FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Identity

PETA Applauds Robert Pattinson for Refusing to Masturbate a Dog on Set

Last night on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" the actor claimed that the directors of his new film "Good Time" asked him to "basically [give] the dog a hand job.​"
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

As part of the erstwhile Twilight star's press circuit to promote his new film, Good Time, Robert Pattinson stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night to regale the audience with charming anecdotes. During the interview, he revealed that he had to film a scene in which he was asked to "basically [give] the dog a hand job."

In Good Time, directed by the Safdie brothers, Pattinson completely transforms to play a guy from the Bronx named Constantine "Connie" Nikas who has to try to get his brother out of jail after a botched bank robbery. Pattinson's character also has a weird thing with dogs. "He thinks he is a dog in a previous life and he thinks he has control over animals," Pattinson said of his character.

Advertisement

Read more: You Need to Watch 'The Covenant,' a Film About Shirtless Male Witches

Pattinson said that to convey this character quirk, the directors had him do a scene where a drug dealer walks in on him while he's masturbating a dog. Apparently everyone on set thought this was a good idea: "I asked the trainer [about it] because the director was like, 'Just do it for real, man! Don't be a pussy!' And the dog's owner was like, 'Well, he's a breeder. I mean, you can. You just gotta massage the inside of his thighs,'" Pattinson said.

The Harry Potter actor, however, didn't want to go through with it. Instead, he said he ended up using a prothetic dog penis for the scene. The scene was ultimately cut from the film, but Pattinson said it will likely be on the "DVD extras."

The American Humane Association, which certifies and oversees films that work with animals, has expressed concern over the fact that both the director and the animal trainer allegedly encouraged Pattison to pleasure a dog on set. According to the SAG-AFTRA guidelines, the producer on a union film that involves animals must register the film with American Humane. "Non-union films are not required to register, but we strongly encourage them to for precisely reasons like this," a representative from American Humane told Broadly.

"Robert Pattinson is our kind of guy (and everyone's who has a heart) for refusing to masturbate a dog…"

"This film never registered with us and we were not on the set," said Dr. Robin Ganzert, president and CEO of American Humane, which works to protect animals in filmed media through its "No Animals Were Harmed®" program. "We would not allow any such kind of interaction with an animal actor. Those of us who care about the humane treatment of animals find this disgusting and disturbing. Incidents like these underscore why it is so important to have a voice for the voiceless on film and television production sets."

PETA applauded Pattinson for refusing to masturbate the canine actor. "PETA depends on actors and crew members to come forward when they see mistreatment, whether it involves a dog who is being forced into churning water on the set of A Dog's Purpose or an A-list actor who is being asked to molest his canine co-star," Lisa Lange, the senior vice president of PETA, said in a statement to Broadly. "Robert Pattinson is our kind of guy (and everyone's who has a heart) for refusing to masturbate a dog—which is like child molestation—and for talking about it so that the public can see that once again animal trainers' top priority is money and animals' interests and well-being are often ignored. PETA is currently investigating whether the law was broken in this instance."

The Safdie brothers have not responded to Broadly's request for comment.