity if she’d made the poster a t-shirt and worn it several times, ’til people had to ask what the reason behind it was?
So she made a mistake…