Michael Bay, a well-known Hollywood director, is reportedly facing charges in connection with the alleged killing of a pigeon during the filming of his Netflix hit “6 Underground,” which took place in Italy five years ago.
A member of the film’s production informed Italian authorities that during a take, a homing pigeon was killed by a dolly. This allegation has apparently landed the director in hot water with the Italian authorities, as pigeons are a protected species in Italy.
However, in a recent interview with The Wrap, the filmmaker denied the allegations, stating that he loves animals and would never put one in harm’s way. During the interview, Bay said, “I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist; no animal involved in the production was injured or harmed.” or on any other production I’ve worked on in the past 30 years.”
He further countered the allegations by saying, “We have clear video evidence, a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerate us from these claims and disproves their one paparazzi photo, which gives a false story.” Bay added, “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.” “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.”
According to Mathew Rosengart, the director’s attorney, Bay was never accused or charged with harming an animal, and the only “charge” that he faces in Italy is whether he failed to properly supervise crew members tasked with handling animals on the set of “6 Underground.” He further stated that the media has harmed Bay’s reputation by painting the filmmaker as an animal murderer.
On their part, the Italian authorities claim that the pigeon was killed by a dolly in the Italian capital of Rome, with a crew member providing pictorial evidence of the event while reporting it to police. In Italy, it’s illegal to capture, harm, or kill wild birds such as pigeons.