Lily Allen is defending herself online amid controversy sparked by her recent comments about having returned an adopted dog after it ate her family’s passports.
“I have never been accused of mistreating an animal, and i’ve found this whole week very distressing,” Allen, the English singer-songwriter, wrote in her Instagram stories Sunday.
Allen’s stressful week stemmed from an episode of her podcast, “Miss Me?” on Thursday, when she revealed that she had adopted a dog during the Covid-19 pandemic “but then it ate my passport and so I took her back to the home.”
Allen’s revelation generated some backlash online as publications ran articles about her comments, prompting her to post an Instagram statement Sunday lambasting internet users’ reactions as “a deliberately distorted cobbling together of quotes designed to make people angry.”
She had mentioned on Thursday’s podcast that the pup, Mary, “was a very badly behaved dog, and I really tried very hard with her, but it just didn’t work out, and the passports was the straw that broke the camel’s back, so to speak.” In her Instagram stories Sunday, she pointed to that as a detail many tabloids hadn’t quoted in their articles.
“i’ve received some really abhorrent messages including death threats, some of the most disgusting comments have been all over my social media channels, and i’m really not surprised because this is exactly what those articles are designed to do,” Allen wrote. “i’m ok but it has been a really tough few days that has impacted me and my family.”
The story originally came up when she told guest podcast co-host Steve Jones, a Welsh TV presenter, that her family might adopt a Chihuahua mix puppy. She then told him about Mary after Jones asked whether she felt ready for the commitment of getting a dog with her husband, “Stranger Things” star David Harbour.
Allen said the pup ate her passport, as well as those of her two daughters, Ethel, 12, and Marnie, 11, whom she shares with her ex-husband, Sam Cooper. Replacing them was “an absolute logistical nightmare,” she said, causing her kids to delay visiting their father in England for four or five months.
“I just couldn’t look at her. I was like, ‘You’ve ruined my life,'” she added with a laugh.
In her Instagram stories Sunday, Allen recounted having adopted Mary from a shelter in New York. Even though she “loved her very much,” she wrote, her family struggled to accommodate the “pretty severe separation anxiety” Mary developed.
Allen wrote that the dog couldn’t be left alone for more than 10 minutes at a time and that her family worked with a behavioral specialist from the shelter who would dog-sit Mary when they were away.
She added that “after many months and much deliberation everyone was in agreement that our home wasn’t the best fit for Mary, the person that she was rehomed with was known to us and that rehoming happened within 24 hours of her being returned.”
“We couldn’t meet Mary’s needs and her happiness and welfare were central to us making that decision, as difficult as it was,” Allen continued.
A spokesperson for Allen didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Allen said that she has consistently had rescue dogs since she was a young child and that she considers herself “pretty good at ascertaining a dogs needs.”
She also tagged People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals directly, sarcastically thanking the animal rights nonprofit group for “adding fuel to the fire.”
The organization shared an Instagram post last week with a photo of Allen and the headline “LILY ALLEN RETURNED HER DOG TO THE SHELTER FOR EATING HER PASSPORT.”
“While you can get new passports, Mary may spend months in the shelter waiting for a new family — if she’s lucky enough to find one at all,” the organization said in its post.
It added in the caption that it had sent Allen a mechanical toy puppy “that requires none of the care, patience, or commitment a real dog needs.”
PETA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The incident isn’t the first time Allen has stirred controversy online with her comments.
She also drew mixed reactions this year when she said in an episode of the “Radio Times” podcast that having children “ruined” her career. It was a statement that drew angry comments from many online, as well as support from others who praised her honesty.