Reverse Dare
Pamela Anderson Freezes Out Ice Bucket Challenge
Even celebrities known as ice queens are taking up the cold challenge sweeping social media. Not so Pamela Anderson, who used her nomination to condemn the ALS Association.
Fred Prouser/Reuters
The #IceBucketChallenge has become the latest double-dog-dare-you stunt that social media feeds us on a daily basis, soaking everyone across the nation. Even celebrities have joined in on the action—Lady Gaga, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and Lebron James have all accepted their challenges and upped the ante, passing the dare along other big name stars to help spread awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. As of Wednesday, the ALS Association has raised more than $31.5 million since the #IceBucketChallenge went viral late last month. The same period last year only saw $1.9 million.
On Sunday, Pamela Anderson time came. Captain Paul Watson, the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a marine wildlife conservation organization, challenged the activist to dump a bucket of ice water over her head after receiving his nomination from actresses Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs.
Anderson, however, simply refused.
“Sorry—I can’t bring myself to do your Ice bucket challenge,” she posted to her Facebook page along with a photo of herself cropped below the neck. “Digging a bit deeper. I found that we may not be aligned—in our messages.”
Not only did the animal rights activist refuse the challenge due to the ALS Organization’s use of animal testing for medical research, but she also used the momentum it has gained to promote her own charitable deeds, issuing her own challenge to the organization to stop animal testing.
Anderson, an avid animal rights activist, said, “[In] recent experiments funded by the ALS Association, mice had holes drilled into their skulls, were inflicted with crippling illnesses, and were forced to run on an inclined treadmill until they collapsed from exhaustion. Monkeys had chemicals injected into their brains and backs and were later killed and dissected.”
While we are on board with Anderson’s concern for reducing unnecessary harm to animals, it is a little inappropriate for her to use an awareness campaign for a debilitating disease to promote her own agenda.
C’mon Pamela, even Anna Wintour and Gwyneth Paltrow, who’s personalities have been deemed as cold as the ice in the bucket, have joined in on the fun.