Fur Flies: PETA Accuses Olson Twins Of Marketing Fur Backpack For “Shock Value”

For years, some of us who support the general mission of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have criticized the organization for bizarre publicity grabbing moves from women making love to Pamela Anderson butcher posters to using a robotic groundhog in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to bizarre taunting Thanksgiving messages. It was therefore a bit surprising to see PETA denouncing the Olson twins — Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen — for using animal pelts to create their latest backpack. PETA objected that “[w]hat the Olsons lack in creativity, they try to make up for in shock value.” I would have thought the $17,000 for the world’s ugliest backpack would have been enough to deter sales.

The official PETA statement reads like a Valley Girl dishing on the twins in the hallway of some local middle school: “If it looks like a troll and acts like a troll, it’s probably a Trollsen Twin — or someone wearing one of their new totes, which are made from the fur and skins of innocent animals.”

I do not like fur coats and accessories, let alone teenage celebrity design advice. However, once again, PETA might have been better off with a modicum of restraint. I have no problem with denouncing the use of fur in the items but the mockery over seeking “shock value” reads like Madonna denouncing Lady Gaga for exhibitionism.

Source: NY Daily News