‘A Dog’s Purpose’ Premiere, Press Junket Cancelled Amid Animal Abuse Allegations
The red carpet premiere and press junket previously planned for A Dog's Purpose have been cancelled amid animal abuse allegations.
In light of the discovery of behind-the-scenes footage revealing a visibly distressed dog on set being forced into a pool with rushing waters, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment released a joint statement to Entertainment Weekly late Thursday, January 19, explaining that both the press event and premiere have been cancelled for the upcoming weekend.
"Because Amblin’s review into the edited video released yesterday is still ongoing, distributor Universal Pictures has decided it is in the best interest of A Dog's Purpose to cancel this weekend’s premiere and press junket," the statement reads. "Amblin and Universal do not want anything to overshadow this film that celebrates the relationship between animals and humans."
Producers also highlighted Amblin's cooperation with "safety personnel, trainers and stunt coordinators as part of their in-depth review," while maintaining that so far, they do not believe the dog featured in the video was harmed.
"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," the statement continues.
Universal Pictures and Amblin said that despite the call for a boycott, they will "continue to support this film" and are "incredibly proud of it and will release it for audiences nationwide next Friday."
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