Animal Rights Group Boycotting ‘Wolf of Wall Street’
No animals were harmed in the making of this film? Friends of Animals doesn’t buy “The Wolf of Wall Street’s” end credits.
The animal rights group has organized a boycott against Martin Scorsese’s drama for the use of a chimpanzee in one of its earlier scenes. The primate, who plays Leonardo DiCaprio’s pet, roller skates through the company office in a collared shirt and slacks. Friends of Animals thinks the chimp — named Chance — suffered irreversible psychological damage after being forced to act.
According to a press release, FoA’s New York director Edita Birnkrant plans to “confront” Scorsese and DiCaprio at the flick’s NYC red carpet premiere on Tuesday. She wrote an expose on animals in entertainment and “Hollywood’s Betrayal of Great Apes” in the most recent issue of the organization’s magazine, Action Line.
Birnkrant argues that Chance, who was subject to the cruel teaching methods of his circus trainer earlier in its life, could suffer from neurotic behaviors, ultimately becoming incapable of socially interacting with other chimps, due to his appearance in the movie. The movie also features, dogs, a lion and a fish.
Danny Porush, the character Jonah Hill portrays in the film, told Mother Jones that “there was never a chimpanzee in the office.” In fact, “there were no animals in the office.” The film never explains the meaning of the animal’s role.
However, Porush did admit that the little people, who appear in the same scene, were actually frequent office party guests. But they were never thrown around in a game of “dwarf-tossing.”
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