Voters on peta2.com Honor Jackass Star for His Commitment to Animal Advocacy
For Immediate
Release:
January 27, 2012
Contact:
Wendy
Wegner 202-483-7382
Los Angeles -- In 2011, Jackass' Steve-O spread the word about animal protection everywhere he went. He opened up about the health benefits of going vegan, joined PETA and local animal activists urging the Edmonton Zoo to retire Lucy, an ailing elephant—and when he found out that an American Diabetes Association event that he was attending was serving meat, he walked out, saying it was "like serving alcohol at an AA meeting." Steve-O's staunch animal advocacy has landed him the Libby Award for Top Animal-Friendly Celebrity from peta2, PETA's youth division. The sixth annual Libby Awards ("Libby" is for "liberation") honor animal-friendly people and products.
"When it comes to tackling animal abuse, Steve-O isn't clowning around," says peta2 Division Manager Marta Holmberg. "He may be quick to risk his safety for a stunt, but he's quicker to point out that animals should be protected, not killed for food or exploited in a shoddy zoo or a circus."
Steve-O has teamed up with PETA and peta2 for several campaigns, including a quirky video promoting cruelty-free fashion, an anti-dissection ad encouraging kids to "cut class, not frogs," a serious slam against the Canadian seal slaughter, and a provocative anti-fur ad that features him in the buff. His stiff competition included fur foe Gabe Saporta of Cobra Starship fame, Victorious star and "Hug a Vegetarian" Day proponent Daniella Monet, and Glee star Lea Michele, a passionate vegetarian who has campaigned against New York City's cruel horse-drawn carriages.
Twenty-nine Libby Awards will be given out this year, recognizing everything from the best cruelty-free cosmetics company to the best animal-friendly band. Each winner will receive a framed certificate and be featured on peta2.com.
For more information about the winners, please visit peta2.com/Libbys.
Winners were chosen by peta2 based on equal consideration of three factors: the number of votes received, the quality of the animal-friendly product or the nominees' enthusiasm for being animal-friendly, and feedback from the nominees' fans.