British artist Lily Allen has slammed the tabloids and PETA after she recently copped heat for rehoming her dog Mary because it was “very badly behaved”.
The singer voiced her rage with the media and PETA on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, claiming the public “have been furiously reacting to a deliberately distorted cobbling together of quotes designed to make people angry.”
“I’ve received some really abhorrent messages including death threats, some of the most disgusting comments have been all over my social media channels, and I’m really not surprised because this is exactly what those articles are designed to do,” the singer wrote.
“I’m ok but it has been a really tough few days that has impacted me and my family.”
In her statement, Allen specifically mentioned the Mail Online, claiming the publication used quotes from her podcast for “clickbait articles” and that they missed a key quote from her rehoming story.
“We tried very hard and for a very long time but the passports were the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Allen wrote, quoting herself from the Miss Me? podcast where she confessed to rehoming her pup.
“This is the part of the podcast that the tabloids decided not to quote in their articles about me ‘dumping my puppy’.”
full disclosure: we also covered the story.
@its_marys_world)
Further in the lengthy statement, Allen defended her decision to rehome Mary and explained how her “home wasn’t the best fit” for the pup.
“We rescued our puppy Mary from a shelter in NY and we loved her very much, BUT she developed pretty severe separation anxiety and would act out in all manner of ways,” Allen explained.
“We worked with the shelter that we rescued her from and they referred us to a behavioural specialist and a professional trainer, it was a volunteer from the shelter who would come and dog sit her when we were away, and after many months and much deliberation everyone was in agreement that our home wasn’t the best fit for Mary.”
Allen then claimed Mary had been rehomed within 24 hours of them returning her.
“We couldn’t meet Mary’s needs and her happiness and welfare were central to us making that decision, as difficult as it was,” the singer continued.
Following the public’s scathing reaction to her admission on the Miss Me? podcast, where she unpacked why she rehomed Mary, Allen shared she’d been rescuing dogs throughout her life and that the feedback she’s copped has been “very distressing”.
“Please stop acting on clickbait articles when you haven’t done your due diligence,” Allen said.
“It is distortion, and all you are doing by engaging with these stories is making more money for people who profit from sewing division and tearing us all apart,” Allen continued.
“In the same way that misinformed people acted on distorted propaganda that led to the racially driven xenophobic riots we’ve seen recently in the UK, it’s just all so toxic and I know that we can do better.”
Why did Lily Allen rehome her dog Mary?
Allen first copped heat from the public when she revealed on her Miss Me? podcast she’d rehomed Mary, a dog she’d adopted with husband David Harbour during the COVID-19 pandemic, because of her behaviour.
“You know what, we actually did adopt a dog together already, but then it ate my passport and so I took her back to the home,” Allen shared with podcast guest Steve Jones.
@its_marys_world)
When Jones asked Allen to elaborate and delve deeper into why she chose to rehome Mary, the “Fuck You” singer recounted a story where the pup ate all her family’s passports resulting in a “logistical nightmare”.
“She ate all three of our passports and they had our visas in and I cannot tell you how much money it cost me to get everything replaced because it was in Covid. And so it was just an absolute logistical nightmare,” Allen said.
“And because the father of my children lives in England, I couldn’t get them back to see their dad for like four months, five months, because this fucking dog had eaten their passports. I just couldn’t look at her. I was like, ‘You’ve ruined my life.’
“She was a very badly behaved dog and I really tried very hard with her but it just didn’t work out.”
@its_marys_world)
Following the It’s Not Me, It’s You singer’s confession, many folks took to social media — including Mary’s Instagram account — to call out the singer’s decision. Allen’s admission also prompted a response from animal rights group PETA UK.
“We’re sending Lily a mechanical toy dog, which requires none of the round-the-clock care a real-life puppy does,” the animal rights group shared on X.
After @lilyallen revealed she returned her adopted dog to the shelter for chewing the families’ passports, PETA is begging the singer not to get another puppy.💔
— PETA UK (@PETAUK) August 23, 2024
We’re sending Lily a mechanical toy dog, which requires none of the round-the-clock care a real-life puppy does. pic.twitter.com/KbsnW6ei0I
In her social media statement, Allen also called out PETA for their response, thanking them for “adding fuel to the fire.”
In response, the animal rights group fired back, slamming her for “laughing” about “abandoning Mary”.
“She thought she had a loving forever home before you tossed her out, calling her “that f******* dog” who ‘ruined my life.’ Shame on you. You don’t deserve even the toy dog we sent you,” the group shared on X.
YOU laughed when speaking about abandoning Mary and ruined this poor dog’s life. She thought she had a loving forever home before you tossed her out, calling her “that f******* dog” who “ruined my life.” Shame on you. You don’t deserve even the toy dog we sent you.
— PETA (@peta) August 25, 2024
The response to Allen’s recent statement has been quite a mixed bag, with some punters supporting her decision and others continuing to call her out on her decision.
Some folks have also accused Allen of using Mary for social media gain before “dumping” the pup.
As of writing, the British singer has not responded to PETA’s clapback or the claims she used Mary for social media fame.
The post Lily Allen Defends Decision To Rehome Pup After Copping Heat: ‘Stop Acting On Clickbait’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
