Sep26
OK, Clay, We'll Take It Back
Posted at 12:44 PM | Permalink
| 
Comments (19)
Some of you might remember our (funny!) spay and neuter ad, starring everyone's favorite puppet, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. In case you need a refresher, here it is:
 |
Now for the reason you might not remember it—when we first released the PSA in 2003, some people thought that we were implying that Clay Aiken was "neutered" because he was gay. As a gay myself, I can say with certainty that nothing could have been further from the truth—just ask my friend Lady Bunny!
 |
In any case, we took the ad down. We at PETA might be many things, but goodness knows, anti-gay certainly isn't one of them!
We'd decided to go along with Triumph's suggestion of "Get Neutered—It Didn't Hurt Clay Aiken" for the ad because of some scary things Clay had said in a Rolling Stone interview. "I think cats are Satan," he'd said. "There's nothing worse to me than a house cat. When I was about sixteen, I had a kitten and ran over it." Ouch! He clarified that the cat's death was an accident and that he was "haunted" by the cat's spirit—but come on.
Well, as far as we know, Clay still hasn't apologized for his kitty hatred. But you know what? Five years later, with the Idol starting a new chapter in his life, we're going to let bygones be bygones—and we're removing the ad from our library of available PSAs.
So congratulations on the birth of your son and on your newfound freedom, Clay. And hey, maybe someday you'll meet an angelic kitty who changes your mind about our fine feline friends, hmm?
Posted by Michael McGraw
TAGGED:
Comments
You go Michael! I'm an animal rights advocate and also gay myself!
Posted by: Angie | September 26, 2008 02:19 PM
It's disgusting he would say that about cats. I feel sorry for his kid.
Posted by: Dawn | September 26, 2008 02:57 PM
I can't believe Clay Aiken is cruel like this. Omg... He seems like such a nice person. I read his biography and during his teenage years he helped children at the YMCA. I guess some people only do help humans.
Posted by: Laura | September 26, 2008 03:00 PM
Well said Michael! I am also an Irish animal rights campaigner for ARAN and of course i am gay too. Animal rights - human rights - gay rights!
Posted by: John Carmody | September 26, 2008 03:21 PM
Oh lighten up. This is the way I understand it: Clay had a kitten and accidentally ran over it with his car. Guilt got the best of him and he believed the kitten haunted him after that, and now he's afraid of cats. No big deal. He's got a pampered doggie (or maybe 2) and is certainly not an animal hater.
Posted by: Susie | September 26, 2008 03:25 PM
Wow clay is such a weirdo I hope all the cats claw him to death lol 1 cats 0 clay
Posted by: Garron | September 26, 2008 04:39 PM
Another hollywood celebrity that believes in ghosts, can't think for himself and is haunted by phantoms. Yeesh.
Posted by: vegancoin | September 26, 2008 05:08 PM
I'm glad PETA has decided to let it go. Sometimes when just words are involved, there is plenty of time to educate people instead of judging them.
I know several people who are afraid of cats (not real phobias, those are extremely hard to change).
People who are just uneducated respond well to polite and informative literature about cats. We should try that next time (maybe PETA did, I'm not sure) but anyone who runs across this attitude should try to help them understand about felines. ;)
Posted by: Maya, C.V.T. | September 26, 2008 05:46 PM
Finally! An apology for the Clay Aiken thing. Now the healing can begin. :)
Posted by: Jack | September 26, 2008 06:16 PM
Let me get this straight no pun attended it is ok he thinks all cats are evil, and he ran over his because he is GAY! Give me a break it should not matter who you sleep with mean comments, & actions are mean either way! It was more than likely a acident but still it was like he was bragging about it & then throws in mockingly oh I am so frighten of cats! Poor baby! What a moron. A crappy singer too, I rather get drunk on Indian whisky & rub my self naked on a cactus then listen to his music! Grateful dead or Pantera any day!
Posted by: Crystal | September 27, 2008 02:32 AM
Uh... he RAN over his cat??? How wrong and disturbing is that??
It's people like this that make me wish celebrities weren't looked up to... soon enough we'll have a world of people running over innocent kittens :(
Posted by: Steph | September 27, 2008 02:46 PM
ok, first off KITTIES RULE!, and second, CLAY AIKEN IS STINKY! End of story.
Posted by: Jason | September 28, 2008 02:56 AM
"we're going to let bygones be bygones—and we're removing the ad from our library of available PSAs."
I think that was a wise decision. Regardless of how cruel Clay's actions and statements regarding cats were, the fact that many people will misinterpret the ad as anti-gay means PETA did the right thing to remove it.
Posted by: Elaine Vigneault | September 28, 2008 03:46 PM
So accidents = hatred?
One of these things is not like the other...
Posted by: scamps | September 29, 2008 01:22 PM
I'm straight. YAY. Straight pride. (if gays can say it, so can straight people). Anyway, a lot of people hate cats. Big whoop. Clay doesn't have to apologize to anyone for disliking them. As far as the whole running over a a cat thing goes- yes it's unecessarry and he did say it was an accident. Bygones shoulda been bygones a long time ago. Get over it and move on. By PETAs home page I can see y'all have bigger fish to fry (so to speak), so let this one go and use your time more wisely. =D
Posted by: bbr | September 29, 2008 02:37 PM
I dont think the accident is what makes him "bad", accidents happen and as horrible as it is, it was an accident.
I think the fact he compared cats to a figure called "satan" is a bit extreme and doesnt speak to his better nature. A joke is a joke, even in bad taste.
None the less, bygones are just that :)
Posted by: Allie | September 29, 2008 02:37 PM
LADY BUNNY RULES! LOVE TO SEE MORE LADY BUNNY. MAYBE SHE COULD DO A LADY BUNNY LOVES LADY BUGS AD!
Posted by: SASHA | September 29, 2008 11:26 PM
GAY PRIDE! ;) (I'm kind of sad that Clay is on our team though... he's a tiny bit creepy...)
Posted by: michelle | September 30, 2008 01:14 AM
I'm new to animal rights (OK, it takes some of us a while to wake up) but I'm wondering how PETA can advocate interfering with an animal's reproductive rights. What gives any human the right to perform surgery on an animal that can't consent? It's for their own good according to the all-knowing human? That's like saying it's fine to shoot Alaskan wolves from helicopters because it's good for the ecosystem. Am I right or wrong here?
Steve
Posted by: Steve Morrison | October 13, 2008 02:40 PM