Keith Girard
Robert Pattinson revealed on Jimmy Kimmel last night that he was asked to masturbate a dog in his new movie Good Time. (Photo: Getty)
Robert Pattinson could get wrapped up in a criminal investigation into animal abuse after revealing on Jimmy Kimmel last night that the directors of his new movie “Good Time” encouraged him to masturbate a dog for a scene in the movie.
Sexually abusing an animal is a crime in New York State where the film was shot, according to legal references.
New York is one of 14 states where engaging in a sexual act with an animal is a Class-A misdemeanor. In 16 other states, it’s considered a felony, but in four states, including the District of Columbia, it’s lawful to have sex with an animal.
Several states, including Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Illinois, Florida, Alaska and Ohio, also make it a crime to encourage another person to have sex with animals.
There is no federal law that explicitly prohibits sex between humans and animals, according to legal references.
The Humane Society of the United States is one of the leading advocates of criminalizing bestiality in the United States.
As Pattinson explained, film directors Ben Safdie and Josh Safdie encouraged him to perform the sex act on a real dog. The dog’s owner also said he could masturbate his pet.
“My character, Connie, has this affinity with dogs, and he thinks he is a dog in a previous life, and he thinks he has control over animals and stuff. And there was this one scene which we shot where it’s basically, there’s a drug dealer who busts into the room and I was sleeping with the dog and basically giving the dog a hand job. “The dog’s owner was like ‘Well, he’s a breeder, you can. You’ve just gotta massage the inside of his thighs.”
To his credit, Pattinson refused to do the scene with a real dog. Instead, the scene was shot with a fake penis, but the footage never made it into the film’s final cut. Pattinson joked that it would likely be on the DVD.
Kimmel laughed uproariously, but the whole matter was no joke to animal rights groups.
PETA, also known as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, released a statement today praising the actor.
PETA depends on actors and crew members to come forward when they see mistreatment, whether it involves a dog who is being forced into churning water on the set of ‘A Dog’s Purpose’ or an A-list actor who is being asked to molest his canine co-star,” said PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange .
“Robert Pattinson is our kind of guy (and everyone’s who has a heart) for refusing to masturbate a dog—which is like child molestation—and for talking about it.
“Once again, animal trainers’ top priority is money and animals’ interests and well-being are often ignored.”
“PETA is currently investigating whether the law was broken in this instance,” the organization said.
Check out the video below from the show and a trailer from the movie, which received a six-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year.