Friday, August 8, 2008

News to PETA: Hollywood hunts too!

As someone who cares deeply about the future of hunting, I don't spend much time worrying about PETA. It's an ineffective organization, known mostly for stunts, naivete and its not-so-credible Hollywood following.

But PETA still irritates me, so it was with great joy this morning that I came across news that actress Eliza Dushku - who played "Faith" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer - has pissed off PETA by announcing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that she hunts.

OK, not just that she hunts, but she actually killed a deer on Christmas last year.

Now, to me, that sounds like a great Christmas, but the studio audience was horrified by this.

The host wasn't upset, but he couldn't stop laughing. He just kept saying, "You shot a deer on Christmas? (giggle) You shot a deer on Christmas? (giggle) What, you gutted it on Easter?"

Dushku ran with it. "My mother called me herself and said, 'You're a liberal from New England, what the 'f' are you doing in Oklahoma shooting things." (Remember what that former NRA lobbyist, Richard Feldman, said about liberal gun owners? See, he's not crazy.)

Much to host Jimmy Kimmel's credit, he defended her against the murmurs of disapproval from the audience, saying, "If you eat meat, you shouldn't be horrified by killing the animal." Amen, bro, you got that right!

PETA, predictably, admonished the actress: "Slaying bloodthirsty vampires on Buffy is brave, but slaying innocent animals where they live and raise their families is cowardly and cruel," a spokeswoman said. (Click here to read that story on IMDb.)

That not being enough, the spokeswoman followed up with a flat-out LIE: "Eliza is sorely out of step with the rest of the country; 95 per cent of Americans oppose hunting."

While it is true that 95 percent of the population doesn't hunt, public approval of hunting is on the rise, hitting 78 percent in a 2006 survey. (Click on the chart to enlarge it, or click here for the source of that chart - it's on page 162.)

But again, I'm just not going to get that worked up about it, because no one listens to PETA.

However, I definitely recommend checking out to Dushku's appearance on the TV show, shown in the video below. Skip to the 3-minute mark on the video below to see exactly how it went down.



© Holly A. Heyser 2008

11 comments:

SimplyOutdoors said...

I think that video is awesome and good for her to just come out and say it. I thought she backtracked a little, and tried to pawn it off on her significant other, as to why she hunts, but I thought overall it wasn't that bad of a segment.

I did like Kimmel's response as well.

Thanks for pointing this out. A very enjoyable video.

Langdon Cook said...

Good for Jimmy Kimmel to point out the hypocrisy of the audience "murmurs." Now I don't watch a lot of late night TV, so I'm no expert, but that sounds like a strangely sane thing for a late night host to say. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

It was really amusing the whole interaction. Good for her to enjoy hunting and not playing politically correct by hiding it

Brandon Darnell said...

I love that she brought the bow to the show. It makes me think she wanted to come out with that and say it specifically.

I don't suppose that if she ever breaks up with her boyfriend she will be on that Web site in your previous post?

Native said...

Yea! Bout' time some sanity started getting promoted!
But, I wonder if "Rosie O-Donnell" on the other hand, would have made her cry like she did Tom Sellik when he admitted to owning guns and hunting on "her" show?

Some how, I do not think so!

Anonymous said...

I've seen comments about this in a lot of places. Good for her! I also saw PETA's statements, which I thought were ridiculous as usual. What's sad is that a lot of people don't have the tools or the inclination to check PETA's statements to see if they are truthful.

Tom Sorenson said...

I apologize for my general thinking that not a single sane person worked in Hollywood. I think I found an actress I could admire. I was a little disappointed that she didn't get a real good shot at what appears to be about 20 yards - but then I realized, y'know shooting in front of an audience, I probably would have been doing good to hit the dang hay! Good for her - I hope she truly enjoys hunting for what it is - and like Arthur mentioned, not as something to do to impress her boyfriend.

Native said...

Well Holly, I really hope that Elza has found her "Tru Calling"
Just had to throw that one in, l.o.l.

I used to like watching that show along with all the other cancelled ones like Bruce Campbell in "Briscoe County Jr." and Robert Conrad in "The Wild Wild West"

But I wax Nostalgic....

Jon Roth said...

That is great, but isn't it depressing that it makes news when a public figure actually steps out of line and refuses to drink the Hollywood KoolAid against hunting? Half of those actresses could use a cheese burger. Good for her. This also comes on the heals of a conservative outburst by actor Jon Voight that got Hollywood all twittered. Power to the people!

Jesses Hunting And Outdoors said...

I can't get started on the antis, the make no sense. I'm just in for a quick wolf whistle for Eliza. 8^)

slayerfox2009 said...

she wants to hunt, let the girl hunt. Eliza rocks and it's not like she's breaking any laws so get off her back..x..x..x..