Peta had some criticisms for the piece, but Versace was quick to defend its ethical production. During the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira stole the spotlight with their performance celebrating diversity by incorporating Latin influences.
Yet, there was an outfit choice by J-Lo that stirred up some debate online. The pop star donned a patriotic coat in red, white, and blue. One side displayed the American flag while the other side showed the flag of Puerto Rico, her family’s native land. Despite being born in New York, J-Lo proudly embraces her Puerto Rican heritage as her parents hail from there.
The animal welfare organization PETA was not impressed with the artwork and took to social media to call out the artist for using genuine feathers: “This resulted in the deaths of many birds,” read the message posted on Instagram and Twitter.
One of the singer’s fashion designers, Mariel Haenn, mentioned that the coat was specially created by Versace and adorned with 40,000 feathers in red, blue, and white, meticulously stitched together. This sparked immediate response from animal rights activists on various social media platforms.
“Such a pointless fuss,” remarked one person.
“What a disgrace,” another person added.
In response to the backlash, Versace took to Instagram to address the issue: “The feathers used in the design are all ethically sourced,” they posted.