Sophia Michaels
A dead bird has director Michael Bay in trouble with Italian authorities. The filmmaker is currently facing charges for allegedly killing a pigeon while he was shooting Netflix’s 6 Underground in Rome, the TheWrap reports. On Thursday, Michael Bay denied having killed the bird, which is considered a protected species, during filming five years ago.
“I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist,” Bay said in a statement to TheWrap. “No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed, or on any other production I’ve worked on in the past 30 years.”
According to the outlet, Bay has attempted to clear the case with Italian authorities but has failed after the European country accused him of killing a homing pigeon while on set for the Netflix film. A source told TheWrap that a pigeon was killed by a dolly and that the incident was reported by someone who took a photo of the deceased animal.
“We have clear video evidence, a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims,” Bay told the outlet. “And disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story.”
Bay told the outlet he was “confident” he’d prevail “when I have my day in court.” As the film’s director, he is held responsible for the bird’s death.
Bay told the outlet that he was given the opportunity to pay a small fine if he settled, but refused to do so. “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.
6 Underground was shot in Italy in 2018, and starred Ryan Reynolds and Corey Hawkins.
