Courtesy of PETA
Paul McCartney, Belinda Carlisle and The Pretenders‘ Chrissie Hynde are among the celebrities that will take part in a special livestream celebration marking animal rights organization PETA‘s 40th anniversary scheduled for this Saturday, December 12, at 8 p.m. ET.
The former Beatles legend and the Go-Go’s singer are among a number of longtime PETA supporters who will make special appearances during the bash, the centerpiece of which will be the presentation of the organization’s Humanitarian Awards.
Hynde will present one of the honors to punk godfather Iggy Pop. This year’s other Humanitarian Awards recipients include Lily Tomlin, rapper/producer Jermaine Dupri, Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu and The Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham. Dolly Parton and Mariah Carey will present awards to Tomlin and Dupri, respectively.
Among the other stars slated to make guest appearances during the event are Pamela Anderson, Alec Baldwin, Gillian Anderson, Anjelica Huston, James Cromwell, Casey Affleck, Bill Maher, Tim Gunn, and Jillian Michaels.
PETA’s 40th anniversary party will be co-hosted by actors Alan Cumming and Edie Falco. In addition to the awards presentations, the event will celebrate the organization’s triumphs in raising awareness about the poor treatment of animals in scientific experiments, the shutdown of Ringling Bros. circus, the decline of the fur industry, the rise in the popularity of vegan food and more.
“Forty years ago, car companies used pigs as crash-test dummies and people thought a vegan was someone from Las Vegas,” says PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in a statement. “Today, animals in laboratories are being replaced with supercomputers and organs-on-chips, fur is dead, elephants are out of the circus, and the ‘Tiger King’ is in jail.”
Visit PETA.org/party for more information about the virtual celebration.