April
7th
2008
The Hollywood Office of the HSUS celebrated its annual Genesis Awards last weekend in Beverly Hills, and a host of stars showed their support for our animal friends. The event was a gorgeous night of reverence, eco-consciousness, and in true Hollywood style, glamour! As HSUS President Wayne Pacelle reminded us, the Awards were to honor people using their talents to raise attention to animal abuse and cruelty, because without awareness, there can be no action.
Amongst the attendees was Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa who was extremely proud to be supporting the HSUS and of the fact that LA has the lowest no-kill rate in America and has just signed into law the toughest spay and neuter program in the US. Way to go, LA! Wendie Malick was her usual brilliant self and talked about living solar-powered in the country with horses, dogs and a cat, whilst still loving to get glammed up. She likes to shovel poop and then go party in the city! Constance Marie was a vision of loveliness, and is a true eco-girl (there’s nothing she doesn’t know!), animal lover, and walking example of why to go vegan.
James Cromwell, another vegan, thought we could all learn a thing or two about living and being from our animal friends, whilst Esai Morales, an environmentalist for 20 years and founding board member of ECO, barked us a message from his dog Frankie! Another celeb big on animal impressions was Hal Sparks with what he called a cross between a porpoise and a sheep! Hal and his girl are pescatarians who are building an environmentally friendly home and have banned leather from their life! Bill Maher arrived fashionably late and last, and would have loved to talk to us if not for the over-zealous pr girl pushing him up the red carpet! Other attendees were Emily Deschanel, Tony Denison, Kate Flannery, Linda Cardellini, Katie Cleary, and Elaine Hendrix. There were also young rising eco stars of the future, Nicole Lapin, Rob Stewart, and Dominic Scott Kay who are all devoting their lives and careers to making a difference. Definitely three to watch out for!
Even in the absence of Hayden Panettiere (who showed up much later after attending the Nickelodeon Awards that same evening), it was an impressive turnout with the big conversation of the night being about being vegan and taking a stand against animal cruelty, factory farming methods, and the effects of methane on the environment. And if the celebs on the red carpet were any indication, particularly the girls, being vegan is definitely the way to go!
[Editor’s Note: This post comes to us from our new field reporter in LA, Anna Griffin. Anna and her cameraman Chris also shot interviews from the red carpet and we’ll be getting those up shortly.]
