Update from Monday (August 26) 12:30 CET: Peta has since responded to Lily's statement on X (formerly known as Twitter), saying: "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.'
Highlights
- Lily Allen received death threats after rehoming her rescue puppy, Mary.
- Lily compared the backlash to her decision with misinformation that led to racist riots in the UK.
- Lily revealed Mary was rehomed within 24 hours to someone known to her and her family.
- PETA sent Lily a mechanical toy dog, criticizing her for abandoning her real dog.
- Lily claimed Mary's severe separation anxiety and passport-eating incidents led to the rehoming.
"Shame on you. You don’t deserve even the toy dog we sent you."
Lily Allen slammed PETA and compared the backlash she received after rehoming her rescue puppy with misinformation spreading that led to racist riots in the United Kingdom. Taking to her Instagram page on Sunday (August 25), Lily addressed the “disgusting comments,” “abhorrent messages,” and even “death threats” she has been subjected to since abandoning Mary, a puppy she adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 39-year-old singer called out the media for focusing on recent revelations about Mary she had made earlier this month on her Miss Me? podcast and how the puppy had eaten Lily’s passport.
“People have been furiously reacting to a deliberately distorted cobbling together of quotes designed to make people angry,” the Smile hitmaker wrote on her Instagram story.
She continued: “I’m ok but it has been really tough few days that have impacted me and my family.”
Lily Allen slammed PETA and the backlash she received after rehoming her rescue puppy
Image credits: lilyallen
Lily went on to clarify: “We rescued our puppy Mary from a shelter in NY (New York, USA), and we loved her very much, BUT she developed pretty severe separation anxiety and would act out in all manner of ways.
“She couldn’t be left alone for more than 10 mins, she had three long walks a day two by us and one with a local dog walker and several other dogs.
“We worked with the shelter that we rescued her from and they referred us to a behavioral specialist and a professional trainer.
Image credits: its_marys_world
“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.”
The Grammy Award nominee admitted that Mary was rehomed within 24 hours of being returned to a person who was known by Lily and her family.
“I’ve had rescue dogs pretty consistently throughout my life since I was four years old,” Lily argued. “I’m pretty good at ascertaining a dog’s needs, I have never been accused of mistreating an animal, and I’ve found this whole week very distressing.”
Taking to her Instagram page on Sunday (August 25), Lily addressed the “disgusting comments" and “death threats”
Image credits: www.instagram.com
The British songstress added: “Please stop acting on clickbait articles when you haven’t done your due diligence.
“I know that people sending horrible messages hadn’t listened to the podcast but had been reading The Mail Online and the follow-up articles and videos that followed, I could tell by the language they were using exactly what their sources were.
“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.”
Image credits: PETA
Lily went on to juxtapose her experience with the far-right demonstrations that turned violent across the UK last month in the wake of a mass stabbing in Southport.
Far-right agitators had mobilized around online misinformation and hateful, anti-migrant, and anti-Muslim narratives.
“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,” the music star shared.
PETA gifted Lily a toy dog, stating it "requires none of the care, patience, or commitment that a real one does"
Image credits: PETA
Lily concluded by calling out PETA, a famous animal rights nonprofit organization, sarcastically saying: “Also thank you to Peta for adding fuel to the fire. Very responsible of you.”
On Thursday (August 22), Lily chated with Welsh TV host Steve Jones in an episode of her Miss Me? podcast, co-hosted by her close friend Miquita Oliver.
In the episode, Lily showed Steve a picture of a Chihuahua mix puppy that she was considering getting for her family of four, which includes her children, Ethel, 12, and Marnie, 11.
Image credits: lilyallen
When Steve asked if she and her husband, David Harbour, were ready for the commitment, the British pop queen narrated the story of her previous attempt at having a dog in the house.
She revealed that the ordeal took place during Covid-19 when they added a furry friend to the family. But things went south really fast after the puppy ate not one but three of the family’s passports.
“We actually did adopt a dog already, but then it ate my passport, and so I took her back to the home,” she said.
Lily broke her silence on her rescue dog Mary by sharing several Instagram stories
Image credits: lilyallen
The Fear singer explained that the passports contained their visas, and the fiasco made it hard for them to travel to the UK to visit her ex-husband and father of her children, Sam Cooper.
“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 Covid, so it was just an absolute logistical nightmare,” she said.
Lily continued: “And because the father of my children lives in England, I couldn’t take them back to see their dad for like four months, five months because this f—ing dog had eaten the passports.
“And I just couldn’t look at her. I was like, ‘You’ve ruined my life.'”
Image credits: lilyallen
The vocalist also claimed to Steve that the passport-eating disaster was the final straw before she gave the pup back.
“Also, you know, passports weren’t the only things she ate,” Lily admitted. “She was a very badly behaved dog, and I really tried very hard with her, but it didn’t work out. The passports were the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak.”
The podcast episode prompted a negative reaction from PETA, as Elisa Allen, the organization’s vice president of programs, sent an open letter to the singer criticizing her decision to rehome Mary.
“We were appalled when we heard you say that you returned your adopted dog, Mary, to the shelter because she chewed your family’s passports,” Elisa wrote.
Lily admitted that Mary was rehomed within 24 hours and was returned to a person who was known by her
Image credits: lilyallen
She added: “While you could get new passports and rebook your flights, Mary may spend many months in the shelter waiting for a new family – if she’s lucky enough to find one at all.
“Anyone who knows and loves dogs understands that it’s likely a dog will, at some point, chew up something in the home.
“Dogs often explore the world by putting things in their mouths – it’s natural! Couldn’t you have put your important documents in a drawer?
“Dogs should never be treated as accessories to be discarded when they become inconvenient.
Image credits: its_marys_world
“They are loyal companions who deserve the same unwavering love and commitment they offer us.”
Elisa went on to inform that PETA had gifted the singer a toy dog, as she wrote: “It’s for this reason that we beg you, please, not to get another dog.
“Instead, we’re sending you a mechanical toy puppy, which requires none of the care, patience, or commitment that a real one does. It really is the only animal you should bring into your home.”
Bored Panda has contacted Lily Allen’s representatives and PETA for comment.
The situation left many people divided
