People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals apparently went bananas over a Dancing with the Stars segment that was supposed to feature an ape.
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During Monday night's performance episode, Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron teased that the upcoming results show would include a segment in which ESPN fantasy sports guru Matthew Berry, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, and a chimpanzee would each handicapping the ninth-season's celebrity participants.
"That prompted PETA to contact executive producer Conrad Green first thing [Tuesday] morning with a plea that the chimp segment be canceled," PETA executive Dan Mathews told Variety.
Green subsequently notified PETA on Tuesday afternoon that it was removing the chimpanzee from the segment -- replacing it with a toddler.
"I do appreciate [PETA's] point that showing a chimpanzee on our show may indirectly lead to other chimpanzees being ill-treated in the future," Green wrote in an e-mail, according to Variety.
A spokesperson for Dancing with the Stars' BBC Worldwide production company added that the chimp-to-child switch had little to no impact on the segment.
"Conrad constantly makes last-minute editorial decisions [and] changes, and we are pleased with the result of the October 6 show," the spokesperson told Variety.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
