ORLANDO, FL — The band 38 Special has followed Martina McBride, Willie Nelson, REO Speedwagon, Trisha Yearwood, Barenaked Ladies, Cheap Trick and Heart in cancelling their upcoming performance at Orlando’s SeaWorld amidst intense public pressure fueled by the documentary film Blackfish. 38 Special’s announcement came after more than 1,500 people signed a change.org petition to encourage artists to cancel on SeaWorld’s annual “Bands, Brew, and BBQ” concert series.
38 Special broke the news via Facebook, saying: “Due to concerns raised by the CNN documentary Blackfish, 38 Special will be canceling its scheduled March 9th concert at SeaWorld. We appreciate the outpouring of support and especially apologize to our Orlando fans. We will try and schedule another performance in your area in the near future. The band wishes everyone a happy holiday season and looks forward to seeing you all again in 2014.”
According to music fan/activist Shani Roushar, bands responded to change.org petitions from “fans like us and want nothing to do with SeaWorld’s history of cruel treatment of animals. Blackfish shows what happens behind the scenes to these very intelligent animals and the public does not like it one bit.” The critically-acclaimed documentary Blackfish was recently short-listed for an Oscar for Best Documentary after gaining widespread public support.
SeaWorld’s “Bands, Brew, and BBQ” online concert listing removed all previously listed artists since the criticism began, as music fans and animal advocates have used change.org to persuade the majority of artists to cancel performances at the theme park.
“Blackfish” was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival in January and released to more cinemas by Magnolia Pictures in July, was released on DVD in the U.S. and aired on CNN in November.
The documentary prompted SeaWorld to hire 42West to craft a detailed rebuttal to the film’s allegations, and that, in turn, prompted a counter-rebuttal from the film¹s director, Gabriela Cowperthwaite.
While presenting the documentary to millions, CNN also posted SeaWorld’s objections to the film on its website at http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/21/us/seaworld-blackfish-qa/.
