Italian authorities have charged highly acclaimed filmmaker Michael Bay with killing a pigeon in Italy back in 2018.
Italian law makes it illegal to capture, harm, or kill wild birds, while the EU Birds Directive also protects pigeons. Authorities claim a protected homing pigeon was killed during the 2018 production of “6 Underground,” according to The New York Post. After the pigeon was reportedly run over by a dolly, a crew member allegedly took a photo of the dead bird and shared it with the police, a source said to the New York Post. Bay has denied the allegations.
Michael Bay charged with killing pigeon in Italy — director denies claim https://t.co/twTkVNOZRl pic.twitter.com/tgAzHUJLvw
— New York Post (@nypost) January 13, 2023
“I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist,” Bay told The Wrap. “No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I’ve worked on in the past 30 years,” Bay said.
Bay has also started establishing his defense.
“We have clear video evidence,” Bay said. He also claimed to have “a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates [him] from these claims. And disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story,” he said, according to the Warp. (RELATED: ‘I Had To Really Twist His Arm’: James Cameron Says Leonardo DiCaprio Nearly Passed On ‘Titanic’)
Filmmaker Michael Bay is now charged with killing a pigeon while directing a film in Italy … but he’s firing back, denying it ever happened under his watch. https://t.co/Ep4QAX0xQD
— TMZ (@TMZ) January 13, 2023
Details of the charges and the specifics of the case have not been shared, but Bay said he is “confident [he] will prevail.” The famous filmmaker declined a deal to settle the case by paying a fine and “refused to plead guilty to having harmed an animal,” according to The Warp.