You've probably heard about the uproar over Jessica Simpon's "Real Girls Eat Meat" t-shirt.
Jessica is trying to make it as a country singer in Nashville (home of veggie superstar Carrie Underwood), so PETA shared our letter to Ms. Simpleton with the Tennessean. Here's a piece from today's paper.
Hello friends – my spring fling through the Midwest had a great conclusion in Kentucky, where the event for my book "Committed" garnered a front page story in the Lousiville Courier-Journal and attracted an audience which included a white haired circuit court judge, heavy metal kids wearing eyeliner, a prison worker, enthusiastic housewives, students and activists, and even two hecklers! (see photos). This particular event meant a lot because two of PETA's biggest targets – KFC and the Kentucky Derby – are based in Louisville. The NPR station had me on for an hour to discuss these and other campaigns – but most thrilling of all was a local bourbon bar with dozens of brands of Kentucky hooch I ain't never guzzled before! I may do another handful of cities this summer, so stay tuned and hope to meet you here there or somewhere.
Dan
PS "Committed" is now being translated into Italian and I'll be doing a launch there this fall – just in time for Fashion Week.
Howdy from Oklahoma everybody. With me here maybe they should call it Oklahomo. The spring book tour is off to a great start. The Kansas City event drew some cool kids, Oklahoma is tonight, and tomorrow is Memphis. Here's a fun piece from the weekly mag there. And yes, I aim to hit Graceland just before the booksigning... Hope to see you here there or somewhere!
Dan Mathews says you tend to not get caught up in titles when your background includes being jailed around the globe, storming boardrooms of famous designers, and protesting nearly nude with only a poster or pillow providing coverage.
"When asked what I do at (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) I usually just say I'm one of the hell-raisers," writes Mathews, 43, national vice president for PETA.
He's coming to Barnes and Noble at the Arboretum Tuesday, promoting "Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir" (Simon & Shuster, $24), an account of his 23-year career with the animal rights nonprofit.
The group's tactics switch it up between shock -- showing posters and videos of animals being killed for food and fashion -- and sex, with the provocative "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign, launched by "Baywatch" babe Pamela Anderson.
The book cover offers a hint of the tone of Mathews' autobiography -- he's in a bunny suit, the head of it tucked under his arm, gazing far away in a parody of the astronaut shots. He writes of successfully recruiting the Rev. Al Sharpton in a campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken, dressing as a priest to crash a runway show in Milan, and how he wound up in a psychiatric hospital in France. (See more in an online slideshow at www.southneighbors.com.)
He recently talked to the Observer by telephone. His remarks are edited for brevity.
Q. How do you psych yourself up to take over boardrooms and fashion shows? It's very nerve-wracking. I'd like to say that I bravely march in without hesitation, but you always have butterflies in your stomach. But you focus on the greater good and the greater issue at hand. Fortunately because I have a naturally obnoxious side, it was quite natural for me to become an activist. From getting beat up for being gay as a kid, I learned at an early age I could take a lot. I'm happy and quite comfortable being the odd man out.
Q. Do you ever hear back from celebrities PETA criticizes? Yes. We actually just sent Beyonce a wedding gift, a fake fur throw. She was our target for a while (on PETA's worst-dressed list for wearing fur). We won a dinner with her, and during the dinner pulled out a laptop to show her a video of animals being tortured. In the wake of that, she didn't wear fur once during the winter. I sent her flowers that said, "We're watching, and we appreciate it." Then she got married and we sent her a fake fur throw, to show we have a soft side. Hopefully, she's not going to wear fur anymore.
Martha Stewart was No. 1 on our fur-dressed list. When she was arrested, I sent her a letter that said, "I know we've had our differences over the years, but now we have something in common: jail." She actually wrote back from jail and later introduced me to her vegetarian daughter Alexis. When she got sprung, we asked her to narrate a PETA video. It's been one of our most popular online videos.
Q. Does it "count" if people are vegetarians for vanity reasons, rather than animal-rights reasons? I don't care what people's reasons are. As long as there's less and less demand for meat, that's all I care about.
Q. Charlotteans are big on their pets, and like other animal lovers will sacrifice if need be to pamper them. What do you think of this trend? I think it's good as long as the animals' interests are maintained. If someone gives their dog a fancy haircut and puts a bow in their head, but leaves them in a crate all day while they're at work, that's lousy. It's great when people pamper their pets in a way that creates more interaction.
Q. Do you have a preferred presidential candidate? Because we're a charity, we aren't allowed to endorse candidates, but I hope someday that Chelsea Clinton becomes president because she's a vegetarian.
Want to go?
Barnes and Noble in the Arboretum, 3327 Pineville-Matthews Road., hosts a discussion and book signing with Dan Mathews, PETA vice president and author of "Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir," 7 p.m. Tuesday.
GAY VEGANS, UNITE On April 7 at 7 p.m., Mathews speaks and sign copies "Committed: A Rabble-Rouser’s Memoir" at Borders at 3600 McKinney Ave in the West Village.
Animal liberator Dan Mathews can’t wait to return to Dallas — to reunite with all the freaks in North Texas
Dan Mathews is like a queer James Bond — but on a non-profit budget. In 1985, he joined People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), "When people thought that a vegan was somebody from Las Vegas," he remembers.
Over the years, Mathews has risen through the ranks to become the group’s senior vice president and resident creative genius behind PETA’s controversial protests against corporate animal cruelty in the name of profit: He’s snuck into high-profile fashion shows in Milan; enlisted the support of celebrities from Morrissey to Pamela Anderson; and languished in jail cells wearing only a pair of Spongebob Squarepants boxers.
On Monday, Mathews visits Dallas for an author appearance at the Borders in West Village to promote "Committed: A Rabble-Rouser’s Memoir."
North Texas won’t be a new stop, and Mathews says he’s looking forward to coming back.
"Because there’s not really anything that thrilling to do for a few hundred miles around, Dallas attracts a great bunch of freaks. And I can’t wait to get there and be among them again," he says.
While he’s in Big D, don’t expect Mathews to pull any of his notorious protests that combine elements of shock tactics and performance art. He can’t afford the risk of getting arrested while on a book tour.
"It’s a different city every day. And if you get detained in one place, you miss a flight and you’ve screwed up the rest of the week’s schedule. So this trip there’s no handcuffs, just cocktails. Well, handcuffs only in an unofficial setting," he laughs.
The Lone Star State is home to the Amarillo cattlemen who sued Oprah — but that type of ingredient only titillates a gay vegan like Mathews.
"I’ve never been the type that just wants to hang out with agreeable, like-minded people — life would be so boring," he explains.
For example, on the first leg of Mathews’ tour, he insisted on going to Omaha, Neb. — hardly a bastion for queer vegans or literary figures.
"Engaging the opposition is the most thrilling part of my job. It’s certainly human nature to instantly recognize your differences with somebody, but I’ve always felt it’s more productive to recognize what you have in common with people — even people who may seem diametrically opposed to what you do and who you are," he explains.
Mathews says his "opposites attract" philosophy works. "At my book signings, I’ll usually get gay people, some punks, some housewives, some radical grannies — just a really great collection of people you rarely see in the same place."
Handsome and charismatic, Mathews frequently disconcerts people who expect to meet a more stereotypical animal rights activist.
"They’re often surprised to learn that I wasn’t raised by hippies, that my father drove a chicken truck, that I was a very big meat enthusiast growing up, and that I’m a lot more easygoing than they imagined," he says.
But underneath Mathews’ chill demeanor is a militant activist.
"We are a threat to these industries, and I never downplay that," he says. "PETA focuses on the worst cruelties and eliminates them within these industries. That’s why we’ve had such success — we don’t get too bogged down in legislation. We go for the corporate jugular, because we’re willing to be as ruthless as the companies we target."
PETA’s aggressive attacks have met with considerable backlash.
"There are some politicians — especially in animal-agricultural states like Texas — who’ve tried to classify animal activists as domestic terrorists," Mathews says.
Because of Orange Alert paranoia, PETA has had to walk an extra-straight line.
"A hallmark of American history, going back to the Boston Tea Party, is agitation for social change. So it’s funny that the Bush administration has tried to redefine patriotism as just kissing corporate ass. But that will change. The pendulum will switch back," he says.
The 43-year-old Mathews readily agrees that being gay predisposed him to a life of radical activism.
"Growing up in the 1970s — before there was Ellen and ’Will & Grace,’ I felt like a total outsider," he remembers. "I got a sharper view and the world and a lot of armor as a child that suited me later in life. I feel so grateful now for all those miserable times then."
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition April 4, 2008.
Book Reviews Animal planet PETA vice president Dan Mathews unleashes globe-trotting memoir
by JARRET KEENE
HE’S AN ANIMAL CRUSADER with a jester’s irreverent sensibility. He’s an outrageous prankster on a mission to protect God’s most vulnerable creatures. He’s an alt-music fan and good friends with Morrissey, whose "Meat Is Murder" stands as the best-known vegetarian rock anthem. And he’s the clever mind responsible for many of the offbeat campaigns conducted on behalf of animals all over the world, mistreated in fattening pens, fur farms and experimental laboratories.
His name is Dan Mathews, vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and he’s the funniest animal-rights advocate and author you’ll ever encounter -- whether in person or through his wickedly humorous autobiography, Committed: A Rabble-Rousers’ Memoir.
One of the book’s best and most memorable passages occurs in the prologue, where Mathews describes dressing up as veggie mascot Chris P. Carrot (complete with orange panty hose) and distributing leaflets on the horrors of the meat industry to Iowa schoolchildren:
The battle cry of our adversaries in Iowa was a simple ’Moo!’ and their charge was led not with an outstretched sword but with defiant tongs, waving juicy burgers at a counterprotest-cum-barbecue on a dry, patchy, yellow front lawn across the street from the school. A pair of elephantine gentlemen in overalls from the Iowa Pork Producers Association peeled off slices of luncheon meats, handed them to giggling students, and pointed in my direction. It wasn’t until a peculiar deli odor started filling my costume that I realized the mystery meats weren’t meant to be eaten, but thrown, and even shoved through the Velcro down my back.
Suffering ignoble defeat at the hands of ham-slinging tykes isn’t something you’re likely to find in a more self-serious animal-rights advocate’s memoir. But Mathews is a natural-born comedian who takes as many shots at his own expense as he does against the meat, fur and science industries that specialize in abuse -- that is, until they’re targeted by a PETA campaign.
"It took me some years of writing columns for magazines about my experiences to learn how to present the humor and surreal qualities," says Mathews during a recent phone interview. "Having a light touch was important in writing this book, because my point isn’t to make villains out of my adversaries -- I mean, we all have our quirks, right? I want to bring people over to my outlook, rather than try to convince people that my view is the only correct one."
The result of his literary efforts, Committed, is a window into the formative years of one the most effective activists in American history. Starting from his humble origins as a marginalized gay Orange County punker, Mathews hilariously details his path to PETA and one of the group’s more significant interventions. ("Hi, Dad?" he writes. "You know the job I just started at that animal group? Well, we’ve just barricaded ourselves in a government office.")
Although he’s perhaps less familiar than PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk, Mathews orchestrated, often single-handedly, many of the more famous campaigns -- like the time he impersonated a priest and broke up a Milan fashion show; or the time he and The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde stormed a French KFC and smeared red paint on the windows; or the time he and Pamela Anderson attended the Vienna Opera Ball, creating controversy that led to the most sweeping animal-welfare reform in Austrian history. Why are Mathews’ antics so effective?
"Being annoying and scary is PETA’s currency despite the levity we bring to our campaigns," Mathews admits. "I think it’s good that people think we’re dangerous. We’re supposed to inspire fear in our targets. People in animal protection are more docile than the average person, but PETA has a ruthlessness make peoples change their policies."
There have been setbacks, too, like when Paris authorities briefly committed him (hence the book’s title) to a mental institution for his KFC stunt.
"That’s the most I’ve ever felt out of control, when I was being escorted by French cops to an asylum," says Mathews. "I really thought, ’Hey, this is it, the culmination of my life’s work. How am I going to prove my sanity?’ As soon as I was released, I knew the experience would serve as the closing chapter of my book."
In all, Mathews has succeeded in helping to bring animal awareness to the forefront of popular culture and the political arena. Often, victories are due to Mathews’ ability to befriend people from all walks of life, from homeless drag queens and Sen. Harry Reid to fashion mogul Calvin Klein and Pam Anderson, whom he often stays with in Vegas.
"I always recognize the similarities I share with people first," he confesses. "It may be a little naive of me, but I really do connect with Republicans and meat-eaters despite our differences."
Mathews says he wrote chunks of Committed at the Whitney Library on Tropicana. But one of his favorite local moments was walking into Cheetahs with Anderson in tow.
"It was like the Virgin Mary entering the Vatican."
I just returned from NY where Pink helped PETA launch a campaign against the carriage horse trade, and we'd love your help in writing the city council urging support of a bill to ban them. Already, London, Paris, Toronto and even Beijing have decided that big city traffic and easily spooked horses are a bad mix. Click on the link below for more details. I know the horses look adorable, but when you consider that they are forced to work in all weather extremes with their faces in exhaust pipes, and when you look at how many horrible accidents there have been and the shitty stalls they are confined in at night (not even able to extend their legs), the idea of a horse drawn carriage ride becomes more grotesque than romantic. Check it out!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I just returned from Las Vegas, where I co-hosted a PETA holiday dinner for the homeless with Pam Anderson. When a reporter asked Pam what she eats at Thanksgiving since she shuns turkey, Pam winked and replied, "I've always enjoyed a good stuffing!" She and her husband Rick helped served a gourmet vegan meal to the residents at Vegas' Family Promise homeless shelter. We picked that one because it keeps homeless families together as a unit - even same sex couples with children who find themselves on the street. The wonderful shelter manager even had the kids research PETA and vegetarianism and made a week-long project out of it. Here are some pictures and a nice story from the Las Vegas Review Journal. Have a great weekend!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I just returned from Las Vegas, where I co-hosted a PETA holiday dinner for the homeless with Pam Anderson. When a reporter asked Pam what she eats at Thanksgiving since she shuns turkey, Pam winked and replied, "I've always enjoyed a good stuffing!" She and her husband Rick helped served a gourmet vegan meal to the residents at Vegas' Family Promise homeless shelter. We picked that one because it keeps homeless families together as a unit - even same sex couples with children who find themselves on the street. The wonderful shelter manager even had the kids research PETA and vegetarianism and made a week-long project out of it. Here are some pictures and a nice story from the Las Vegas Review Journal. Have a great weekend!
