News Releases

MAGGIE Q NAMED PETA'S PERSON OF THE YEAR

Action-Film Star Honoured for Making It Her Mission to Help Animals

 

For Immediate Release:
2 January 2008

 

Hong Kong -- For her unwavering efforts to draw attention to cruelty-to-animals issues, actor and former fashion model Maggie Q has been named PETA Asia-Pacific's Person of the Year. From speaking out against fur to posing for a pair of provocative pro-vegetarian ads, the vegetarian star of Mission Impossible III and the upcoming action-thriller The List seizes every opportunity she gets to educate people about animal abuse. The following are a few of Maggie's many efforts in behalf of animals:

 

*         During the making of her recent film Three Kingdoms co-starring Andy Lau, fur foe Maggie -- who knows how animals are strangled, gassed and anally electrocuted on fur farms -- convinced the production team to remove all real fur from the set and use fashionable faux alternatives instead.

*         Maggie took time out of her hectic schedule to launch ads for PETA -- one of which features her lying nearly nude on a bed of crimson chilli peppers and another shows her wearing a sexy bikini made entirely of strategically placed lettuce leaves -- at news conferences in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. Timing the ad launch to correspond with the debut of the first-ever Simplified Chinese vegetarian website, 51veg.com, Maggie said, "The ads use a light-hearted and fun concept to draw attention to a serious issue. Factory-farmed animals are confined to dark, filthy warehouses and are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them".

*         Maggie became a producer for Earthlings, an award-winning animal rights documentary. Narrated by fellow actor Joaquin Phoenix, the shocking film exposes humankind's unnecessary and cruel dependence on animals for food, clothing, experimentation and entertainment.

*         On top of everything else, the busy superstar was voted PETA Asia-Pacific's Sexiest Vegetarian Alive for 2007.

 

"Maggie is never shy about making her strong belief in the importance of animal protection heard", says PETA Director Jason Baker. "Much animal suffering has been alleviated thanks to Maggie, and this year we are proud to honour her for giving a voice to the voiceless."

 

For more information about PETA, please visit PETAAsiaPacific.com.

 

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