Update: Dirty Monkey Films Group has responded to allegations of animal abuse in a statement to Refinery29.
"We feel sorry that we didn't do our best to avoid this. We treat all the cast and crew including animals with utmost respect for their contribution of amazing performance to the project," a representative told Refinery29 in an email.
In an additional statement, the production company admitted that despite their best efforts, they were ultimately negligent in protecting the dog from harsh filming conditions.
"We always strive to treat all cast and crew, human or animal, with the utmost respect, and are deeply troubled by the reports of an animal in distress on our production," the statement read. "There is no excuse for any failure to fully account for the welfare of any animal brought into a film, and we will be conducting a full review of our live animal practices and safeguards going forward."
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This story was originally published on March 16, 2018.
Glee star Matthew Morrison issued a statement on Twitter expressing his disgust and "outrage" over alleged animal abuse on the set of his new film, Crazy Alien.
"I've just been made aware and seen a video from the set of a film I worked on in China," Morrison tweeted on Thursday. "My heart is broken to see any animal treated this way. Had I been on set or known about this, I would have made all efforts to stop this. I've called the producers to express my outrage."
The actors comments come shortly after the animal right's advocacy organization PETA shared a disturbing video of crew members spinning a dog around in a crate before dropping him into a freezing cold river. In a blog post, PETA writes that the footage, obtained by an anonymous whistleblower, was just one of many takes filmed and that the dog wasn't given breaks to recover from the shocking and horrifying events.
The whistleblower also alleged the crew repeatedly "tormented" the dog to get him to bark for this scene and others.
I’ve just been made aware and seen a video from the set of a film I worked on in China. My heart is broken to see any animal treated this way. Had I been on set or known about this, I would have made all efforts to stop this. I’ve called the producers to express my outrage.
— Matthew Morrison (@Matt_Morrison) March 16, 2018
But, for PETA, a phone call isn't enough. The group wants Morrison and the rest of the cast to "donate their salaries to animal-protection charities in China."
According to Deadline, Crazy Alien is a Chinese-language film from director Ning Hao that's set to debut later this year. As the third follow-up to hits, Crazy Stone and Crazy Racer, the dark comedy is expected to do well in China. PETA, however, is hoping that people will boycott the film both abroad and in the United States.
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Refinery29 has reached out to Crazy Alien's production company, Dirty Monkey Films Group, for comment.