Last Friday, Paris Jackson attended the Dior Couture’s spring/summer 2019 Cruise collection show in Chantilly, France. Paris, as we know, is working on a career as both and actress and a model so front row at a Dior show is good branding for her. But a few minutes into the show, Paris left to stand in the rain instead, which wasn’t necessary because there was a rainstorm and the tent had an open top so everyone was in the rain. It was reported that Paris “stormed out,” of the show but no one knew why. Now Paris is clarifying that not only did she “quietly” leave, her reasons were concerns for the horses performing:
to be clear, i did not “storm out” of the show. i quietly got up and walked out trying my hardest to not cause a scene, because i do not support animals being branded and whipped. not trying to become enemies in the fashion world in any way, but i will always be myself.
— Paris-Michael K. J. (@ParisJackson) May 29, 2018
The performance that took place alongside the runway was an charrería, a Mexican rodeo with women mounted on horseback who guide their horses to dance to traditional Mexican music. The team performing was the Rayenari team out of Phoenix who won the U.S. championship in 2014. Their performance took place alongside the runway and gave context to the Maria Grazia Chiuri’s escaramuzas charra inspired cruise line being shown. The women used crops to direct their horses and it was that to which Paris objected.
A source also confirmed to PEOPLE on Tuesday that Paris “quietly” left the event because she had concerns about how the horses were treated during the label’s highly produced show, meant to showcase a women’s rodeo.
“She was uncomfortable with how the horses were being handled (the whipping sound was loud) so she quietly slipped out,” the source said, referring to the female rodeo riders who performed on horses during the show.
“The ladies performing with the horses were riding side-saddle so they had to use a crop to get the horses to go straight and it was pouring rain with no tent. Paris meant no disrespect to the brand. She loved the collection and had a wonderful time in Paris with Dior,” the source added.
I don’t know who this source is that confirmed Paris left quietly because many, many outlets are reporting it was not a quiet departure. I’m slightly torn on this. Ultimately, if Paris objected to the use of crops then she had every right to excuse herself. But she was sitting front row in a major show and obviously her exit made many ripples. It wasn’t the smartest move for an up-and-comer but if she was truly offended, then I applaud her risking her next invitation for what she thought was right.
I wasn’t there so I can’t comment on how loud the crops were. It was raining in an open venue, maybe things were amplified. The event is being praised not only for the artistry of the performance but its feminist message as well. Again, I wasn’t there, but I have seen the Escaramuzas perform and I never felt the animals were at risk and since it was a championship team performing, I imagine every precaution was taken to ensure the safety of the horses. I think Paris objected to what she thought was happening and not what was actually happening, which is unfortunate because it sounds like she missed a truly beautiful production.
Photo credit: WENN Photos, Getty Images and Twitter
I actually like her style in these pics (minus the MET photos): it’s young and fun and she looks really pretty.
And JMO but I fully support her walking out if she witnessed animals being mistreated. Even if she “stormed out” I DGAF. She did the right thing in my opinion.
I applaud her for doing what she believes in.
I applaud her for trying to protect animals.
Agreed!
I agree with your entire post!
You can’t tell me that highly trained animals don’t suffer intimidation. I’m sure she “felt” it was abusive, and I’d have to agree. BTW – side saddle isn’t feminist! As an empath- I can’t abide rodeos or zoos. I’m team Paris here. Maybe the numb celebrity go along isn’t for a sensitive person! May she find her calling!
I totally agree, glad she walked out, shows strong character
Right? Agreed. She saw something she didn’t like and dipped. Whether she ‘stormed’ or ‘walked out quietly’ is a non-issue because she’s Paris Jackson. People will notice if she stands up and walks out – some could have seen that as storming, but unless she knocked over a couple of chairs and yelled “Horses, come with me and be free!!!” I would not call just leaving storming, even if she stomped her feet. My younger son, of his own volition, has disavowed zoos because he “just has a bad feeling about keep animals like that.” Some people have high sensitivity to animals. I’m not one of them, but I respect those who are. Good for her for standing up for what she believes in. If she lets go of that just to make $$, I would worry for her.
Call me crazy but I want those boots.
You are crazy. I am only joking but I have poor impulse control as the day progresses.
I like the boots too. I am glad she understood they are the focus and didn’t try to overshadow them with her outfit.
I think she is trying to come up with her brand look. Boho free spirit works for her. I don’t always like it but she is getting better lately.
She is right up there with Jaden Smith and Brooklyn Beckham in my estimation. Famous for having famous parents, and precious little else expect being… precious.
+1000.
@MostlyMegan: Totally agree w you. Without nepotism, we would have never heard of her, which would not have been a bad thing. She’s very ordinary, but has been told otherwise her whole life, just like the equally vapid and pretentious Smith kids. So many much more interesting and innovative young people out there!
I would have done the same – animals don’t exist for our entertainment!
I used to work at a farm sanctuary and the horses we had (former racing horses and former working horses) had so much physical damage from years of exploitation. They hadn’t been “abused” in the way we think of it (no beating etc) but years of being worked and having their bodies exploited really took it’s toll and they dealt with pain and injuries that we managed. They were happy and we got them healthy in their golden years but, sorry this kind of animal exploitation is not ok. Having seen the consequencess first hand I can’t support animals being used this way.
It’s true. Jumping is horrible on their joints, too. A lot of those horses end up lame.
I don’t mind horses being ridden if trained gently, and they are relaxed under saddle. ( Not the abusive gaited stuff!) Some of them love being loved by little girls, petted and groomed and get sad when they retire.
Mostly though horses prefer being with other horses.
yes, it should be about whats best for the horse, not what we want from it.
Preach it!
Ugh. Breaks my heart to see animals used for human profit.
This. Animals do not exist for our entertainment, and I support her walking out for what she believes in. Regardless of whether it was quietly or screaming to the non-existent rafters that animal exploitation is wrong. We teach our kids to stand up for what they believe in, and she did.
And even to the people who say the horses aren’t being abused, we’re not just talking about physical abuse here. Just because you aren’t beating an animal doesn’t mean you aren’t acting in a way that’s harmful to the animal. Forcing an animal into a behavior that is not natural for the animal is harmful. The stress of constant travel is harmful. Even if you make the argument that the animal is valuable, so therefore they would take good care of it… you’re still looking at it as a commodity instead of a creature just as deserving of happiness as you.
This. Team Paris.
I am always conflicted about horses because I have riders in my family. There are way too many people in the equestrian world who abuse the horses that I never feel all that easy going when attending events. I am on hyper alert all the time and watching the horses and how they seem and behave.
I read the show world gossip blogs and listen about nasty trainers and riders who are horrible to their horses as well as the fate of the champions. Some of these people deserve an overly tight bit, ankle weights and a severe whipping of their own. Just for starters. They use these poor horses and then throw them away like garbage. Rodeos and racing are notorious for their cruelty as are circuses and entertaining shows. Dressage is another area rife with abusive methods.
Horses are such sensitive wonderful animals that will give their hearts to their people but it is often taken advantage of by people who don’t love or care about them. I guess Paris knows this and watching them perform was just too much to take. Someone trained them to put on a show and trainers can be horrible monstrous people so perhaps her mind went there.
I will say though some horses actually love jumping and eventing. They are adorable when they are like that because they show off and jump around happily when they clear successfully.
Racing is a really specific case though. Most equestrians would agree that racing is absolutely horrific and that the horses are treated abysmally. I adopted an ex racehorse back in the day and the poor fellow was a wreck.
That said, most equestrianism (if it does well) cannot be put into that category at all. And if the performance was anything like the one I watched, the women were hardly using their crops, other than to occasionally tap with them. There was no animal abuse (again, in the video I watched, it is obviously possible that the runway was different). So many horses that I know absolutely adore jumping, etc. A crop is only an abusive thing when it is in the wrong hands.
I think she was being a bit dramatic but she is entitled to walking out of something if it makes her uncomfortable. I watched videos of the show and apart from the heavy rain, the horses didn’t look in distress. The models had to walk through the heavy rain too (you’ll see in the video it was POURING) and I was really impressed none of them broke the model poker face, kept it professional, and walked in the rain like they owned it. If the models could deal with the rain, so could the horses.
I used to horse back ride when I was younger and I used a riding crop occasionally to move along the horse when they were being particularly stubborn, lightly tapping them along. I realize they may be a controversial object, I will say I am not comfortable when I watch horse races on TV and see the jockeys pretty much whipping their horses to go faster (but then I’m not really comfortable with horse racing in general). They are to be used in moderation.
An aside: the place where the Dior show was held was right outside the Great Stables of the Chateau de Chantilly, an absolutely beautiful castle (more so than Versailles). The estate is unbelievable, the castle has an incredible art collection, and the stables are majestic. Oh and the gardens are pretty fantastic. For professional reasons I have become involved with the castle which is not very well-known outside of France and I keep telling everyone to go visit. My parents were just in France last week and visited the castle on my recommendation and came back to me with rave reviews.
It is a beautiful place. You are right. The Musée Condé has a fantastic art collection and it is truly a historical site worth visiting. The stables are spectacular.
If a model can’t perfect the face then she needs to consider another career. That is the best part of runway. lol
So she left not fully knowing what she was looking at it? That is how I am taking it. Was there an introduction to the performance? If not, then maybe that is what was needed. And considering no one is asking about the performers and how they treat their horses, it seems like a lot of jumping to conclusions. If that makes me an a-hole then so be it. But this may not be a circus-level of abuse we are talking about.
If I see a horse being whipped, I leave. Period. No excuses or explanation can make me change my mind regarding what the horse is feeling.
Ever been whipped? I have. It’s not fun. Even when it’s a “light whipping,” it hurts. Just because the horses don’t buck off the riders and try to make a run for it, it doesn’t mean that they like what’s being done to them.
It’s like how most of my life so-called scientists said that fish can’t feel pain. I knew better. I saw the distress in the fish when my dad would catch them at the beach. (We ate them, but I was sad for them. I didn’t know about being vegetarian back then.) But now there is “research” which proves that fish do feel pain. Anyone could see that, just as anyone can see that the horse is only doing what the rider is whipping them – cropping them – to do so that they don’t get hurt more. Just like I did as an abused child.
I don’t think this was whipping, even lightly, from what i’ve read.
I’m so sorry, JAG. That’s absolutely awful. I hope you have lots of healing support. Much love.
You don’t understand the difference between some kinkster whip and the proper use of a riding crop. Very different things. And I’ve had both.
You can step off the moral superiority soapbox. They weren’t being whipped.
I saw this group in AZ last year. No whipping. No jumping. It’s synchronized horse dancing. They do have crops because they’re side saddle. It was for a business conference that I went and they made the claim to be a cruelty free show.
@PoliteTeaSipper: Odd, incongruous user name, as your comment to Jag is anything but polite. She is NOT on the “moral superiority soapbox”, she is genuinely concerned about the well being of the horses, and clearly has a strong reason for feeling so passionately about horse whipping. Being physically abused as a child (as I was, too) is enough to make anyone hypersensitive to and anxious about rumors of animal cruelty and abuse. Whether or not the horses were being hurt is almost beside the point: Jag fears the worst b/c of her traumatic personal experience, NOT b/c of any sense of “moral superiority.” That you can’t even see the difference shows how insensitive, impolite, and utterly self righteous YOU are, not her.
She is a very pretty young woman with GORGEOUS eyes (although I really dislike the random tats). But God, for once I wish these nepotism babies would get a real education and DO SOMETHING USEFUL with their lives instead of just living off Mommy and Daddy’s fame/$$$$$. She has NO DISCERNIBLE TALENT other than having the Jackson surname. Girl, GO TO SCHOOL… LEARN SOMETHING! (Just my opinion, you may feel differently 😊).
I agree. Losers with Cash!
I’m with Paris on this one. Don’t care how she left, props to her for putting principles first.
They’re not really whipping the horses, at least not hard enough to actually hurt the horse (it’s more of a tap really). They ride side saddle and because of that they need to use a whip, the whip is used to give the aids that the right leg gives when riding astride.
(Unless they’ve changed the show and they now do that)
Were they branding animals in the fashion show? I would have walked out of that, too.
But from a quick noodle around google, this sounds like escaramuza and it doesn’t sound like mistreatment. It’s a UNESCO cultural heritage practice. I’ll see if I can find the video of the Dior show itself.
Escaramuzas don’t whip their horses. Sounds like she just assumed what was happening and got all huffy and indignant and stormed out.
She just made it all about her. I’m sure that was her point. I don’t believe in harming animals either. I have a problem with animals being used as sport. But I’m also not accepting an invitation to sit front row at a Dior show where I knew there’d be a performance with horses. Above poster said it, all these rich nepo kids need to go live in the real world and stop preaching. Please!
@ Ash
I disagree. She left quietly because she found it offensive, but she didn’t make a show about it, and only made a public statement because people were calling her out for leaving.
Also, many times fashion shows don’t release much information about what they’re doing. many times details like that can be a surprise.
Also even if she had heard it involved horses, maybe she went in with an open mind, yet had no idea what exactly they were gonna do with them.
I support her for what she did. She left cause she felt uncomfortable and it went against what she believed in.
She didn’t bring attention to it, just responded to the attention. If anything, the media made it all about her.
I wonder if she’s a vegan and eschews fur. I hope so!
@Audrey, are you a vegan too? I’m vegetarian, but am now trying to become a vegan. It’s hard, but I became a vegetarian slowly as well, so I hope to get there.
This is what happens when you don’t go to school and /or educate yourself!!! I can hear the PETA nuts already having a field day, Smh.
I can’t stand going to the zoo. to each their own. it’s hard for some animal lovers/bleeding hearts to watch animals in captivity/exploitative situations.
I kinda admire her for being true to herself
Cruise line is not couture.
Good for her. I don’t care how well the animals are supposedly treated, I hate rodeos. If you have to hit an animal, no matter how lightly, to get it to do something you shouldn’t be doing it.
I’m with Paris. I’m glad she drew attention to this!
I’m confused… was there branding going on? That’s not a traditional part of this performance right?
Sidesaddle, as others have said, you use a crop to apply cues in place of your leg. It’s not whipping the horse. I bet it was a beautiful demonstration.
That said, abuse does happen in the horse industry and it’s deplorable. But it sounds like she wasn’t educated on what she was seeing and reacted accordingly. That’s unfortunate, and as mainstream veers further and further from our agriculture roots, I’m not surprised at her reaction.
Signed, a lifetime horsewoman and equine media journalist.
I think there was a huge lack of understanding going on here, which is sad. It makes everyone look bad for no reason. I’m not sure that for performance art for a fashion show they should have had to give everyone in the audience a lesson in horsemanship and training techniques, but I suppose that may be the way the world is going since, as you say, people have moved so far from agricultural roots.
As someone who is back into horses after a few decades away, I think you would agree (or at least I hope you do!) that things have changed a lot – practices have changed, and the use of horses after sport has changed. They are no longer looked at as ‘disposable’ at all. There are active organizations, for example, to retrain ex-racehorses for their next homes and careers, and I believe that racing facilities have adjusted some of what they do to ensure a horse has a next home and career. My neck of the woods, a far cry from what you would think of as racehorse country, has many off track thoroughbreds (we have 2 ourselves, and I’m happy to say they came to us with good foundations and love people. We have to train them in some proper riding, but they sure didn’t come to us where you couldn’t handle or get on them and trust them right away. They were even kind of…boring, lol). Yes, abuse happens everywhere and with everything, but the notion that it is more the norm than not is not correct, in my limited view anyway. All I know is the horsepeople I follow, both professional and non-professional, do the best for their horses that they can and are always learning a better way if needed, and there are constant conversations about how to do better, what treatments people like, how to refine a technique, etc. Horse organizations are more and more sanctioning poor behavior and practices.
I do completely agree—but I don’t think the organizations are sanctioning poor behavior anymore. The organizations are working very hard to address any abuse, and provide alternative secondary careers, and I think it’s admirable! They really do want what’s best for the animals and the future of the equine industry. Many, many equine professionals care deeply about the horses and their welfare and I work with them every day. I just don’t want to be naive and say there’s no abuse at all, you know? I don’t see it much, but it does happen. But I don’t think it was happening at the Dior show.
I hope she left in a commotion. Not everyone in your audience studied Horseback Riding growing up or knows a simple trivia fact about what the whip is really for. If you’re going to do something dealing with a sensitive subject such as the treatment of animals, put a disclaimer or have someone come out and explain whats going on. This was a fashion show not a Lars Von Triers film. Also, they weren’t riding side saddle in the instagram video that I’ve seen of it.
Good for her. Glad she supports kindness. I wish more of us would do that. She’s a very pretty young woman — maybe I notice that more now that I have her Dior departure in mind.
I used to work in a show horse stable, and felt exactly the way she does about whipping horses. Then one day I was objecting again, and the riding pro told me to whip her with the crop. I was horrified and refused, so she suggested I hit myself with it. I did. It didn’t hurt AT ALL, but it made a helluva noise.
They’re designed to make a loud noise but they don’t actually hurt. The flap on the end is called the “popper” because of the noise it makes, but what it does is soften the blow by spreading it out to several square inches. Crops without poppers are called “cutters” because they actually can cut flesh by concentrating all the force along a very narrow line. Those don’t really make much noise at all.
So, good for her for standing up for her principles, but she’s acting in ignorance. The horses literally aren’t hurt by this. You can go to a tack shop and try it for yourself.
Interesting. I don’t know anything about horses or crops.
She come across a bit hypocritical given she was paid to attend the Melbourne Cup, a horse racing carnival, in Australia last November.
Interesting. There’s zero chance a single race was run where no jockeys used the whip. And they’re allowed to use cutting whips.
But getting paid to attend the Melbourne Cup is ok? Sigh.
I will always have a soft spot for her from her words at Michael Jackson’s funeral. This is not a girl who stays quiet. She has a strong personality and I’m happy to see her staying true to her beliefs. You go, Paris.