When my colleague Annie Barrett (pictured) told me she’d be going to Conan O’Brien’s EW cover shoot to film a few behind-the-scenes videos for EW.com, I was jealous. But not for the reason you think.
I can’t believe Annie got to play with a chimp. A CHIMP! He combed her hair; she kissed him. Seriously. It hurts.
Annie can’t understand my pain. (Even though she bonded with Louie, pictured on her lap, she claims she’s afraid of animals.) But I know I’m not alone. If you had to choose between five minutes with Conan or five minutes with Louie, who would you pick? I enjoy Conan, but I just think I have a better chance of running into him someday.
Conan, for sure…he can do more than stupid pet (or even wild animal) tricks and I bet he smells better.
The chimp. Didn’t even have to think about it. Conan’s hilarious and all – but, hello? A chimp?
CONAN, then Annie, then the chimp.
I’d rather hang out with Annie!
Conan. While the chimp looks charming, and I’m sure he’s an awesome conversationalist, I’m not worried about flying feces when hanging out with Conan.
Judging from the picture, that chimp sure looks like a barrel of monkeys.
Wait, she’s in the picture with a chimp? Dude, I thought Annie was in the picture with Conan!
Aww. You can tell Annie’s a little freaked despite the convincing thumbs up. Mandi, next time go with her for moral support and to cover the “animals” beat.
I’d much rather spend time with Conan than a chimp.
Conan wins BY FAR!!!
The behind-the-scenes story on chimpanzees in entertainment is very dark. Baby chimpanzees used for this purpose are taken away from their mothers at birth, causing irreversible psychological harm. In the wild, chimpanzees nurse until they are 4-6 years old, so you can imagine how important the mother-infant bond is for them. Chimpanzees are very strong and cannot be trained by positive reinforcement alone, so trainers use physically and psychologically brutal methods to literally beat them into submission. By the time they are between 5 and 7 years old they become too strong to be dominated, and “retirement” usually means being cast off to a roadside zoo or other substandard facility. Chimpanzees usually live into their 60s.
Anjelica Huston just did a Public Service Announcement about this subject, you can view it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ymi-Bh6nY or here: http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/Prefs.asp?video=anjelica_huston
Julia’s comment is a bit over the top, I believe. I was on that shoot, and Louie is the kindest, most well behaved, sweetest animal I have ever seen. His teachers and handlers were very kind and patient. I don’t think she needs to include little Louie in her message – he’s no way been beaten or abused. He’s a sweet sweet boy.
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