Ashley Benson was recently receiving backlash due to her instagram post of her in a Halloween costume in Cecil the Lion. After being fired up by her followers, she deleted her post and made a public apology.
Entertainment News Online reports that Benson posted a photo of her in a lion costume, asking her followers for their opinion on her chosen Halloween costume. The actress initially captioned the photo stating that she was wearing "Cecil the Lion" which she later edited saying it was just a normal lion costume. Unfortunately, her followers already caught her initial post. They immediately got offended as "Cecil the Lion" was a 13-year-old lion who was killed by an American Dentist the past summer. Yandy, which is where Benson got her lion costume, explained that their "Cecil the Lion" costume is presented differently than the one that the actress wore on her post.
The company claims that 20% of their proceeds will be donated to a global conservation organization. Several actors and actresses have expressed their dismay during the death of Cecil back in July as reported by Page Six. This has caused the actress to be criticized of her post. Hours after the controversial photo, Benson made a public apology to those who were highly offended. The actress stated "Yesterday's post was in poor taste and I absolutely regret all of the hurt that photo caused." She defended her post saying that her costume wasn't actually Cecil the Lion. She admits responsibility to her actions and this was an unfortunate incident.
According to UPI, the controversial story of Cecil the Lion started when an American hunter stalked the lion, allegedly unaware of his status as a local celebrity, just for sport. The lion was country-wide favourite animal and caused devastation to many. Palmer, the American hunter, stated that he had no idea the lion was a local favourite until the end of his hunt. He assured however that what he did was a legal hunt.
The controversy of Cecil the Lion has already surfaced all over the world, causing Benson to be in a hotspot when she was allegedly wearing him as a costume. The actress however was definitely devastated and sorry for her actions.
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