Urge Showtime to Pull Cruel Shameless Promo

FROM  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

ACTION

Tell Showtime to pull the offensive promo showing a teenage boy holding a screeching cat in one hand and a blowtorch in the other. Remind Showtime that viewers are less likely to watch television programs that promote violence toward animals. Executives at Showtime might be surprised to learn that depicting animal abuse on television encourages potentially deadly "copycat" actions.

Sign an online petition

And/Or make direct contact:

Melinda Benedek
Executive Vice President, Business Affairs and Production, Showtime
1633 Broadway
New York NY 10019
phone (212) 708-1600
fax (212) 708-1212

INFORMATION / TALKING POINTS

Showtime is currently running a promo for its new television series, Shameless, that includes a clip of a teenage boy holding a screeching cat in one hand and a blowtorch in the other, with the clear implication that he is about to torture the cat by burning her with the torch. The offensive scene is meant to be humorous, but compassionate citizens everywhere agree that cruelty to animals is not a laughing matter.

Cruelty to animals—including the burning of cats and dogs—happens each and every day in this country. We here at PETA receive countless reports of animal abuse, many of which involve young perpetrators. Executives at Showtime might be surprised to learn that depicting animal abuse on television encourages potentially deadly "copycat" actions.

This promo reminded many viewers—and our cruelty caseworkers—of numerous real-life instances in which animals were tortured with fire. Earlier this year, a teenage boy in Rochester, New York, was charged after using hair spray and a lighter to set a 2-month-old kitten on fire. The kitten was so badly burned that she had to be euthanized. In 2009, three teenagers in Miles City, Montana, were charged after choking a cat and then throwing him into a bonfire while he was still alive.

Thank you for everything you do for animals!