One of our most popular anti-fur slogans here at PETA is “Fur is worn by beautiful animals and ugly people”. And we’ve got some great ads to back it up. But the pictures that have been circulating of Aretha Franklin at the Grammy awards last week don’t even really need the tagline to drive that point home. She looks like a walrus in a cat costume. Except, like, nowhere near as cute as that sounds.

Here’s the note that PETA VP Dan Mathews sent to Aretha, who got all in a tizzy yesterday about the fact that Beyonce called Tina Turner “the Queen” and not her.

Dear Aretha-

Music lovers may think of you as a "queen," but to animal lovers, you are a court jester. I'm sorry, Aretha, but your furs make you look like a clown. Why not shed the old-fashioned look that adds pounds to your frame and detracts from your beautiful voice? Won't you donate your furs to the poor as "queen of compassion," Mariah Carey, did? You'll get a tax credit for the donation, and we at PETA will all sing your praises.

Dan Mathews
VP, PETA

Plan59/Creative Commons

When word of a good new vegan food product hits the street, it spreads through the PETA office faster than a California wildfire. Sometimes the product lives up to the uber-vegan hype; sometimes not. So when I caught wind of Dairy Queen’s new "Star Kiss" frozen treat, I was more than a little skeptical. But I had the chance to try one yesterday and I can honestly say that the Star Kiss is the best thing to hit the market since sliced bread. OK, it may have a little bit to do with the fact that it’s a frozen ice cream type treat and it's like a million degrees in Virginia right now, but still, it’s good. Really good.

Obviously, it's not exactly an ice cream bar—it is vegan after all—but it is definitely rich and creamy like ice cream, and there is the added advantage that it’s not full of fat and cholesterol like ice cream. Oh, and there's another small advantage over ice cream—extreme cruelty to animals isn't involved in its production.

So anyway, there’s my pitch. Check out the Star Kiss at DQ and judge for yourself.

This Sunday, at Churchill Downs racetrack, thousands of spectators gathered to watch the Kentucky Derby, brought to you by KFC parent company Yum! Brands—kind of like a little mini convention for animal abusers, where the horse people and the chicken people could get together and talk torture tactics. A cruelty conference, if you will. Or a suffering summit. OK, I'm done, I promise. But one bright spot in the event came in the form of PETA's Bear, who has been following the Queen everywhere she goes on her U.S. visit to draw attention to the fact that her Guards' regiment wear dead bears on their heads, despite the fact that it is now the 21st century. The bear, as usual, was a big hit, and the pictures from the protest are awesome. Ten points for anyone who can identify the Houston Texans lineman in the bottom pic. Also, check out the great news coverage of the bear's nationwide tour here.

Some kindhearted paperboys at the derby helped the bear out by putting leaflets in the newspapers they were passing out to the crowd.

P.S. Don't forget that this week is Be Kind to Animals week. To get things started, you might want to have a look at some of the tips on how to keep your companion animals happy here.