PETA is back with a new round of outrage to share, but this time it's a little different. Aside from their displeasure that California punks The Offspring decided to use a pair of chimpanzees in their latest music video, PETA doubled down with their belief that the animals used were provided by a "notorious" supplier named Steve Martin.
In a letter addressed to The Offspring singer Dexter Holland, PETA's Senior Manager for Animals in Film and Television Lauren Thomasson calls the band's new video for "We Don't Have Sex Anymore" from their 2021 album Let the Bad Times Roll "out of touch," and "risks resurrecting the chimpanzee trade in Hollywood." She also provides a terse reminder of the horrors of the exotic pet trade -- lessons learned over a year ago by millions of viewers during Netflix's Tiger King craze.
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Thomasson's letter regarding the clip, which features a duo of chimpanzees placed into human situations (including making it rain at a strip club with actor John Stamos), lays it all out: "Dressing up chimpanzees, presenting their fear grimaces as 'smiles,' and placing them side by side with celebrities is a dangerous messaging trifecta, and there isn’t a primate expert alive who doesn’t condemn this kind of old-school exploitation. If you were going for counterculture, you hit it out of the park." The message continues, "We believe that the chimpanzees in the video came from the notorious animal supplier Steve Martin."
Steve Martin's Working Wildlife has been cited in the past by the USDA, as PETA notes, "for failing to meet the minimum standards set by the federal Animal Welfare Act. According to Newsweek, this was for "locking chimpanzees and orangutans in 'night housing' for up to 18 hours a day with no enrichment items, denying animals adequate space, and failing to provide them with necessary veterinary care, shelter from the elements, ventilation, clean cages, and proper food." In the letter, PETA says Martin also "has a history of disposing of unwanted chimpanzees and other wild animals. Two of the chimpanzees he used ended up at the atrocious G.W. Zoo, which was featured in Netflix’s Tiger King."
Urging them to immediately pull the video, Thomasson managed to sneak a little dig in at the band, saying "there are plenty of things we all miss about the ’90s — but animal exploitation isn’t among them." Adding, "every minute your video remains online, it risks legitimizing a cruel industry, propping up the exotic 'pet' trade, and reversing years of animal advocacy work that has nearly ended the use of chimpanzees in Hollywood."
The clip, directed by F. Scott Schafer dropped on May 13 with the well-known disclaimer stating "no animals were harmed in the making of this video." As of now, the band has yet to respond to PETA or their own social media comments sections, which are leaning heavily toward agreement with the organization both on Instagram and Twitter.
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