E! Online reports that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is upset that CBS has nixed PETA's plans for "Survivor: The Amazon" winner Jenna Morasca to appear in a new anti-fur campaign. The 21-year-old swimsuit model, who took home the million-dollar jackpot earlier this month, had agreed to slip into a fake fur bikini (think Raquel Welch in 1966's One Million Years B.C.) for a PETA print ad. According to a PETA spokesperson, everything was good to go, until CBS execs pulled out the rug at the 11th hour. "They initially gave us the green light on doing the ad then came back and said that it could not mention the word Survivor--the title of the show--or the word 'survive,'" says PETA spokesman Michael McGraw. "We had hope to make mention, in the caption, of her Survivor notoriety."
McGraw says the animal-rights group came back with a new caption ("Animals Need Fur to Survive--You Don't") that indirectly referenced the hit reality show and also met CBS' guidelines. But again the network balked, McGraw says. Then PETA suggested a more innocuous-sounding slogan--"Wear Fake for the Animals' Sake." That finally met with CBS approval, but, according to PETA, reversed itself and refused to allow Morasca to appear, citing "contractual obligations." (Per the Survivor contract, CBS has a say in contestants' appearances up to a year after the show airs.)
When asked about the alleged agreement with PETA, CBS disputed the group's account. "I'm not aware of anybody at CBS initially approving of Jenna's participation," network spokesman Chris Ender says. "They presented an ad to us in which they wanted Jenna to participate. Obviously Survivor is a very important brand in this company and we're very careful what we approve [especially] if it's an advocacy issue."
|
| |
|
