Animal rights activist group PETA sent a letter to the family of singer Aretha Franklin asking her to donate her fur coat collection to them.
The group has long criticized the singer for her vast collection of fur coats. In 2008, it called Franklin a "clown" and a "court jester" for wearing fur coats. They asked the singer to donate her collection at that time, also.
"Music lovers may think of you as a “queen,” but to animal lovers, you are a court jester. I’m sorry, Aretha, but your furs make you look like a clown. Why not shed the old-fashioned look that adds pounds to your frame and detracts from your beautiful voice? Won’t you donate your furs to the poor as “queen of compassion,” Mariah Carey, did? You’ll get a tax credit for the donation, and we at PETA will all sing your praises."
After Franklin's death a week ago, the activist group sent a letter her niece, Sabrina Garrett, asking that the collection be given to PETA's fur donation program, which recycles them for use by people in need in homeless shelters and refugee camps. They also turn the coats into bedding for orphaned wildlife.
The letter, which was signed by PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman, points out that the group has donated fur coats to homeless shelters in the United States "including in Detroit" and to refugees in Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Syria.
The letter also says coats have been donated by "other wonderful women" like Mariah Carey, Anjelica Huston, and Mary Tyler Moore.
"Aretha will always be remembered for all that she did to help empower African-American people, especially women, in her lifetime. Might we now call on her estate to help end the cruel era of wearing animal fur by donating her fur coats to PETA, where they’ll go on to offer warmth and comfort to those who need it the most? In the past, we’ve given donated fur coats—some coming from other wonderful women including Anjelica Huston, Mariah Carey, and Mary Tyler Moore—to homeless shelters in the U.S. (including in Detroit) and to displaced refugees in Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Syria."
Franklin died without a will, which means that any decision regarding her estate belongs to her descendants, including Garrett.
