‘The Girl from Ipanema’ Says Não to KFC

On behalf of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), Brazilian singer and animal activist Astrud Gilberto will appear in a new ad campaign urging consumers across her native Brazil to boycott Kentucky Fried Chicken until the company stops what a press release calls KFC’s “abuse of the more than 850 million animals slaughtered for its restaurants every year.” Gilberto’s new ad is her fiery response to KFC’s announcement that it plans to open a number of new KFC franchises in her native country.

Gilberto urges Brazilians to visit PETA’s Web site KentuckyFriedCruelty.com and view one of several video exposés, including one filmed at a KFC “Supplier of the Year” slaughterhouse, where workers were documented stomping on live animals, tearing them apart and spitting tobacco in their faces. Chickens raised for KFC have their throats slit while they are still conscious and millions are scalded to death in tanks of hot water every year.

Gilberto joins a long list of high-profile celebrities, scholars, and religious leaders in speaking out against KFC’s cruelty, including rock icons Sir Paul McCartney and Chrissie Hynde, pop sensation Pink, actor Pamela Anderson, Nobel Peace Prize winner His Holiness the Dalai Lama, writer Alice Walker, civil rights leader The Rev. Al Sharpton, and many others.

Originally Published February 29, 2008