Cease-and-Desist Letter for Beyoncé's Shoemaker

It
could almost be a story out of The Onion,
but it’s completely true. Shoemaker PMK designed a pair of sneakers for Beyoncé, called “King Beys,”
made of calf hair and crocodile, anaconda, stingray, and ostrich skins. The
company started marketing the shoes on its website, and, incredibly, told
consumers that “[n]o animals were beaten, harmed, or killed” for the
shoes. I think the five different
species of animals who
were most certainly beaten, harmed, and killed for the shoes would beg
to differ.

In
response, PETA legal counsel has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Andre Scott,
the CEO of PMK, demanding that the company immediately stop issuing false and
misleading statements to customers or face legal action.

If
Scott and other executives are in doubt, PETA invited them to watch our video
exposé “Cold-Blooded
Horrors,” narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, which shows how many of
the exotic animals they used are beaten, stabbed, and flayed alive.

PMK
isn’t exactly known for being a by-the-book company. On January 23, Ohio’s attorney
general filed a lawsuit against it and Scott for violating customer protection
laws. The suit alleges that consumers paid for but did not receive products nor
did they receive refunds from the company. PMK also received an “F” rating from the Better
Business Bureau.

We’re
giving PMK an “F,” too—for “false,”
“fraudulent,” and “facing a lawsuit.”