The Longest Ride stars Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson were met by PETA protesters at the Hollywood premiere on Monday.
The Longest Ride stars Scott Eastwood and Britt Robertson were met by PETA protesters at the Hollywood premiere on Monday.
In The Longest Ride, Scott plays Luke Collins, a bull rider fighting to save his family's ranch who falls in love with a young woman (Britt).
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While bull riding plays a small part in the movie, it is a big part of PETA's protest.
"[Writer] Nicholas Sparks should stick to long-lost lovers kissing in the rain, because there's nothing romantic about violence to animals," PETA Foundation deputy general counsel Delcianna Winders told TheWrap. "The rodeo is a disgusting show in which pathetic people bully terrified animals who are simply trying to escape their abusers."
Scott assured ET that the animals used in the movie were properly looked after.
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"We had the Humane Society on the whole time on the film, making sure everything was up to snuff," Scott said. "They made sure none of the bulls got hurt."
In speaking with TheWrap, a spokesman for 20th Century Fox clarified that it is actually professional bull riding that is depicted in the movie and not "rodeos," which encompass tie-down roping, team roping, steer wrestling and other events.
"These bulls are treated like rock stars and we don't do anything to mistreat them in any way," Jim Haworth, chairman and CEO of the Professional Bull Riders, said in a statement to TheWrap. "Any time you give exposure to our great athletes, then PETA is going to get involved. I am surprised by how misinformed they are."
There has been little protest over the romance in the movie, and the chemistry between Scott and Britt is electrifying. Britt told ET that director George Tillman Jr. had a lot to do with that.
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"He made us tell one another what we wanted to do to that other person, sexually, obviously," Britt said. "And that was like two days into meeting Scott."
The Longest Ride opens April 10.