Sometimes I’m totally on the anti-PETA bandwagon. I think they have the potential to be a great organization, but I think they’re poorly-operated, and they fall back on cheesy, stupid, ridiculous stunts to make their point. This is one of those dumb times. PETA has released a new “fabulous and fur-free” ad, celebrating the women who have vowed to never wear fur (unlike some of these women). Unfortunately, PETA didn’t get permission from any of these women to use their images in their ads. Which in and of itself is ridiculous, because PETA can afford lawyers who will tell them that’s a bad idea. Anyway, First Lady Michelle Obama is one of the women in the ad, and now a huge “White House v. PETA” battle is brewing.
The White House is fuming over a new anti-fur ad featuring first lady Michelle Obama.
She appears alongside Oprah Winfrey, Carrie Underwood and Tyra Banks — who have all refused to wear real fur — in “Fur-Free and Fabulous,” PETA’s new ad campaign, which was unveiled last week and can be seen at Washington, D.C.-area Metro stations and on the group’s website.
But the White House maintains that PETA had no right to use the image of the first lady in its new ads.
PETA president Ingrid Newkirk insists her organization wouldn’t have sought Obama’s consent for the ad because it knows that she can’t make such an endorsement.
“The fact is that Michelle Obama has issued a statement indicating that she doesn’t wear fur, and the world should know that in PETA’s eyes, that makes her pretty fabulous,” she said in a press statement.
PETA senior vice president Dan Mathews added that Obama should be flattered. Introducing the campaign, he said: “By rejecting fur, these style icons demonstrate to the world that fur is old-fashioned and cruel.”
[From Us Weekly]
Yes, Michelle Obama has said several times that she does not wear fur. But just because she has publicly proclaimed that she doesn’t wear fur doesn’t mean her image can be used for PETA’s promotional purposes. That’s like me saying I like Gerard Butler and Gerard Butler uses my image in an ad as an endorsement. Bad example? Sorry. But you get my point. My guess is that PETA knew it didn’t have a legal leg to stand on, but they just did the ad anyway to raise some controversy and get some media hits. So, it’s a stunt. Whatever.
PETA ad courtesy of Pop Crunch.
I say no harm no foul. She’s a public figure and they are not using her to SELL Or promote anything (they are antipromotingbfur, not themselves for a profit), so I think it’s legally fine, even if they aren’t thrilled
PETA loses all credibility with me for 1. euthanizing so many animals (and subsequently dumping their bodies in a Piggly Wiggly dumpster) and 2. donating money to the Animal Liberation Front, which performs acts of domestic and international terrorism.
So sick of them.
I hope they nail PETA to the wall for this idiotic stunt. Would love to see the White House put an end to these asinine stunts.
Grr, I freaking hate PETA sometimes. I’m all for animal welfare, support several wildlife and pet charities, and would never wear fur, but for heaven’s sake, these PETA people are insane! I would be very upset if I were a celeb or the 1st Lady and they used my image especially without permission.
“PETA president Ingrid Newkirk insists her organization wouldn’t have sought Obama’s consent for the ad because it knows that she can’t make such an endorsement.” If they KNOW she CAN’T make the endorsement…why put her in the endorsement anyway???
It’s crap like this that makes people mad and works against their cause. They’ve become attention grabbing morons and extremists. Every one of those women should sue them and then give the money to a REAL animal protection group.
PETA sucks.
A mature statement, I know, but I simply hate them. They make me almost want to wear fur.
I say this in every PETA thread, they kill more animals than they save.
Since she serves Japanese steak to White House guests and gave her dog Bo a birthday “cake” made of veal, she’s in a bit of an uncomfortable position.
She talks a good game about sacrifice, but conspicuous consumption is really her style.
Better, it’s like saying you like pink (the colour) and Paris Hilton claims you endorse her movies, products, and existence.
PETa is just so dim. Sadly, old news.
Unless she claimed to be a vegetarian, I don’t see how serving steak puts her in a bad position. All she said was she doesn’t wear fur – separate issues. I don’t think Oprah is a vegetarian either, or that either of them have ever claimed any association with PETA. I think Carrie is and has done PETA stuff, not sure about Tyra.
If PETA used my image without my permission (not that they would, I’m just a regular lady) but still. If they did I’d make sure I was photographed in borrowed vintage fur infront of their headquarters. Eating a steak and washing it down with McDonalds.
For all the reasons stated above, I despise PETA. I’m all for animal welfare. But in terms of celebrity PETA is Tila Tequila.
Carrie Underwood should be ticked as well. She has said many times that she doesn’t have anything to do with PETA and they still keep coming back. Hate the hypocrites. Drop dead already. (figuratively)
@ Peach: DITTO and also LOL. Eating a steak and washing it down with McDonald’s? 😀
Love it.
PETA makes me sick and I hope Mr. Obama will nail them to the wall for this, and perhaps finally put an end to their ridiculous actions. I love animals too but this is way beyond acting on animals’ behalves.
I can’t get over how arrogant they sound. Saying she should be flattered. By putting her in an ad, it is an endorsement of PETA especially since PETA’s name is all over it.
I say if you can eat ’em, you can wear ’em.
PETA can kiss my leather-clad butt.
Megalomania
They don’t know when to quit. Making the white house mad is not helping them.
They really lost credibility with me when they “rescued” animals and then killed them rather than take the responsibility to find them proper homes. Now I think they are less about animals and more about publicity and grandstanding.
I like how they used a picture of Oprah wearing a leather skirt in an anti-fur campaign ad. Makes perfect sense.
annabelle, not so. it doesnt matter that they are supposedly “not seliing” something, which is an arguable point anyway. this is blatant unauthorized use of a public figure’s right of publicity. im sure peta knew this would stir the pot and try to get some sort of “the govt is trying to censor us” crap or force obama to swallow it b/c suing might look bad politically or something. they also included oprah, another powerful figure. they are definitely baiting with this, for publicity. peta seems more concerned with generating headlines than its cause. also, is oprah wearing a leather skirt in this picture?
Heehee. PETA’s idiocy knows no bounds.
And I’ll wear fur if I damn well please. It just so happens that I can’t afford it.
While it probably constitutes unlawful use of her likeness and implied support of these numbnut radicals, when you whore yourself out to the media as a celebrity and bask in that limelight, you can’t suddenly remember your “position” when it pleases you.
After the next election, the Obamas won’t have to worry about such things anymore. “Yes we can” clearly only referred to his attaining the office, not keeping any promises he made to get there.
PETA just makes me want to buy a fur coat.
how is MO “whoring herself out to the media as a celebrity” or “basking in the limelight”?
Even if that were true, people like Paris Hilton “whore” themselves to the media all the time, but that doesn’t mean some company or organization (like PETA) can use her image without her permission.
it has nothing to do with “remembering her position”, it has to do with using someone likeness without her permission.
its actually brilliant. Use the unauthorized photo, get all this press and attention and only suffer a cease and desist letter which you agree to comply with for an additional 5 minutes of press on the matter. No ethical lawyer will suggest this route, but they wont tell you not to do it either. Sounds like Peta knows how to work the system.
I’d just be pissed that they made it seem as if i’m associated with them if i were here.
they have the potential to do a lot of good but instead are morons. I will never support anyone or thing that gives “bloody meals” (i think they were called) to children.
you cannot use a public figure’s image to promote ANYTHING without permission.
Michelle Obama is the second most public figure in this country right now, she has a right to say what her image can and cannot be used for.
Stop trying to pretend like the Obamas are attempting to be celebrities (anybody remember the Celebrity Ad during the campaign?).
They are popular. So what? And the President can’t fix everything in a year. You could give him 20 years and he couldn’t fix the mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. The point is that he’s trying. The bureaucratic process is a mess (and that is really what should be reviewed and changed). No matter what Obama says, it HAS to go through the Senate and the House.
The people have the right to debate upon issues and things. If Senate and House people block things, the President can’t very well just shove things through.
Well, now that I’ve seen this I will definitely NEVER wear fur, however, by the looks of Oprah’s skirt, leather is so in! I’m off to the mall now! Thanks for the heads up, PETA!
PETA IS promoting and “selling” something, so to speak. What they are selling is a way of thinking and an agenda. Just because someone isn’t a vegetarian or serves veal to the White House dog (veal is no more expensive than beef) does not mean a person forgot his or her “position.”
While it may not be good for the First Lady to sue, image-wise, Oprah definitely could. PETA can and should have gotten permission to use these images, and why didn’t they used the celebs that they already brainwashed. I know Pam Anderson has lost her looks, but isn’t she still available?
PETA is like the Westboro Baptist Church of animal rights.
“PETA is like the Westboro Baptist Church of animal rights.”
snort, ha!
“and the world should know that in PETA’s eyes, that makes her pretty fabulous”
Should? Wow, arrogant much?
Anyhoo, lol at Peach. Although you’ve now made me want a steak with Maccas chaser when I’m stuck at work.
Kaiser you can’t bitch about PETA and then accept their blogads on this site. Come on!
If I live forever I will simply never understand the level of hatred and bile directed toward anyone with whom people disagree. I find a great deal of it directed toward PETA and toward Vegans and Vegetarians (whether or not they are supporters of PETA) in general. Speaking as a vegetarian let me just say I don’t care if you eat a steak with a quarter pounder on top of it while wearing a full leather catsuit with matching leather boots..really I just don’t get it, disagree certainly but the level of vitrol on these posts is truly disturbing.
PETA IS PATHETIC AND FOR ME THEY HAVE NO CREDIBILITY AT ALL…
PETA HAS NO RESPECT FOR THE 1ST LADY, OPRAH OR TYRA.
@ Tess, the first lady never claimed to be a vegetarian so how is she at fault for serving Kobe beef and giving her dog veal? That just seems to be yet another example of picking at the Obamas over nothing.
It’s very disrespectful of PETA to use the first lady’s image without her consent. That is just wrong. She’s the first lady of our nation, like it or not, and she deserves more respect.
I love animals and I’ve adopted two stray cats but I still think PETA is disgusting. I will never support an organization that claims that if animal testing resulted in a cure for AIDS, they couldn’t support it. They is just ignorant and wrong. Animals are animals. People are people. They’re not one and the same.
@ WTF?! – Michelle does not have to “remember” her position because she never “whored” herself to the media in the first place.
Like it or not, she is still the first lady of our nation and she deserves more respect (just as our President does).
I love how PeTA picks fur as the kiss of death, but looks the other way when their reps wear leather or snakeskin. (I mean if you kill it, may as well use all of the animal, right?)
Agreed,PeTA is terrible! I still can’t wrap my mind around their belief that no one should own a pet since that constitutes ‘slavery’. WTF?? Do they know how good pets have it?? More like I’m the slave 🙂
Tess:
January 6th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Since she serves Japanese steak to White House guests and gave her dog Bo a birthday “cake” made of veal, she’s in a bit of an uncomfortable position.
She talks a good game about sacrifice, but conspicuous consumption is really her style.
Tess since we are know that Mrs Obama had NOTHING to do with promoting this ad, or PETA how does their unauthorised use of her image put her such a position??
She has said she doesn’t wear fur…which she doesn’t. She has NEVER said she doesn’t eat meat or serve it to her guests or her dog.
Climb down off your high horse.
@Laurrie. If I understand correctly, celebitchy and other bloggers that do this full time have little if any control over what ads they post. Different ads circulate on these blogs and generate money, regardless of whether or not the blogger supports the product. I’ve seen a few left-wing political blogs that advertised Ann Coulter or Sarah Palin’s books. The only alternative is that they get rid of ads and accept donations from people who visit. That might be difficult in this economy.
@Kathie. While it’s great that you feel what people put on their plates and on their bodies is their own business, and as an omnivore, I feel the same, but alot of people don’t. PETA uses rather nasty tactics, which included picking on public figures they think won’t fight back (notice how they don’t go after Mary J. Blige). Not to mention that the group’s hypocrisy in terms of euthanizing animals as well as one of their board members who uses diabetes medication that has been animal-tested. There are plenty of animal welfare/rights groups that do great work and don’t have to resort to PETA-style methods. I have friends of are vegetarian, I don’t paint all vegetarians with a broad brush.
Honestly, I support animal welfare, but there’s a lot of human rights/welfare issues that have yet to be resolved.
One more thing, can some people on this board get though their heads that First Lady is Not.A.Political.Office. You can be a First Lady of a Baptist church for God’s sake, simply by being married to the Pastor.
PETA hates human beings!
Michelle Obama is getting what she deserves why is the White house complaining Michelle and Pres Obama have been co-mingling with celebrities, appearing in magazines and mugging for the camera every chance they can get Ms.Obama acts like a social butterfly officiating over social events and parties with the education that she has why doesn’t she apply herself to things that have more substance, quite frankly, if you lay down with dogs you are going to get fleas.Show me your company and I will tell you who you are.
@Kathy:
PETA has funded terrorists. Terrorists that bomb places that do medical research. Even if it means killing people who devote their life to medicine, these terrorists don’t care. Even if Ingrid Newkirk herself uses diabetes insulin with derivatives of animal product. She excuses it away because she wants to live. If she really cared she’d die for her cause. But she wont. Because she’s a hypocrite.
PETA compared a picture of Jews in bunks at Auschwitz to Chickens in a chicken coup. They called the ad campaign “Holocaust on your plate”. Call me crazy pants, but when you start trivializing and exploiting something as horrific as the Holocaust, I’m really unsure how much further you can sink.
PETA and it’s companion Friends of the Earth scare people into not eating Genetically Engineered food. This may not seem like a bad thing. Except all food has been genetically engineered. It’s been going on with crops for thousands of years. It’s not scary, it’s not unsafe, and it’s held up to much more rigorous testing than any other food source today.
In fact Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug developed a new wheat strain that saved a billion lives. No really. A billion lives from Mexico to Pakistan.
But this group scared the pants off of a few African nations back in 2002. They convinced the President of Zambia not to accept a few tons of aid food that would have helped the 13 million Zambians that faced starvation. Because it was genetically modified he refused the food. It had deadly consequences. This is food that the President of the United States of America eats. And yet, Zambians got to suffer because of stupid eco-terroristic organizations like PETA, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.
So its not just ad campaigns. Its exploitative, nasty, and sometimes deadly behavior.
People above have already mentioned PETA throwing dead animal corpses in dumpsters…how much more despicable does an organization have to get?
Really? What else do they have to do before the world comes out and says “Not fucking acceptable”?
So yeah. I do have some vitriol. And if I could I’d toss hamburgers at activists all day. Not the peons. But the big-timers. Because those assholes are terrible humans. And even worse animals.
theres an irony in that they’re using the first lady on their posters when they advocate using bombs and violent acts-even, they say if its “against the government” in aid of “animal right”, though its ok when they are killing puppies and kittens and dumping them behind their offices.
peta seriously need to fuck off.
@floretta. So I guess you’re not familiar with a a guy from the 80’s named Ronald Reagan, who actually WAS a celebrity and became President of the United States? Not to mention Sonny Bono, Clint Eastwood, Fred Gramby (sp? aka Gopher from Love Boat), and Arnold Shwartzenegger? So what are your thoughts about them?
The First Lady and President, mingle with all kinds of people, and yes that includes celebs as well as the non-famous weathly. Pols are going to go where the money is, be they Repub, Dem, or Independent. Like it or not, they are American citizens, and while it can be annoying when they wax political, do you really think they’re less informed then most Americans who do or don’t vote?
I like the conservative way. I really hat that Michelle Obama has changed the dress code for washngton. she exposes too much of her body. Not a very good example for her daughters.
Hi, Delma, and welcome to the 21st century! I know it’s a big change from the Victorian era you’ve just come from, but now, women can show their arms, and even *gasp* their ankles!
SageAdvice: Exactly. You cannot use an image of the FLOTUS without permission. Period.
WTF?!?(1:47pm): What the hell is wrong with you?
“when you whore yourself out to the media as a celebrity and bask in that limelight…”
You do know that the First Lady is a public position, don’t you?
Peach, as always, You’re a gem.
oh hey: 1
floretta: 0
Delma: What the hell?