NEED TO KNOW
Anna Delvey is responding after live rabbits used in a recent photo shoot were found abandoned in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park
After finding two rabbits in the park, blogger Terry Chao and posters online claimed that the bunnies were the same that had appeared in Delvey’s shoot
In a now-deleted post to Instagram, Christian Batty, a hairstylist and assistant who worked on the shoot suggested he was sorry
Anna Delvey is speaking out after rabbits used in her recent photo shoot were found dumped in a local New York City park.
In behind-the-scenes footage from a photo shoot with photographer Jasper Soloff shared to the fake heiress’s Instagram, the Dancing with the Stars alum can be seen posing with two bunnies on hot-pink leashes in the streets of New York City.
However, after Anna posted the shoot, Terry Chao, a vegan influencer and blogger, said she realized that the bunnies used in the shoot were the same two that she had rescued from Brooklyn’s Prospect Park earlier in the week, after seeing a post in a local Facebook group about a lost rabbit in the area.
According to a post to Chao’s Instagram, she and two other neighbors worked together to capture the rabbit, finding a second one nearly three days later in the same area.
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Per the NYTimes, Christian Batty, had reached out to her beforehand to scout available bunnies.
Chao shared a screenshot from a message allegedly from Batty asking her to bring her bunny to the Financial District in New York for a photoshoot. It’s not clear who was in charge of the shoot.
Posters in online Reddit communities and the comment section of Delvey’s post were also quick to speculate that the rabbits that had been dumped and found earlier in the week were the same ones used in Delvey’s photo shoot.
Dominik Bindl/Getty
Anna Delvey.
In a since-deleted post on Batty’s alleged Instagram viewed by PEOPLE, hairstylist and assistant on the photo shoot Christian Batty apologized, stating “When I realized the rabbits were being surrendered to me, I panicked […] Believing, mistakenly, that there were existing rabbits in that area, I released them there, thinking that was my best option.”
In the caption of her Instagram post, Delvey credited @thechristianbatty, who has since deleted his social media accounts, with procuring the bunnies. The post was made by the account @Chrissy_b1477 and shared by Delvey on her stories.
“I need to be completely honest,” Batty wrote in the deleted Facebook post. “I lied to you, Anna and the rest of the team about the rabbits. The truth is, I did abandon them in the park. It was wrong, cruel, and inexcusable, and I take full responsibility for my actions.”
Continuing on, Batty said, “At 19, with no experience caring for animals, no pet-friendly housing, and no knowledge of available resources, I felt overwhelmed and made the worst possible choice.”
Batty also explained that he thought releasing the rabbits was his “best option” as he believed that there were existing rabbits in the Prospect Park area where he released them.
“I am relieved to hear that the rabbits are now safe, but I deeply regret the harm I caused. I also want to be clear that Anna and Jasper had no knowledge of my actions until this afternoon, and I ask that any mention of them be removed from the situation.”
In another now-deleted Facebook post, an account under Batty’s name also thanked Chao and another group member for finding the rabbits in his statement, and a third for fostering them. In her post, Chao also wrote that Batty had indeed shown up to help her catch a third bunny, who was part of the original group surrendered and procured by him.
Delvey later took to social media to share her side of the story, sharing a statement to her Instagram Story about the situation.
“As many of you are aware, I recently did a shoot with Jasper Soloff involving live rabbits,” she wrote in the post. “Christian Batty, a member of the hair team I briefly met during a fashion week event last year, responded that he knew someone who could lend us bunnies for a few hours.”
Anna Delvey/Instagram
Anna Delvey’s Instagram Story clarification.
Delvey expressed her discontent with the scenario, writing that she was “appalled by what transpired.”
“As talent, it’s not my job to source or return animals, but as an animal lover, I can promise I will never work with them again without knowing exactly where they came from and how they’re getting home. I do not eat meat, and I had no involvement in the acquisition, transport, or return of these animals. I would never condone these actions.”
In the final slide of her Instagram post, Chao wrote, “I am tired. I am relieved. I hope this entire episode has helped in spreading awareness that you CANNOT DUMP YOUR PETS in the park. Owning a pet is a PRIVILEGE not a right. Animals are not props, they are beautiful, living things that we need to honor and cherish. They deserve to live as much as anyone else.”
PEOPLE has reached out to Terry Chao and Artistry With an Edge Salon for comment. PEOPLE was unable to reach Batty for comment.
Read the original article on People
