store.afa-online / CC

I'm fascinated by some celebrities' bizarre backstage demands—the Backstreet Boys' list of "must-haves" includes black nail polish while John Mayer's concert rider includes a demand for four soft-headed toothbrushes.

The most recent celebrity requests to pop up during my Internet perusing left me giddy instead of scratching my head. Sir Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, and Morrissey are making animal-friendly "front of stage" demands during their summer tours. Sir Paul has ensured that meat-free options are available for fans at his shows, two of the Pretenders' recent shows offered only vegetarian fare for concertgoers, and Morrissey requires people working his shows to abstain from meat.

I can think of a handful of celebrities who could learn a lot from these three about using their clout to help animals rather than hurt them.

Posted by Karin Bennett

This past weekend, the Southern California desert town of Indio was steamier than usual. PETA's lettuce ladies made a special appearance at the three-day Coachella Music Festival—where our beloved Morrissey was performing—and wooed broiling-hot fans to the joy of soy by giving away free Tofutti Cuties. The ladies report that the icy-cold, nondairy treats were a smash hit and even turned skeptics into fans.

And what about Morrissey, you ask? Well, he proved once again that he will never let animals down. In front of a crowd of thousands, Mr. M. halted his own performance to let the meat vendors inside the venue know their presence was not welcome, shouting: "I smell burning flesh, and I hope to God it's human. This smell of burning animals is making me sick."

Check out some photos of our ladies at the festival:

They couldn't even make it through festival gates before being stopped.

Everyone wanted pictures with the Lettuce Ladies.

Our ladies were working hard to the very end.

Hmm, anyone else think a Morrissey and Lettuce Ladies world tour is in order?

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Happy "Win It" Wednesday to you! With Canada's annual seal slaughter looming this month, we decided that a real hero for seals should be featured in our weekly giveaway. Musician and animal rights activist Morrissey has refused to play shows in Canada until the government agrees to stop letting hunters smash in baby seals' skulls. The former Smiths frontman just released his ninth solo album, Years of Refusal, and we snagged three limited-edition vinyl copies to pass along to you.

How do you win? Post a comment about your favorite thing that Morrissey has done for animals. The three people who post the most heartfelt answers will each win a copy of this limited-edition vinyl.

The contest ends on March 18, 2009, and we'll contact the winners on March 20, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!

Posted by Lianne Turner

Timeout / CC

I love this stuff. In case you missed it, TMZ posted an article the other day suggesting that a) Morrissey was seen eating at an STK steakhouse in Los Angeles, and b) vegetarians who eat in steakhouses are hypocrites. Both of these statements have turned out to be pretty off base. As far as the first one is concerned, a rep from STK has released the following statement:

"Morrissey never dined at STK nor did we report that he did, but as a matter of policy, of course, STK welcomes him and vegetarians of all stripes. There's loads of vegetarian options: roasted beet, organic arugula and hearts of romaine salads; nine vegetable options … and on and on."

And as far as the second point is concerned, you can read my dissertation on the subject here.

Morrissey’s rep also very kindly contacted us last night to alert us to the STK statement and point out that the TMZ piece “also erroneously alluded to a disagreement between Morrissey and PETA who remain mutual supporters and admirers.” True dat!

Timeout / CC

After being asked recently to perform at a series of events in Canada, Morrissey responded with his sincere regrets and the following powerful condemnation of Canada’s barbaric seal hunt, which began in earnest last week:

In late June the Montreal Symphony are hosting a TV Special to salute Buffy Sainte-Marie's 50th year making music. I am honored to be asked to take part. I first bought a Buffy Sainte-Marie record when I was 12, and her music has always remained with me. In the 1960s, as a political activist, Buffy's lyrics were fearless, and I'm very grateful for all the risks that she took.

I am also pleased to be asked to join the bill at the V Festival at the Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, and also at Fort Calgary in Calgary.

However, as we all know, the psychologically and constitutionally sickening Canadian seal-kill has started and is once again in full-cry.

The horror of the Canadian seal-kill is untranslatable, and although I fully realize that highly concentrated evil exists in other countries - Japan's dolphin slaughter, Iceland's newly-revived whaling, the cat-skinning trade in Switzerland, and China with just about every injustice imaginable - there is something especially menacing about Canada's seal-kill.

Loyola Sullivan (Canada's Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation) is a man of glacial coldness who claims that the seal-kill is "humane" - a view he might alter if his own skull were cracked open with a spiked axe. The fact that the seal-kill provides a livelihood for fishermen is an insultingly dim excuse for it to take place - after all, the German gas chambers of World War 2 also provided work for someone.

The seal-kill takes place to satisfy greed for fur-pelts, and this Canadian government is happy to drag the global image of its own country down, and make it a place that people such as I couldn't bear to visit.
-Morrissey, 29 March 2008.

This Monday, Morrissey played a sold-out show at the Norva, a few blocks from PETA HQ here in Norfolk, Virginia. I tried, desperately, to get tickets—but that's another story. According to my more fortunate colleagues who did attend the show, Morrissey stopped three songs in and announced, to thunderous applause, that he was "very gratified." He continued, “You haven’t even heard what I’m gratified about yet. I’m very gratified to be so close to the international headquarters of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.” The audience responded with enthusiastic cheers, which is a good sign that Morrissey's fans are all either exceptionally animal-friendly or just very polite. But the best part of the show came near the end, when Morrissey started riffing on Madonna and her fondness for fur:

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she made that African boy into a coat and wore him … for 15 minutes, and then threw it away.”

Zing! The story found its way onto VH1's The Sizzler last night—you can check that out here.

Just in case you weren’t aware, our Morrissey’s a big fan of animals.