Here's a clip from a recent Morrissey concert.
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"The rhino is more or less now extinct. And it's not because of global warming or shrinking habitats. It's because of Beyoncé's handbags," Morrissey, a devout vegetarian, said on stage at his L.A. concert Friday. "So, God bless the rhino." Beyoncé has not gone on record as wearing anything made from rhino, but...
This may have been an oblique reference to the wedge sneakers Beyoncé commissioned from the label PMK, which contain five kinds of animal skins.
Called the "King-Bey," these shoes retail for an absurd $5,500, and placed the singer right back on the top of animal rights activists' shit lists.
She previously angered PETA by wearing a leotard containing python and iguana skins to perform at the Super Bowl.
"We would take a bet that if Beyoncé watched our video exposés, she'd probably not want to be seen again in anything made of snakes, lizards, rabbits or other animals who died painfully," PETA said in a statement following her performance.
Animal rights activists also slammed Beyoncé for wearing fur to the inauguration.
The mounting offenses prompt the question of how long Beyoncé can go on wearing fur and exotic skins while maintaining the perfect princess persona that's helped make her so mega-famous. Lots of celebrities and designers criticized by PETA and like-minded organizations eventually cave and make pledges to go "cruelty-free," excising fur, snakeskin, croc, etc. from their collections and wardrobes. And others like Bethenny Frankel, who may have been "cruelty-free" all along, just can't wait to rip off their clothes for a Peta campaign as soon as they're famous enough to be asked.
If Beyoncé wants to uphold her image as one of the world's most perfect people, she might have to do the same before the PR gets even worse. (Even to those who aren't anti-fur activists, wedge sneakers made from five exotic skins with basically no aesthetic merit come off as fairly extreme.) However, she currently has a deal to front fur- and snakeskin-loving label Gucci's "Chime for Change" campaign. So she might not be able to take PETA's side for a little while.
Posing for one of those "rather be naked than wear fur" campaigns seems just like the thing she might do to revitalize her image should she ever really need to.