WARNING: This article contains spoilers from HBO’s “Chimp Crazy.”
“Chimp Crazy” hit HBO Max on Sunday and, wouldn’t ya know, it proves that monkey people are actually crazier than the big cat folks.
We’re only one episode into “Chimp Crazy,” and I already know that director Eric Goode deserves every award under the sun for both filmmaking (tv-making?) and deep, guerrilla, investigative journalism. If you were a fan of his previous show, a little thing called “Tiger King,” Goode’s exploration into America’s chimpanzee craze is going to be the TV for you.
But be warned: Some of the scenes throughout the opening episode are so dark and difficult to watch, you might just want to look away.
The story follows Tonia Haddix and a handful of other “chimp moms” as they battle to convince America’s legal system that their pets are more important than their human children, even more important than God. And it’s easy to see why these women fall so in love with these young primates. They’re adorable … until they reach a certain age and will literally rip your face and limbs off for fun.
Unlike “Tiger King,” which certainly focused on the animals in some parts, “Chimp Crazy” leans into the animal welfare aspect of the story in ways it doesn’t have to explicitly state. Like Joe Exotic of “Tiger King,” Haddix is the protagonist obsessed with keeping her “babies” from the “bad guys” who just want to take them away (ie: PETA).
But after a while, I sort of felt that all the chimpanzee trade sounds more like human trafficking than raising children, especially when you consider that humans are so genetically similar to chimps and other monkeys. (RELATED: ‘Tiger King’ Star Makes Huge Life Announcement That’ll Change America)
“To facilitate the pet trade, breeders pull newborns from their mothers soon after birth, traumatizing both mother and baby. The infants are then sold to people who, in a futile attempt to mold these wild animals to a life of domesticity, maim them and deny them everything that is natural,” Massachusetts State Director at Humane Society of the U.S., Laura Hagen, said in a statement shared with the Daily Caller.
And many chimps end up working in entertainment, a trend that is thankfully diminishing year after year.
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Austro-Hungarian-born actor Johnny Weissmuller (1904 – 1984) reads the script with his co-star Kimba the chimp on the set of the Columbia Pictures film ‘Cannibal Attack’, circa 1954. (Photo by Pictorial Parade/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
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LAS VEGAS – MARCH 16: Actress Natalie Portman (L) receives a kiss from chimpanzee Sable backstage during the final banquet and awards ceremony for ShoWest 2006, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners March 16, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Actress Natalie Portman is being honored with the Female Star of the Year award. Chimpanzee Sable stars in the short film “The Reel Monkey”, which is being with the 2006 Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker award. (Photo by Ryan Miller/Getty Images)
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UNIVERSAL CITY, CA – JANUARY 29: Actor Gary Busey and Cody the chimpanzee attend the world premiere of “Moto X Kids” January 29, 2004 in Universal City, California. (Photo by Stephen Shugerman/Getty Images)
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 23: (L-R) PETA Senior Vice President of Campaigns Dan Mathews, actor Alan Cumming and Legal Counsel Jared Goodman attend a news conference with PETA exposing the fate of discarded chimpanzees at PETA on June 23, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images)
It’s hard to respect anyone holding an animal on a piece of string tied around its neck (as you’ll see in some scenes). So it’s really easy to have no respect for most of the folks who think they’re saving chimpanzees by keeping them captive inside their homes.
No one with a real heart can watch any animal scream and bang their fists against metal cage doors and think it’s normal, right? (RELATED: Step Aside ‘Tiger King,’ HBO’s Newest Doc ‘Telemarketers’ Will Become A Cult Phenomenon)
You tell me. Go watch “Chimp Crazy” on HBO right now. The next episode comes out Sunday, and I have to know what happens next.