Ricky Gervais And Cara Delevingne Fume At Cecil The Lion’s Killing, Call Walter Palmer ‘Mental’
Ricky Gervais, Cara Delevingne, and Olivia Wilde are some of the stars who, along with many members of the public, have expressed their disgust at the killing of the famous Cecil the Lion, who was hunted and killed by American dentist Walter Palmer earlier this month.
As revealed in a report by Inquisitr yesterday, Walter Palmer was identified as the man responsible for not only hunting down Zimbabwe’s most famous lion, but also for skinning and decapitating the dead animal for a reported sum of $50,000.
Since then, according to the Metro, Walter Palmer has gone on to release a statement conceding that he did not know the identity of the lion while conducting the hunt, and has apologized to the public for his actions. He has maintained his innocence throughout, arguing that he had all the legal paperwork in place to carry out the hunting.
A part of his statement read as follows.
I had no idea that the lion I took was a known, local favorite, was collared and part of a study until the end of the hunt. I relied on the expertise of my local professional guides to ensure a legal hunt. Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion.
Cecil the lion's killer revealed as US dentist. Exclusive from @petathornycroft, @Simmoa & I http://t.co/XNXyd2C7Gi pic.twitter.com/yWTAxb87wg
— Harriet Alexander (@h_alexander) July 28, 2015
However, in the aftermath of the revelation, members of the general public and several Hollywood celebrities took to social media to denounce the beloved lion’s death and fume at what is essentially being seen as a restless act of human behavior on Walter Palmer’s part.
Ricky Gervais branded the killing “mental,” saying it must be the thrill of murdering Cecil that could satiate people like Walter Palmer, while Shannen Doherty labeled him a “disgusting” individual. Producer Theo Kingma even pledged $1,000 for the arrest of Palmer, asking others to join him in the cause.
Ricky Gervais confessed on his twitter account that he could not understand the reasons behind Palmer’s actions.
“It’s not for food. It’s not the shooting, or tin cans would do. It must just be the thrill of killing. Mental.”
RIP #CecilTheLion
I'm struggling to imagine anything more beautiful than this pic.twitter.com/lile3Kb2dk— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 28, 2015
Paper Towns star Cara Delevingne went so far as to say that she found it difficult to accept that Walter Palmer was a human being. Several others including Piers Morgan, Jerry O’Connell, Judd Apatow, Theo Rossi, Sharon Osbourne, Lisa Vanderpump and Rose McGowan also took to social media to express their anger at the whole incident.
This #WalterPalmer is a poor excuse of a human being!
— Cara Delevingne (@Caradelevingne) July 28, 2015
I’d love to go hunting for killer dentist Dr Walter Palmer, so I can stuff & mount him for MY office wall. My column:http://t.co/Xy2OWE8sU2
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 28, 2015
Ohh the dentist "had no idea" the lion was famous. Because had he known, he would never have murdered it without asking for a selfie first.
— olivia wilde (@oliviawilde) July 28, 2015
We will never learn of the damage we have done until there is nothing left. #CecilTheLion
— THEO (@Theorossi) July 29, 2015
Used to hate my dentist for yelling at me about my night guard but at least she didn't kill #CecilTheLion
— Jerry O'Connell (@MrJerryOC) July 28, 2015
English comedian Ricky Gervais is known for being forthright with his opinions on matters of global importance, and his outright denunciation of Walter Palmer has instigated a host of other replies by members of the general public.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Palmer’s dentist practice, River Bluff Dental, has been flooded with insults on Yelp. One scathing remark tagged Palmer as the “American Psycho.”
“Do you want a sick SOB like this in your mouth? He is American Psycho incarnate. I hope the shadows come and pull him down into hell Ghost style.”
While another wrote as follows.
“I want to reiterate, you should kill yourself and donate your body to a big cat preserve with the express purpose of using your corpse as a scratching post.”
Dental practice belonging to controversial big game hunter Walter Palmer completely locked down. All shades drawn. pic.twitter.com/opvzJp8ea9
— Paul Blume (@PaulBlume_FOX9) July 28, 2015
Gren Greenwald, who is previously known for being the reporter behind Edward Snowden’s story, is one of Palmer’s harshest critics, and called for his extradition to Zimbabwe.
It is going to take a long time for Palmer’s critics to calm down, and now with Ricky Gervais and others calling for his head, Palmer could expect a drawn-out, humiliating battle on his hands.
[Photo by Frazer Harrison & Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images]