After SeaWorld announced the musical lineup for its annual Seven Seas Food Festival, PETA began targeting the performers set to play (including Flo Rida, 98 Degrees, Lifehouse, Sugar Ray, and The Fray) with a series of memes featuring the artists’ own song lyrics — with a slight twist.
“These bands used to sell out shows, but now they’re selling out suffering animals just to make a quick buck,” says PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange. “These musicians are some of SeaWorld’s only willing performers, and PETA hopes Flo Rida and the other artists will cut ties with this sinking ship and choose to play only gigs at which their audiences aren’t actually held captive.”
The group also sent a letter to all the musicians scheduled to perform at SeaWorld urging them to pull out of the event and cut ties with the abusement park. PETA — whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment” — notes that more than 40 orcas have died at SeaWorld and that other dolphins and whales there continue to be bred, sometimes forcibly after being drugged. Just last month, captive-born orca Kayla died at SeaWorld Orlando after years of being hauled from park to park and forced to perform tricks in chemically treated water.
Musicians who’ve previously axed shows at SeaWorld include the Barenaked Ladies, Martina McBride, and Willie Nelson — while Joan Jett and Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee have demanded that their music not be used in the park’s shows. Morrissey’s band wore “SeaWorld Sucks” T-shirts while performing in San Diego, and other celebrities — including P!nk, Bella Thorne, and Noah Cyrus — have teamed up with PETA to speak out against the company.
