Matthew Morrison, Production Companies Respond Allegations Of Animal Abuse On Film Set

Warning: The above video contains footage some viewers may find distressing.

Matthew Morrison has spoken out after a video emerged online that appeared to show a dog being harmed on the set of one of his movies.

An eyewitness is said to have filmed the clip on the set of the movie “Crazy Alien” and sent it to the animal-rights organization PETA. The horrific video, which has now been shared on YouTube, seemingly shows a German shepherd being caged and dunked into a river while shooting a scene for the Chinese sci-fi movie.

After the disgusting footage emerged online, Morrison, 39, took to Twitter to say that he’s been left “heartbroken” by the whole thing.

He also insisted that if he’d been on set at the time, he would have done everything he could to put a stop to it.

The “Glee” star posted:

I’ve just been made aware and seen a video from the set of a film I worked on in China. My heart is broken to see any animal treated this way. Had I been on set or known about this, I would have made all efforts to stop this. I’ve called the producers to express my outrage.

— Matthew Morrison (@Matt_Morrison) March 16, 2018

Morrison’s comments come after a whistleblower reportedly told PETA: “On November 28th, 2017, I witnessed first hand one of the worst animal cruelty acts I have ever seen.

“The second the dog cage rose into the air, the dog stopped barking instantly as the cables were used to spin the cage out of control in circles before solidly landing 40–50 feet away. The director took many takes and this was just awful to witness as the torment went on.”

They continued: “The next shot was at the river’s edge where the dog was put back into his cage and tormented into a frenzy once again. This time the cage was hoisted 20 ft. and was flung while spinning out of control towards the river. The cage was completely submerged with the dog in it landing in a 10 mph current. After 5–8 seconds, the director yelled out ‘cut.’”

The man in question is then said to have asked for an identical take, to which the whistleblower commented, “I could not believe my eyes.”

PETA insisted there were multiple takes of the scene spanning over two hours. They also claimed the dog did not get a break.

Following the furor, two production companies that worked on the film issued statement in response to the controversy.

“We feel sorry that we didn’t do our best to avoid this,” reads a statement from Dirty Monkey Studios. “We treat all the cast and crew including animals with utmost respect for their contribution of amazing performance to the project.”

Another production company that worked on the film, Crazy Alien Film Production, also released a statement, reading: “We sincerely apologize for any animals that were mistreated on our set. We always strive to treat all cast and crew, human or animal, with the utmost respect, and are deeply troubled by the reports of an animal in distress on our production. There is no excuse for any failure to fully account for the welfare of any animal brought into a film, and we will be conducting a full review of our live animal practices and safeguards going forward.”

The statement insists that the cage containing the dog was supposed to “move up and over the water, without submerging” but “the height was miscalculated and the cage fell into the water.”

Adds the statement: “Then, before fully diagnosing the mechanical problem, a second take was requested. This was a mistake. The dog’s welfare should have been paramount, and any potential risks should have been diagnosed and eliminated before the dog was again called upon to undertake the scene. We sincerely apologize…despite mistakes in filming, the dog was well cared for on set. Its owner was present throughout the filming, and full accommodations were provided for its comfort and safety. Nevertheless, no explanation can excuse any distress caused to this innocent animal on our set, and we are deeply sorry.”