Top model Aoki Lee Simmons strutted from the catwalk last year—now, she’s diving into the … fishbowl? In a striking new PETA campaign, the it-girl is back in front of the camera to spotlight the suffering of orcas and other animals trapped at SeaWorld.
An accompanying behind-the-scenes video and image shows Lee Simmons cramming herself into a glass bowl for the shoot—an experience she said was “not my favorite”—to demonstrate how SeaWorld confines complex orcas in tiny concrete tanks.
In nature, orcas may travel up to 150 miles a day exploring the vast ocean, hunting and foraging for food alongside their fellow pod members. SeaWorld keeps these animals in pools so cramped and shallow that they can do little more than float listlessly or swim in endless circles.
“I remember when I was young, and I first learned the conditions of orcas and dolphins and all those animals in captivity that you would see at SeaWorld shows, and it was horrifying,” Lee Simmons says.
Orca populations from different regions of the world have distinct dialects, cultures, and hunting behaviors. At SeaWorld, orcas are often housed with incompatible tankmates, leading to aggression and injuries. The abusement park causes these highly social, emotional animals severe psychological distress.
“It’s like hell on Earth living that way,” Lee Simmons says.
More than 40 orcas and over 500 other dolphins and whales have died—many prematurely—in SeaWorld’s dismal tanks, where Corky, the longest-held captive orca in the world, currently languishes after being torn from her family off the coast of British Columbia in 1969. While Corky’s free pod members band together to chase salmon, roam the great ocean depths, and, in the summer, visit the beaches near Vancouver Island to rub their bodies over pebbles on the shoreline—a tradition unique to Northern Residents—Corky’s life consists of exploitation and deprivation.
“That version of captivity to Corky is like us standing in a closet forever,” Lee Simmons says. “I think if you could just feel what they’re feeling and imagine yourself living that way, it’ll click for you.”
Speak Up for Corky and Others Suffering at SeaWorld
Never visit SeaWorld or any other abusement park that exploits living, feeling animals. Join Aoki Lee Simmons, Bella Thorne, Joan Jett, Lala Kent, Noah Cyrus, Nikki Glaser, P!nk, Steve Aoki, and other influential celebrities who have spoken out against the cruel company.
Please tell SeaWorld to retire Corky to a seaside sanctuary, where she could feel the ocean currents, dive deeply, and potentially even communicate with her siblings.
