Michael Bay is allegedly facing charges that a pigeon was killed during a film shoot five years ago in Italy, but he is denying the allegations.
The acclaimed filmmaker is now responding to the allegations after supposedly attempting to clear his name with authorities, The Wrap reported.
“I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist,” Bay told The Wrap. “No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I’ve worked on in the past 30 years.”
A national law makes it illegal to capture, harm or kill wild birds in Italy, including pigeons, which are protected under the Birds Directive in the EU.
Authorities reportedly claim a protected homing pigeon was killed during the 2018 production of “6 Underground.” Allegedly, the bird was killed by a dolly during a take on set in Rome, and an unnamed crew member allegedly snapped a photo and reported it to the police, a source said.
“We have clear video evidence,” Bay said, “a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims. And disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story.”
While the ongoing case prevented Bay from explaining specifics, he said he felt “confident we will prevail.”
Bay claimed he was offered a deal to settle the case by paying a fine, but the 57-year-old stuck to his guns, refusing to “plead guilty to having harmed an animal.”
While scenes were filmed in an array of locations around the world, IMDb lists multiple set locations in Italy. The action-packed blockbuster, released in 2019, stars Ryan Reynolds and follows the story of a billionaire who recruits a team of six people to fake their deaths in order to serve up justice.
This isn’t the first time Bay has been publicly dragged. Actress Megan Fox bashed the filmmaker for his directorial note to just “be hot” on the “Transformers” set years ago.
“He’s like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is,” Fox said in 2009, describing Bay as a “nightmare.”
“‘Mike,’ I’ll say, ‘Who am I talking to? Where am I supposed to be looking at?’ And he responds, ‘Just be sexy,’” she added. “I get mad when people talk to me like that.”
The interview was allegedly the catalyst for her termination from the “Terminators” cast, as the actress did not appear in the third installment.
The director also allegedly “body shamed” “Pearl Harbor” star Kate Beckinsale by asking her to exercise for her role following the birth of her child – although he didn’t believe it to be that cruel. Additionally, he allegedly once called Kate Winslet “not overwhelmingly beautiful” in her role in “Titanic.”
[Written in collaboration with other media outlets with information from the following sources]