Elen Rivas’ Anti-Bullfighting Ad Won’t Fly With easyJet

A new ad from PETA – in which Spanish-born celebrity Elen Rivas appears nude and “bleeding” from the banderillas stuck in her back next to the words “The Naked Truth: Bullfighting Is Cruel” – has been deemed too racy to run in Traveller, easyJet’s in-flight magazine. We’d hoped to reach British tourists with the message about boycotting bullfighting when they visit Spain, but the magazine’s publishers have ruled that although they sympathise with the cause, they cannot run the artwork because of the graphic nature of the images and the nudity involved.

“My ad might be graphic, but it’s nothing compared to the bloody, violent reality of bullfights”, says Rivas. “Most Spaniards – including those in my hometown of Barcelona, where bullfighting was recently banned – are opposed to the barbaric blood sport, and PETA and I are urging British tourists not to be fooled by the industry’s propaganda. There is absolutely nothing romantic about torturing and killing animals for entertainment.”

Spanish model’s PETA ad is too racy for airline’s in-flight magazine – shot by PETA friend and star photographer ##http://karlgrant.com##Karl Grant## (© Karl Grant/PETA)

In a typical bullfight, men on blindfolded horses drive lances into the bull’s back and neck, impairing the animal’s ability to lift his head. Others plunge banderillas – sticks with harpoon points – into the bull’s back. Finally, after the animal has been weakened by blood loss, the matador appears and attempts to kill the bull but often only succeeds in further maiming the animal. Please don’t let this happen in the name of “sport” – join Elen Rivas, Latin star Charo and former Miss Panama Patricia de León in standing up for bulls – take action today to help ban bullfighting.