There’s no doubt that PETA is going to be hassling country music star and The Voice judge Blake Shelton soon. Shelton recently Tweeted about deliberately swerving his car to hit a turtle. Needless to say, the Internet is not happy. Read the Tweet and some responses here!
I once accidentally ran over a turtle, and felt awful about it all day. Clearly, Shelton isn’t having a similar reaction. And his response to objectors hasn’t exactly been gracious:
But for every Tweet against Shelton, there are plenty more applauding his actions:
It takes all kinds to make the Internet, I suppose! Hopefully we just don’t see an uptick in turtle roadkill because of this. [via Buzzfeed]
What do you think of Shelton’s actions?
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I’m sure that turtle will be VERY missed……..
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Disgusting. To destroy life just because you can is stupid.
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@Niiksknox@xanga - That
turtle wont be missed. But his complete lack of respect and remorse is
unsettling. “the squirrel that you kill in jest, dies in earnest”
Thoreau
dahlia / 2382 posts
That turtle meant more to the planet than his music. The fact that he can consider killing an animal a joke is sick. When Selena ran over a rabbit by accident, she spent $300 to save it. She was a better human than this guy.
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@AncoraImparo@xanga - While it’s unsettling, it’s also not affecting me whatsoever.
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This applies to a lot of things in life: just because you can doesn’t mean you should. It’s absolutely disgusting that he went out of his way to kill a completely innocent turtle. It takes a pretty sick person to do something like this. One of my first times driving, at the last minute I noticed a small turtle in the road and I swerved so hard to avoid it. I completely understand when animals are run over by accident but to purposefully run one over is inexcusable.
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I’m not an animal lover, but I do believe in the whole “do no harm” philosophy so I just can’t trust people who behave like this. I mean seriously what is so amusing about being destructive? It just seems sociopathic IMO.
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i guess he enjoys the stereotype of the redneck country musician who kills animals for sport.
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So sad to have read this. I LOVE Blake Shelton and his music. I think it’s one thing to hunt but such a shame to swerve to purposely run over a turtle. Seems so juvenile. Shame on you Blake Shelton for being so cruel.
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@QueenMe@xanga - agreed. i am a huge fan of his and it’s unsettling to hear that he cares so little about an animal that he served to hit it. it’s one thing to accidentally hit an animal, but another to callously run it over. it may not affect our lives because the turtle is dead but it affects my view on him.
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I have a hard time respecting anyone who likes to kill things simply for the fun of it and with no other purpose. It’s really quite disturbing, IMO.
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Anyone who kills things just because they can gets no respect from me. Not that it matters to him, I’m sure.
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He was only kidding. Not funny … but still just a joke
Posted July 28th
Blake Shelton@blakeshelton
Ok.. Now that “Turtle-Gate” is over I want to apologize for my ignorant joke.. I never ran over a turtle. It
wasn’t even possible.
Blake Shelton@blakeshelton
And also I’d like to thank my followers for always having my back!!! Y’all know my sense of humor. And yes it’s screwed up.
peony / 1 posts
As someone who used to have turtles for pets and tried to care for a turtle that was run over by a car (it died a few days after I found it), I would be upset that someone purposely goes out of his way to crush a turtle… but I am curious about these above commenters who think we shouldn’t kill ANYTHING. Where do you draw your line? Would you folks let flies and cockroaches hang out in your house? On your food? I personally swat fruit flies that try to eat my food.
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One time I stopped my truck in a busy intersection just to save a turtle crossing the busy highway. I even got peed on by it when I picked it up, and put it in a box in my truck. I then drove it to a safe area near a stream by the woods.
I didn’t mind getting peed on, because I felt good about what I did.
(I could not imagine myself running over it) – Turtles are cool
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Amazing how so many folks assumed he actually ran over a turtle. I assumed it was a joke right away. @Wishing0nTheStars@xanga showed I was right be being honest enough to let yall know he actually didn’t run over a turtle. Shame on the rest of you and shame on this blog for not reporting the truth.
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what an idiot even if it is a joke. it would obviously be better if it were a joke but it’s a very bad one and he sounds like a stupid immature 12 year old with no clue of what respect is.
orchid / 211 posts
I’m not an animal lover myself, but to purposely kill an animal just because you can is wrong.
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What an ass. I get not feeling bad that you ran an animal over…but to purposely do so is a little disturbing.
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At first I was sad to read this & now I’m still sad that it’s a joke.
Unimportant side note: There was a snake in the road & I was like, ‘I don’t like snakes, if I run it over I run it over. I’m not moving for it’ (okay, it MAY have been more malicious than that), but in the end I eneded up swerving/avoiding it because I felt bad for killing it.
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*turns and looks at three baby pet turtles basking in their tank across the room*
I get it was a joke but it’s still not funny.I saved these three from the side of the highway. They were too weak and one’s shell ways far too damaged to release them into the wild. They easily could have met the horrible fate that he was joking about. And it really would have been a shame because they are such interesting worthwhile creatures to experience.And it’s not about it being a joke or not, or it being turtles. Just the lack of respect some humans have not only for other creatures on this planet, but other people is disturbing.People need to learn how to enjoy the other animals in the world for what they are. They are all interesting and intriguing in their own right. Even if they aren’t as smart as humans they deserve to be treated with the same amount of respect and compassion.
cherry blossom / 31 posts
why is this even on the radar when 12 HUMAN lives were just taken in a movie theatre? priorities, america.
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Those who can just outright kill something without thinking about it disgust me. It’s just a turtle, a squirrel, a chipmunk, a bird, it’s all fun & games! Umm.. ok. If you think KILLING something is a game, you’re fucking sick. I’m not even an animal rights activist. Also, what happens if he swerves to hit an animal, and the person behind him sees it, thinks he’s swerving because he lost control of the vehicle, and slams on their brakes, causing the cars behind it to plow into it.
Shit got real because you just had to kill that turtle. Score one for mankind!! -.-”
@betsymarie - Really? There has been article after article after article about the Colorado shootings but you want every friggin article on this website to be about it? Come on.. stop trying to be “that person” because that was the most ridiculous comment I had ever heard. If you really want to continue about the shooting, which by the way is over, the man has been convicted and will be brought to justice, go to google and not xanga. The rest of us would like to move on. Beating the dead horse is no longer useful.
sunflower / 397 posts
What a sick sense of humor.. how is taking a life ever something to joke about? Talk about immature..
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I’m sure Blake Shelton would appreciate if someone intentionally swerved and killed one of his many dogs.
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Intentionally swerving to hit an animal is pretty sociopathic. If one accidentally hits it that’s different. PETA has often gone overboard, but if it was intentional I at least agree with the principal if not the method.
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Asshole, and that’s why he’s a country singer.
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@theQuickFixInYourArms@xanga - I’m a country boy, and I didn’t know that we were supposed to intentionally kill turtles. In fact, I have video of me saving one not too long ago. But thanks to your comment, I know now that I’ve been neglecting my heritage, so I’m gonna go kill some turtles right now.
moron