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Source: PETA
A new PETA advertisement featuring model Joanna Krupa wearing nothing but a crucifix has been branded "totally inappropriate" and exploitative.
Krupa, a Playboy cover girl, is shown naked in the latest advert by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Krupa appears nude in the advert with angel wings and a halo over her head. However, her modesty is preserved by a strategically placed crucifix.
Deal Hudson, of InsideCatholic.com is not impressed.
"It's totally inappropriate...it's another instance of disrespect toward Christianity and another example of the kind of abuse that would never occur with any other major religion, because the outcry would be so immediate and so loud that the people behind it would immediately retreat."
PETA has a history of using nude celebrities to promote animal rights issues and claims that up to 8 million cats and dogs are placed in animal shelters annually, with half of them being euthanized for the want of suitable homes.
Krupa, who bared her body in 2007 for PETA's anti-fur campaign, recently led a protest outside Barkworks, a Los Angeles pet store that PETA says sells puppies "irresponsibly" while hundreds of dogs remain in city animal shelters.
Her appearance has further enraged PETA critics.
"The fact is that cats and dogs are a lot safer in pet stores than they are in the hands of PETA employees," Catholic League President Bill Donohue said in a statement.
"Moreover, pet stores don't rip off Christian iconography and engage in cheap irreligious claims."
Krupa responded to the Catholic League in a statement saying: "As a practising Catholic, I am shocked that the Catholic League is speaking out against my PETA ads. I'm doing what the Catholic Church should be doing, working to stop senseless suffering of animals, the most defenseless of God's creation."
