Sealer boycotting Ellen DeGeneres Show over Oscars selfie
Seal hunt targeted by DeGeneres's charity of choice
A sealer on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador is taking offence at American talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, and her now famous selfie from the 86th annual Academy Awards.
The photo of DeGeneres and other A-list celebrities quickly made history by being retweeted by 3.4 million users — breaking a world record.
Bob Byrne, a sealer from Conche, is protesting the selfie because of one of the organizations that is benefiting from it.
Tech-giant Samsung, which earned enormous popularity from the photo that was taken with a Samsung smart phone, donated $3 million US to be split between two of DeGeneres's' charities of choice — St. Jude's Children's Hospital and the Humane Society of the United States.
The Humane Society of the United States is outspoken against the Canadian seal hunt, and has called for a boycott of the hunt.
Byrne told CBC he wants people from Newfoundland and Labrador to boycott the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
"Immediately I wrote CTV and CRTC calling for a discontinuation of her show on Canadian airwaves," Byrne said.
"It's just putting off a wrong image of Newfoundlanders in general, and no matter how we try to defend ourselves they just push us aside and keep pushing for their own agenda."
Byrne, who is heading out to the seal hunt this spring, has also started an online petition against the wildly popular daytime talk show.
He admits it would be near impossible to get The Ellen DeGeneres Show off the air, but said it is worth a try.
"I want people to know that us, as Newfoundlanders, are not gonna sit back and take it [any more]," Byrne said, "There are better charities in the States."
DeGeneres is one celebrity in a long list of others, like Pamela Anderson, who has condemned the seal hunt.
Byrne said he is sick of false information on the seal hunt being relayed by celebrities.
"I was so ticked off at the time, I had to have my opinions known," he said.
So far, Byrne hasn't received a response from CTV or the CRTC.