Michael Bay Charged With Killing a Pigeon in Italy, Denies Allegations: There Were No Animals ‘Injured or Harmed’ (Exclusive)
Italian authorities say the incident happened in Rome during the 2018 production of the Netflix hit ”6 Underground“
Filmmaker Michael Bay is facing charges in Italy related to the killing of a pigeon on the 2018 set of the Netflix blockbuster “6 Underground,” TheWrap has exclusively learned.
Bay, who has made several attempts to clear the case with Italian authorities — to no avail — categorically denied the allegations Thursday. “I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist,” Bay said in a statement to TheWrap. “No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I’ve worked on in the past 30 years.”
Italian authorities say a homing pigeon was killed during the “6 Underground” production in Rome. Pigeons are a protected species in Italy. Italy has a national law that makes it illegal to harm, kill or capture any wild bird, including pigeons. Pigeons are also protected in the E.U. under
the Birds Directive. According to an insider with knowledge of the production, a homing pigeon was allegedly killed by a dolly in the middle of a take in Rome. An unnamed individual who happened to be on set apparently witnessed the incident, took a picture and reported it to Italian authorities, the insider added.
“We have clear video evidence,” Bay said, “a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims. And disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story.”
Other particulars about the case were unclear Thursday.
“There is an ongoing court case so I cannot get into the specifics, but I am confident we will prevail when I have my day in court,” Bay said. Bay and his legal team have made three different attempts in the past past year to throw the case out of court. Because Bay was the director of the film during production, he’s being held responsible. Italian authorities gave Bay the option to settle and pay a small fine, which he declined.
“I was offered by the Italian authorities a chance to settle this matter by paying a small fine, but I declined to do so because I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal,” Bay added. Netflix, which released “6 Underground” on the streamer, declined to comment for this story. Skydance, which financed the project, also declined to comment.
