Janet Jackson has been named the new celebrity spokesmodel for BlackGama, a luxury clothing company that specializes in mink and other animal fur items. Janet is featured in the company’s new ad campaign which asks the question, What Becomes a Legend Most? The answer, apparently, is The Skin of Dead Animals is what Becomes a Legend Most. As you can imagine, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — an organization that works for animal rights and against the fur trade — has already issued a statement denouncing Janet‘s support of the fur trade:
Animal activists have taken aim at Janet Jackson for signing on as the new face of fur firm BlackGlama. The pop superstar was announced as the brand’s new ‘What Becomes a Legend Most?’ spokesmodel on Thursday, July 15 and she’ll model high-quality mink items in the ads – and PETA bosses have been quick to react. Spokeswoman Amanda Schinke says, “It’s amazing what celebrities will do when their careers are on a downslide, but we didn’t think that Janet was this desperate. Surely she knows enough about suffering and unjustified death to recognize that both occur in the production of a fur coat. We are asking her to think again and to donate these stolen skins to be used as bedding for animals orphaned by other human-caused disasters, such as loss of habitat.”
Blah, I have to agree … the idea of wearing the fur of skinned animals as a luxury seems so barbaric and cruel to me. To be clear, I do eat meat and I do use leather but I so not advocate the use of animal fur. I know it may sound hypocritical to some but to me, eating meat is not the same thing as skinning animals merely for the luxury of being able to wear their fur. I wouldn’t personally look down or chagrin someone for wearing fur, just like I wouldn’t want to be treated as such for eating meat or using leather … but I, personally, am not cool at all with wearing fur or advocating its use. It’s a touchy subject, I know, but I think it’s just better to say NO to fur at all costs.
What do y’all think of Janet‘s new mink coat ad? Does it change your opinion of her?
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I enjoy your blog just as much as the next person does. However, your stance on the use of fur does smack of hypocrisy. Humans do not need to consume animal protein in order to be well nourished. As a result, it would appear that you consume meat simply because you like the taste (or perhaps because it’s more socially acceptable than donning a fur coat at this point in time). I don’t think that killing animals for their fur is very much different from eating meat at all. Pot calling the kettle black, anyone?
I agree w/you Trent. I eat meat & wear leather but don’t agree w/farming exotic animals for merely their fur. I’m a bit surprised by Janet’s involvement. I still like her but she’s going to really catch some flak on this!
@Vancouverite eh not really. I eat meat but I would never wear fur. I agree with Trent. And I’m not too surprised that Janet did this…it’s a job. Disappointed maybe.
I’m with Trent on this one too. Farming and killing animals just to make a coat is disgusting.
I don’t see a difference between wearing leather vs fur except that cows aren’t cute. It seems like your okay with wearing the skin/hide of ugly animals, but not the cute ones. I have a problem with this.
But, I love you anyway.
xo
Even if I don’t approve of her involvement, she looks DAMN good in the add. Haha. :)
two thumbs down to janet
I’m with Trent. I eat meat, would wear leather, etc. but to kill an animal just to wear fur, no.
Personally, I don’t care. I think she looks great! I do have to disagree with PETA. Her career is not on a downslide! She’s been acting in Tyler Perry movies and going on tour. Maybe her tours aren’t doing so well, but her movies sure are! And maybe this will sound bad, but that coat sure looks soft! Though I doubt I’d ever wear one if given the opportunity.
When I was a child, we went crabbing one morning (I know that sounds funny, but hey, that’s what we do in south Louisiana), and we caught a hamper full of crabs. Back at home, my grandmother had one of the crabs in her tongs, ready to drop him in the pot of boiling water. He was moving his claws, trying to resist his fate, and I felt sorry for him. Addressing my concern, she said to me “God made these little creatures for us so we could eat and survive.” Ever since then, I had no problem eating seafood, meat, etc. I would not wear fur, however, because animals’ lives are lost for pure human vanity. So, I definitely do not feel that Trent is being hypocritical for eating meat and wearing leather while he disapproves of people wearing fur.
I do not like the fur and I’m definitely against it, but for some reason it’s not changing my opinion of Janet. She’s a little too iconic for me to hate her or be surprised by her wearing fur I think.
i hope all those with negative things to say about Janet have their leather shoes off and leather purses/wallets in the trash…oh and yeah how is your vegan diet? mmm hmmm that’s what i thought….so easy to cast stones before you’ve looked at yourself in the mirror!
Is this bitch fo realz?! She hardly has a carear as it is and now this? I can not support her and her lust for dead animals. I have crossed her off the list. (I’m sure she cares. LOL)
I am really at a loss for why people think that leather is different than fur??? If one is wrong, isn’t the other? (And, to be clear, I eat meat and don’t have strong feeling about either leather or fur, but if you think one is awful, the other has to be just as bad as well)
uhhh how is wearing leather different than wearing fur? it’s exactly the same…
first, wearing fur is just as bad as eating meat. the animal’s going to die, might as well wear it.
secondly, the president-lady in charge of Peta is a bitch for bringing up Michael’s death. It was a very [unnecessary] low blow and it was completely unprofessional. Some of the things PETA does makes me very opposed to their cause. I’m all about treating animals fairly but to attack someone on such a sensitive subject, or throw red paint on them, is just ignorant.
that is all.
I think one of the issues in the leather fur debate, is the way in which animals are killed to obtain fur. Skinning animals alive, and leaving them to die slow painful deaths being one. Many are endangered, or are projected to be in the near future. Also, animals used for fur are rarely eaten, with the exception of those skinned by Eskimo’s and other Indigenous people who use the entire animal. I was vegan for years, and now eat meat. I try to do a lot of research about how the animals I eat are raised and what the conditions are on the farms they come from. Never mass produced meat. I rarely eat meat at restaurants, but living in San Francisco there are many conscious (well for meat eaters anyway) restaurants that get meat from small farms, where animals are free range, and eat organic food. … Sorry I digress. I just think there is a difference. Perhaps it is a stance I will get criticism for, but that is how I see it.
I eat meat and wear leather. While I don’t own a fur coat, I have no problem with those who do; with the one exception that the fur come from an animal who was raised in captivity. We all remember the videos of the slaughtering of baby seals in Alaska years ago (I’m looking at you Sarah Palin…)
It’s call RANCH MINK for a reason. They were bred and raised in captivity. Also, I would like to think (hope?) that they have humane ways of ending their lives (although I’ve heard that’s not the case). Of course, no one seems to be complaining about the steel peg they shoot into the heads of pigs at a slaughter house.
The difference I see between wearing leather and wearing fur is that the leather most wear is cow leather, and they eat beef, and there are plenty of other things done with various cow parts, so the whole animal is being used and there are protocols in place (whether to not they are always followed, there is an ideal/goal) to slaughter the animals as humanely as possible. It is not an animal being killed, and, as some have pointed out, sometimes skinned alive and left to die, merely for people to wear their coats as a status symbol. I see a huge difference there and am surprised by those who don’t.
Same with trophy hunters. I am not a fan of hunting in the least, but I have a better understanding and acceptance of those who hunt for food and use as many parts of the animal as possible than those who just want to hang a head on the wall or make a rug. Ew.
Hey ya’ll. Learn more about the production of fur in this wonderful film called The Witness.
As a vegan, I dont see the difference between fur and leather but this film is really great.
a dog is a cat is a fox is a cow is a chicken is a pig.
http://www.witnessfilm.org/