PETA drew widespread condemnation Thursday after invoking a deadly shooting in Washington, DC, in a protest against Mallard restaurant’s planned foie gras dinner.
“An active shooting has been down the block from Mallard restaurant in DC, which is planning a foie gras dinner tonight,” the animal-rights group wrote on X. The post included a photo of police blocking off a street near the gym where Dr. Matt Lambert allegedly shot five people, killing one.
After saying that PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk was “on scene,” the organization questioned whether the restaurant would “show its neighbors the consideration it’s refused to show ducks.”
The post was swiftly criticized across social media, with users calling it callous and inappropriate given the unfolding tragedy.
“You should be so ashamed of this tweet,” celebrity chef Jose Andres wrote on X. “People dead and injured and you tweet this?”
Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich shared PETA’s message with the caption, “*picks up jaw off the floor*”
“My gosh, read the room,” another stunned X user wrote. “It’s food. Irrelevant to today’s tragedy.”
“There is something deeply wrong with this organization,” journalist Yashar Ali said in response.
In a subsequent statement, PETA said it had deleted the original post but did not apologize for publishing it.
“The shooting this morning in DC was in PETA’s neighborhood, and these were our neighbors who were impacted. We canceled a protest scheduled today in front of Mallard restaurant over its despicable sale of foie gras out of respect for the victims of the shooting,” the group said. “In our tweet, we were calling on the restaurant to help eliminate violence by removing the cruel item from its menu.”
“We took down our tweet because people who support and take part in the violent killing of ducks and geese for foie gras, like Chef Jose Andres, were twisting it,” PETA continued. “Yet we encourage everyone to remember that it is possible to care about more than one thing at a time and to respect all life.”
Lambert allegedly shot his building manager, James Stuart, inside a Vida Fitness gym Thursday morning during a dispute over mold. He then fired at four other people from the balcony of his apartment.
After an hour-long standoff with police, Lambert killed himself inside his penthouse.