New York — Just in time for the fall shopping season, R&B superstar and former Danity Kane singer D∆WN (Dawn Richard) bares it all for a new PETA ad—shot by top celebrity photographer Brian Bowen Smith—that shows skin being torn off her body next to the words “Leather Is a Rip-Off. That Leather Jacket or Upholstery Was Someone’s Skin.”
In an exclusive video interview with PETA, D∆WN reveals the inspiration for the gruesome ad: “[A]nimals don’t have the ability to say how much pain they’re in or tell you not to rip their skin off for your ability to wear something.”
That’s why she has also sent a letter to H&M urging the company to take all animal skins off its shelves, pointing to a recent PETA exposé of the world’s largest leather processor—one that H&M previously obtained leather from—that showed workers branding calves on the face and electroshocking and beating cows and bulls. She also notes that turning animal skins into leather requires massive amounts of energy and dangerous chemicals that pollute surrounding areas.
“[T]here’s no good reason for H&M to continue selling animal skins,” D∆WN writes, “and as leather products account for less than 1 percent of H&M’s product range, replacing leather goods with sustainable, eco-friendly, and gorgeous cruelty-free alternatives should be feasible.”
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D∆WN is part of a growing list of celebrities—including Alicia Silverstone, Jhené Aiko, Eva Mendes, P!nk, Taraji P. Henson, and Penélope Cruz—who have bared it all to help PETA (whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”) promote kinder wardrobe choices.
By the way, this isn’t PETA and D∆WN’s first time hooking up to send a message. A couple of years ago, in 2015, she captioned a photo of herself from that campaign with, “Proud to be the new spokesperson for @Officialpeta … I’ve been Vegan for a year and a half now and it has changed my life and perspective. What you put inside your body reflects the outside of you. See more of my story at @officialpeta and see why I made the change. Thank you dad and Monty for opening my heart and eyes. Thank you @ninajhair and@_nimzilla for making me feel and look beautiful.” You can read more about that HERE.
For more information on the current campaign and other items, please visit PETA.org.
