'08
Pop singer and staunch vegetarian, Leona Lewis turned down a personal offer of £1 million from Mohammed al Fayed, owner of the uber posh London department store, Harrods, to open this year’s summer sale. According to the Daily Mail, Harrods is the only department store in the UK that still sells fur, and Leona Lewis wanted nothing to do with it.
The X Factor winner turned chart-topping recording artist Leona Lewis rejected a £1m offer from Harrods boss Mohammed Fayed to open this year’s summer sale because the department store sells fur.
A staunch vegetarian since the age of 12, the Bleeding Love singer stuck to her principles and turned the lucrative offer down, the job going instead to 52-year-old Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall.
Lewis, who was this year voted animal rights campaign Peta’s World’s Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity, said: ‘I’m totally against animal cruelty.
‘I don’t have clothes, shoes or bags made from any animal products.’
[From Daily Mail]
You have to respect anyone, especially a fledgling recording artist, who would turn down £1 million for their beliefs, even if you don’t share them. Harrods isn’t exclusively fur and someone who wasn’t dedicated to their convictions could justify taking what is considered by many as an honor. Victoria Beckham, Eva Longoria, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Christina Aguilera and Lucy Liu have rode the horse drawn carriage through Knightsbridge to ceremoniously open the sales season for the department store.
Harrods, of course, had no comment and Kim Catrall probably appreciated the work. Lewis, meanwhile, is currently in talks to develop a line of animal product-free shoes, handbags and accessories to be sold at popular UK clothing store Topshop.
Picture note by Celebitchy: Leona Lewis is shown in the header shopping in London on 10/3/08 with her boyfriend, Lou Al-Chamaa, who is carrying her bags. Are those leather boots she’s wearing? Her bag also looks leather. I guess they could be synthetic. Credit: BIG PICTURES/bauergriffinonline.com. She is also shown on 9/16/08 on MuchMusic in Toronto. Credit: Robin Wong/PRPhotos
Written by Ceilidh
Posted in Leona Lewis, PETA
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14 Responses to “Leona Lewis turns up her nose at Harrods”
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Don’t care for her, or Harrods for that matter (Selfridges & Harvey Nicks is where it’s at, Harrods is for tourists) but they’re still flogging fur so good for her for taking a stand. Really surprised they asked her in the first place.
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Good for her.
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I would have done it if I were her, but then again, I’m not a vegetarian with PeTA, so I don’t think my opinion really counts.
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Why do vegetarians have no sense of humor or balance?
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vdantev- i think it’s the soy burgers and tofu-fake-stuff (like tofurkey). vegetarians who avoid those nasty things have wonderful senses of humor and lots of balance!
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ya good point vdantev.
good for you if you have to will-power to be a vegitarian. some of my friends are vegitarians but they are so…condescending about it. telling me how i have blood on my hands while im TRYING to eat. hey, good for you but keep that shit to yourself!
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Put your average vegetarian on a deserted island with not readily identified plant food sources, but plenty of game and fish to eat and watch them turn around. Starvation is stronger than invented ethics.
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I LOVE harrods.<3
it’s so cool. harvey nicks doesen’t really have that kind of clothes i like. lol.
I would have done it.. but on the whole im not vegetarian or a fur hater.
i think she’s really cool because she sticks with her decision no matter what.
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That woman seriously needs some bangs. That’s all.
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doesnt she own louis vuitton purses?? arent they made out of leather?
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I completely disagree about the bangs. Her hair is gorgeous.
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In advance, I apologize for the length of this post.
I’ve been vegetarian (no flesh of any origin, no eggs, no milk) for 20 years. When I made the choice I was a kid and very obnoxious about it, carried my soapbox and self-righteousness everywhere with me. I think that lasted a couple of years. My thought was that one should be able to have anything said about what they were consuming while consuming it and not be affected. Additionally, I believed everyone should be able to start from zero to acquire their food. Meaning, if one wanted lamb, one should have it in them to kill the lamb, clean and butcher it prior to cooking and eating. All of this to create a real connection to the circle of life, rather the tidy, sterile lamb chops on styrofoam packages from the market.
No one wants to be taken hostage by those messages, particularly while they are eating. The behavior I was party to was only to the detriment of what I wanted to share. I learned from what I was doing wrong and haven’t done it in at least 18 years. Now, someone could know me for quite some time before learning I’m vegetarian.
Surprisingly I have some liberal views for a veg. For example, I think if a hunter is going to kill a deer and then use all of it’s parts, (flesh to eat, hide for leather, and bone for dogs, jewelry, grind into powder and put into capsules for calcium, decoration, whatever) then it’s okay. I totally disagree with sport hunting.
All of this to get to what I really want to say; that SOME of us are balanced and have a sense of humor, even if it takes a while for us to arrive at that place. It’s just really important to us to not be hypocrites. I believe that’s why Leona chose not to participate in the Harrod’s event.
Again, I apologize for the length of this post.
-This ain’t no hockey game-
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Too many celebrities jump on the anti fur bandwagon then off again when it suits them so fair play to Leona for sticking to her principles.
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I find it hard to believe that LL would be offered that much money just to open a sale. Seems extraordinary.
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