Here’s what celebrities have to say about the murder of Cecil the lion

By Tribute on July 31, 2015 | 9 Comments

The death of Cecil the lion (pictured above) has been going viral on mainstream media in the past week. The beloved lion was shot and killed on July 1 by an American dentist Dr. Walter Palmer at Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe.

Palmer has already received major backlash from around the world across social media. Celebrities have also been sending angry messages to the dentist, including actress and avid animal lover Betty White.

“You don’t want to hear some of the things I want to do to that man,” Betty told the Associated Press. “It’s such a heartbreaker… to see this king of the jungle and personifying it in every way, this gorgeous creature. How can somebody do that?”

Palmer paid $55,000 to kill Cecil, pictured at left with his pride, while on a hunting trip. However, since the outcry, he has gone into hiding and the circumstances of the kill are now being investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Other celebrities have expressed their disgust and anger towards the dentist via Twitter.

“When he dies, I hope someone mounts his ugly ass head to the wall. #WalterPalmer is a COWARD,” tweeted Sharon Osbourne. “I don’t know how anyone could go to this man for dental services after this. He is a killer. Beware!”

Model and actress Cara Delevingne described Palmer as ”a poor excuse of a human being.”

Olivia Wilde tweeted: ”Ohh the dentist ‘had no idea’ the lion was famous. Because had he known, he would never have murdered it without asking for a selfie first.”

Ricky Gervais wrote: “It’s not for food. It’s not the shooting, or tin cans would do. It must just be the thrill of killing. Mental.”

Mandy Moore: “This is heartbreaking in every possible way. What a loss. Trophy hunting is SHAMEFUL and disgusting.”

Debra Messing: “I hope that #WalterPalmer loses his home, his practice & his money. He has already lost his soul…”

Mia Farrow, who also tweeted the address of Palmer’s dentistry practice, wrote: “Animals are not trophies. Ever.”

Lennox Lewis: “What difference does it make if the lion was famous or not? Trophy hunting is a very sick pastime.”

Jann Arden: “I just paid 55 thousand bucks for a chance to chase a dentist through his office and pull all his teeth out. #CecilTheLion”

Roger Moore wrote a piece in The Daily Telegraph in which he stated: “Hunting is a coward’s pastime, and no one has demonstrated that more clearly than the American dentist Walter Palmer…In a world with boundless opportunities for amusement, it’s detestable that anyone would choose to get thrills from killing others who ask for nothing from life but the chance to remain alive. The animals whose lives he has so cold-heartedly snuffed out have precisely the same capacity to feel pain and suffer as we do… “Sport” hunting is a sickness, a perversion and a danger and should be recognised as such. People who get their “amusement” from hunting and killing defenceless animals can only be suffering from a mental disorder.”

Meanwhile, Jane Goodall wrote on her blog: “I was shocked and outraged to hear the story of Cecil, Zimbabwe’s much loved lion. Not only is it incomprehensible to me that anyone would want to kill an endangered animal (fewer than 20,000 wild lions in Africa today) but to lure Cecil from the safety of a national park and then to shoot him with a crossbow…? I have no words to express my repugnance. He was not even killed outright, but suffered for hours before finally being shot with a bullet. And his magnificent head severed from his wounded body. And this behaviour is described as a “sport.” Only one good thing comes out of this – thousands of people have read the story and have also been shocked. Their eyes opened to the dark side of human nature. Surely they will now be more prepared to fight for the protection of wild animals and the wild places where they live. Therein lies the hope.”

~Maria-Josee Martinez

RIP #CecilTheLion I’m struggling to imagine anything more beautiful than this pic.twitter.com/lile3Kb2dk

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 28, 2015

---

---

1. Chyvonne • July 31, 2015 @ 1:01 PM

   Thank you for this article. I’m glad so many celebrities (and other people) are speaking out about this. People who kill for fun are abominations, they are mentally disturbed and potentially dangerous. He should be put away for the maximum amount of time and given psychological counselling.

2. martha • July 31, 2015 @ 1:14 PM

   good for all the celebs for speaking out. hunting for trophy animals should be banned

3. Gwen Collins • July 31, 2015 @ 2:52 PM

   I have never been an advocate for hunting for “sport”. Shame on this dentist for having done this terrible act. Hopefully with so many famous people speaking out about this that even more will come out against it. Then hopefully this hunting will become a thing of the past.

4. Kris • July 31, 2015 @ 4:08 PM

   I find the the hunting of animals for trophies completely distasteful, but I am very concerned with the social media response. Nobody should have to go into hiding and be afraid for their safety, not to mention family members.

5. Val Johnson • July 31, 2015 @ 4:11 PM

   I am glad that Celebs like Betty White and others, especially Jane Goodall, who greatly aided the world studying the chimps got on the band wagon about this total abomination! Poor Cecil!. R.I.P and know the human , Michael Palmer will pay for this as will all his other co- horts in the crime. It has woken up the world to other mentally disturbed people who kill other mammals just for the sport. They have feelings too and families. Let the world unite and stop all this senseless killing! I am sure Sir Paul will have some thoughts on this! Send him back to Zimbabwe!

6. Karen HW • July 31, 2015 @ 9:33 PM

   A senseless act destroying a magnificent animal. Rather than the usual legal spin doctoring of our North American legal system we can only hope that Palmer is flushed out from his cowardly hideout. Justice would be him being fed to Cecil’s pride.

7. Manon • August 1, 2015 @ 1:36 PM

   This is absolutely disgusting, this so called ‘sport’ needs to be banned forever. RIP Cecil … This pathetic man & his pathetic helpers will get what they deserve !! I am glad the celebrities spoke out the way they did, and everyone else as well. So sorry this happened Cecil 🙁

8. Lorna • August 2, 2015 @ 12:04 PM

   Totally disgusted with this man how could he do this to the KING of the jungle such a beautiful animal ….Apalled he destroyed his life and took away gods creature for what ANGRY AND DISGUSTED ….😡😡😡😡😡

9. willem alexander • August 9, 2015 @ 8:57 PM

   this hunt was an appalling and cowardly act that was carried out by none other than an american healthcare worker. you would think that someone whose career revolves around caring for the sick would value the sanctity of life. there is a gyn from murrysville pa, who killed 6 elephants in his illustrious career as a hunter. i find this sick. it is scary to think that any healthcare worker views patients as a financial means to the next big hunt. i am so glad that there is so much public outrage. lets not forget the accountant from idaho and the veterinarian from texas who shot an arrow through the head of a pet cat and then posted it on Facebook. trophy hunting should be illegal. also how about the gentleman in nyc who contracted i believe anthrax from hides that were on drums from west africa. i cannot believe that us customs even allows anyone to bring back hides from other countries with all the diseases and parasites out there.

---

---