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Actor Matthew Morrison 'outraged' over alleged dog abuse on set of upcoming film Crazy Alien

Morrison speaks out about the reports

Ilana Kaplan
Monday 19 March 2018 15:39 EDT
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Whistleblower video shows caged dog being dropped in cold water

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Matthew Morrison is appalled over reports that dog abuse occurred during the filming of his upcoming movie Crazy Alien.

During the Chinese science fiction film, a German shepherd was allegedly mistreated in a stunt segment according to acquired video footage that went public on Thursday.

Video footage reveals the dog was locked in a cage, then dangled in the air, twirled around by a crane and dropped into a body of water.

I’ve just been made aware and seen a video from the set of a film I worked on in China," Morrison wrote on Twitter. "My heart is broken to see any animal treated this way. Had I been on set or known about this, I would have made all efforts to stop this. I’ve called the producers to express my outrage."

PETA also spoke out about the alleged abuse referencing the whistleblower's evidence saying that there were many takes of the scene and the dog was never given a break to recover in between.

"PETA is urging the actors to hold the production accountable and calling for the public to boycott this film," the animals' rights organisation said in a statement.

They added that "the scene should be cut" and "Ning should commit to never working with live animals again."

"We’re asking that the cast — including Glee actor Matthew Morrison — donate their salaries to animal-protection charities in China," PETA said.

Crazy Alien's production company Dirty Monkey Films Group responded to the video footage in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter saying, "We sincerely apologise for any animals that were mistreated on our set. We always strive to treat all cast and crew, human or animal, with the utmost respect, and are deeply troubled by the reports of an animal in distress on our production."

The company took responsibility for their actions saying, "There is no excuse for any failure to fully account for the welfare of any animal brought into a film, and we will be conducting a full review of our live animal practices and safeguards going forward."

They added that "the dog was well cared for on set" and its owner was there throughout the filming of the movie.

Ultimately, they made no excuses saying that "no explanation can excuse any distress caused to this innocent animal on our set, and we are deeply sorry."

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