The UK’s Daily Mail reported in September that supermodel Elle Macpherson is seeking to get out of million pound contract she signed with fur company Blackglama after receiving a threatening letter from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ Dan Matthews.
In the letter, Matthews wrote,
By making yourself the new face of fur for Blackglama you are also making yourself a top target for PETA and animal activists around the world. When you take money from such a violent industry you also must carry their baggage.
Matthews, of course, defends every tactic to stop companies using fur up to and including murder. In 2000, asked by gay magazine Genre to name one of his favorite men of the 20th century, Matthews responded that one of his favorite men was
Andrew Cunanan, because he got Versace to stop doing fur.
Cunanan was the serial killer who in 1997 murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace outside Versace’s Miami Beach home.
When you get warning letters from people who admire serial killers, one cannot blame Macpherson for being concerned. The Daily mail quoted a source close to Macpherson saying,
Elle has never seen anything ethically wrong in wearing fur and was very keen to get involved with the campaign. But in the wake of recent developments against the fur industry from militant protesters and animal rights activists, Elle felt that no amount of money was worth jeopardizing the safety of herself or her family and she would rather the ads were pulled.
No word yet on whether or not Macpherson will be able to reach an agreement with Blackglama to abandon the ad campaign scheduled to debut over the next few months.
Source:
Elle ‘too scared’ for fur. Clemmie Moodle, Daily Mail, September 30, 2005.