Ashanti’s time to perform at SeaWorld came on Saturday, but it was interrupted by a protest by PETA activists.
While the singer was onstage at the San Diego park’s Bayside Amphitheater, a group of PETA supporters held up signs reading, “Ashanti: No Dolphin is Happy in a Tank” and “Ashanti: It’s Foolish to Support SeaWorld,” referencing two of her hit songs.
“The real heartbreak isn’t in Ashanti’s lyrics, it’s in SeaWorld’s tanks where dolphins are drugged and sexually abused, mother orcas have had their babies taken away, and thinking, feeling animals waste away in concrete prisons,” PETA President Tracy Reiman said in a statement. “PETA urges everyone to help spare animals a life of misery by never going to SeaWorld.”
According to a PETA press release, the group’s goal is “to urge SeaWorld to stop breeding dolphins and whales and send them to seaside sanctuaries where they can live in peace.”
Snippets of Ashanti’s performance showed her live renditions of “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby),” “Mesmerize” and “Foolish,” to which the crowd sang along.
The remaining performers in the SeaWorld summer concert series are Soulja Boy and Paul Wall, Jordin Sparks, Too $hort and Warren G.
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