- Lewis was labeled “vile and pathetic” by animal rights group PETA and vilified by fans
- He took the photo in Texas to promote his current tour
- Lewis is a conservative singer who has been a vocal supporter of Donald Trump
Staind frontman Aaron Lewis was slammed after posting a picture of 32 dead Coyotes on his Instagram with the caption “Trump 24.”
The 51-year-old rocker-turned-country singer was branded “horrible and sick” in the image he shared on Wednesday.
A vocal conservative, Lewis has long been an admirer of Donald Trump and supported him in the 2016 presidential election.
The photo shoot was intended to promote his upcoming solo tour of the USA to his 476,000 followers.
He captioned the picture: “Successful morning in Texas.” Advance sales for the AFL 2024 dates begin today. Use code AFL2024 to get priority access before tickets go on sale this Friday.’
Staind frontman Aaron Lewis was slammed by PETA after sharing a photo depicting Trump 24 with dead coyotes
But instead the stunt sparked strong backlash, including from animal rights group PETA.
Senior Vice President Lisa Lange said: “How despicable and pathetic that a down-and-out musician, desperate for relevance, would terrorize and kill animals to get a glimpse of the attention he clearly craves.”
“Just like the dogs that share our homes, coyotes feel pain and fear and love their families, and because they are one of the few species found in almost every U.S. state, they are beloved by many as America’s “singing dog.”
“PETA encourages Aaron Lewis to raise awareness through an act of kindness, rather than slaughtering people who are simply trying to eke out an existence in an increasingly crowded world.”
His actions also caused an uproar in the comments section of the post.
One Instagram user wrote: “You are SICK Aaron.” Another wrote: “What an idiot.”
One woman who identified herself as a Republican said: “I don’t care if this is legal or not, I find this very disturbing.”
“You have to have a very evil heart to do that.” I’m unfollowing and hope you lose a lot of fans. I’m not giving up a mother for you.’
The guitarist (center of picture with the rest of Staind) describes himself as conservative and is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump
Animal lovers flooded Lewis’ Instagram page with angry comments after he shared the post from Texas on Wednesday
Instagram users were quick to condemn the stunt, which was intended to promote Lewis’ current solo tour
Another commenter wrote: “Playing with dead animals is grotesque. What a way to get attention.”
While another described the move as an “animal sacrifice”. He said: “Politics aside, this is cult-like behavior.” Who kills animals and reassigns it to someone’s name? This is animal sacrifice.’
But not everyone condemned Lewis’ actions, with many pointing out that coyotes are nuisance predators.
One fan wrote: “Thank you for taking down predators that are not under control.” You are saving our livestock, pets and edible wildlife. I can’t wait for the show tonight.’
Another added: “Isn’t it funny how this gets the townsfolk upset?” To all the whiners out there, you’re coyotes!
“They attack and kill your pets and very expensive livestock!” This is population control. It is necessary to protect other animals. You love animals, right?
“Well, they’re literally protecting a lot of animals by removing those coyotes. “Now sip your soy latte and whine about the bad people with Bang Bangs.”
In Texas, coyotes are not considered a game species, meaning they can be hunted year-round with a license. Lewis was in the state as part of his solo acoustic tour.
In 2019, the rocker made headlines after storming off the stage because the audience was too loud.