Veteran actor and longtime PETA patron Alec Baldwin is publicly calling for the capuchin monkey who appeared in the NBC comedy show 30 Rock to be retired from being "exploited" for entertainment at Los Angeles Angels baseball games. Per PETA, Baldwin penned an open letter to team owner Artie Moreno pleading for him to end the "Rally Monkey" gimmick. This refers to how the animal is dressed up in a Los Angeles Angels uniform while the audience is encouraged to make noise.
This particular capuchin monkey is named Katie, the same one who appeared on 30 Rock. Baldwin says in his letter how he was very upset to learn that Katie has been "forced to perform for 30 years." He also says how he's learned how portraying animals this way would inspire people to acquire capuchin monkeys as "pets," taking more of them away from their natural environments and all too often leading to disastrous consequences. Now, Baldwin wants it to all stop, starting with Katie.
"I’ve learned that using vulnerable animals for entertainment can have detrimental consequences, and I hope you’ll do your part to end this exploitation," Baldwin says. "In order to be trained for TV or public interactions, monkeys like her are torn away from their mothers as infants, abusively trained through the fear of punishment, and denied a chance to engage in natural behavior. Capuchin monkeys should be swinging through treetop canopies, not being forced to jump around on set, appear in photos like a prop, or hold a sign in a loud, distressing stadium."
He adds, "It’s not too late to help Katie. Replacing this exploitative footage with an animal-free version would be a simple act with notable impact and would reinvent the team’s tradition to align with the values of today’s fans. I hope you’ll make the compassionate choice and relegate this exploitation to the history books, where it belongs."
PETA Honors Those Who Avoid Using Real Animals for Entertainment
PETA will often criticize productions for how real live animals are used on various film and TV projects, though the group will also offer praise when filmmakers instead use CGI. While Cocaine Bear features an outlandish plot about an American black bear who embarks on a bloody rampage while high on coke, PETA honored director Elizabeth Banks with a "Beary Best Award" because real bears weren't used for the production. The org had previously blasted Zac Efron for working with a real bear on a video ad.
"Cocaine Bear’s hyper-realistic star proves that the future of film lies in technology, not dragging abused animals onto movie sets," PETA Senior VP Lisa Lange said of Banks' award. "PETA is happy to celebrate Elizabeth Banks for recognizing that forcing a real bear to perform in her dark comedy would have been anything but funny."
PETA continues to push for change with other film and TV projects. Another recent effort put forth by the org was to call for Good Burger 2 to introduce vegan burgers in the Nickelodeon sequel. As of now, there's been no indication of that happening for the film.