Blockbuster movie director and producer Michael Bay is facing charges in Italy after he allegedly killed a pigeon while filming in Rome — but the “Armageddon” director says he did nothing of the sort.
According to a report published Thursday by entertainment site The Wrap, Italian authorities claim that a homing pigeon was killed on the set while Bay was filming his Netflix action thriller “6 Underground” in 2018 – and they are attempting to hold Bay responsible.
Exclusive: Filmmaker Michael Bay is facing charges in Italy related to the killing of a pigeon on the 2018 set of the Netflix blockbuster "6 Underground" https://t.co/tDiJ0bpaYL
— TheWrap (@TheWrap) January 12, 2023
Bay told The Wrap that he would never hurt any animal, saying, “I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist. No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I’ve worked on in the past 30 years.”
Italian authorities claim that they have photographic proof that the homing pigeon was killed after being struck by a dolly on the set — and because Bay was the director in charge of the film set, they intend to hold him responsible for killing the bird. But Bay said that his team had video evidence that would prove the opposite.
“We have clear video evidence, a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims. And disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story,” Bay said, adding that he was confident he would ultimately prevail once all the evidence was laid out in court.
Bay’s attorneys have attempted to get the case thrown out, but the Italian authorities have only offered him a chance to pay a fine to settle the matter. Bay refused their offer, saying that he could not in good conscience accept a plea deal that forced him to admit to hurting an animal.
“I was offered by the Italian authorities a chance to settle this matter by paying a small fine, but I declined to do so because I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal,” he said.
Italian law prohibits the killing, capturing, or harming of any wild birds – and pigeons are considered to be a protected species both in Italy and all across the European Union.