PETA to DiCaprio: Using Chimps for Filming is Abuse
DiCaprio Has Chimp During Scene in 'The Wolf of Wall Street'
PETA and Leonardo DiCaprio are at odds over his use of a chimpanzee during the filming on "The Wolf of Wall Street," a Martin Scorsese-directed film being released on Christmas day. The animal rights organization said that the people responsible for providing the chimp for filming had a history of abusing their animals.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has started an organized ad campaign against DiCaprio and the film because of the use of the chimpanzee. In one scene, DiCaprio, who plays Wall St. banker Jordan Belfort, carries the ape through a wild office party. The act offended PETA, who claimed that the animal was provided by the Rosaire family, who is "notorious for operating a traveling circus that forces chimpanzees to perform cruel and unnatural acts."
"Someone as committed to environmental concerns as Leonardo DiCaprio should know better than to support the well-documented cruelty involved in using great apes for entertainment," PETA primatologist Julia Gallucci said in a statement. "PETA hopes the next time Leo receives a script with an ape 'actor' in it, he'll remember that these sensitive animals are stolen from their mothers at birth and subjected to physical abuse- and he'll demand a rewrite."
Get Our Latest News for FREE
In addition to the statement, the animal rights organization released a graphic video detailing some of the abuses chimpanzees undergo. They also are circulating an online petition pressuring the DiCaprio to never work with apes in films ever again.
"The Wolf of Wall Street" is based on the memoir of Jordan Belfort, who was prosecuted and convicted for running a penny stock boiler room scam and spent time in prison for the crime. The film deals with Belfort's initial refusal to cooperate with a securities fraud investigation and details much of the corruption and excessive wealth of Wall St. tycoons.
