‘A Dog’s Purpose’ world premiere canceled after allegations of animal abuse on set
The world premiere for “A Dog’s Purpose” has been canceled after TMZ published a video that appeared to show an animal trainer on set mistreating a dog during filming.
The movie, starring Dennis Quaid and based on the best-selling novel of the same name by W. Bruce Cameron, will still open nationwide on Jan. 27 as scheduled.
The video showed one of the dogs used in the movie being forced to enter choppy water despite being visibly frightened, then struggling to stay afloat.
The incident revealed by TMZ allegedly took place during filming in Winnipeg in Canada in November 2015.
Immediately after the video was made public PETA condemned it and called for a boycott of the movie.
Director Lasse Hallström, actors KJ Apa and Josh Gad, and producer Gavin Polone, all horrified by the video, spoke out about what it showed. None of them saw any instances of animal abuse during filming, they said.
Hallström told one Twitter user: “I am appalled too! I DIDN’T KNOW THIS HAD HAPPENED ON MY SET UNTIL I SAW THE TAPE! I DIRECTED VIA MONITORS THAT DIDNT SEE THIS!”
I have been a lifelong animal lover and A DOG’S PURPOSE is my third film about dogs. The animals’ safety was of utmost priority.
— lasse hallstrom (@HallstromLasse) January 19, 2017
I did not witness these actions.
— lasse hallstrom (@HallstromLasse) January 19, 2017
We were all committed to providing a loving and safe environment for all the animals in the film.
I have been promised that a thorough investigation into this situation is underway and that any wrongdoing will be reported and punished.
— lasse hallstrom (@HallstromLasse) January 19, 2017
Apa released a lengthy statement on Twitter after he saw the video, saying he would never work on a project where animals were abused.
“First things first, I LOVE ALL ANIMALS and would never EVER condone inhumane treatment or abuse of an animal at any time. I was saddened to see the footage from the set of A Dog’s Purpose — a film I was honored to act in, in 2015,” he said.
“The video was hard to watch, and I understand why many of you have had the reactions that you did because I had the same ones. The footage is still being investigated, from my own experience, I only encountered cast and crew members who had unconditional love and respect for every single dog on set, and went to great lengths to assure their safety and wellbeing.”
In light of recent events pic.twitter.com/daYORvMSX0
— KJ Apa (@kj_apa) January 20, 2017
Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment confirmed to E! News Thursday that it has canceled the movie’s premiere and press junket this weekend.
“Amblin and Universal do not want anything to overshadow this film that celebrates the relationship between animals and humans,” the statement said.
It also said that Amblin “has engaged with many associated with the production of the film, including safety personnel, trainers and stunt coordinators as part of their in-depth review.
“While we are all disheartened by the appearance of an animal in distress, everyone has assured us that Hercules the German Shepherd was not harmed throughout the filmmaking. We continue to support this film, are incredibly proud of it and will release it for audiences nationwide next Friday.”
In a statement Wednesday, American Humane Association spokesman Mark Stubis said a representative from the group, which monitors animals on the set, was there during filming.
The employee has been placed on administrative leave, and the organization was “bringing in an independent third party to conduct an investigation,” he said in the statement.
“When the dog showed signs of resistance to jumping in the water, the scene should have been stopped.”