Dan Mathews

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'Dan Matthews' links here. For the title character of the novel 'The Calling of Dan Matthews', see Harold Bell Wright.

Dan Mathews
Dan Mathews.jpg
Dan Mathews in 2010
Born (1964-10-24) October 24, 1964 (age 56)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Alma materAmerican University
OccupationSenior Vice President of PETA and an author

Dan Mathews (born October 24, 1964) is the Senior Vice President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He is known for heading PETA's most controversial and attention-getting campaigns, including the "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ads, as well as campaigns involving celebrities such as Morrissey, Pamela Anderson, Pink, and Paul McCartney.

In 2000, he was named by gay lifestyle magazine Genre as one of the most influential people of the new century.[volume & issue needed] When asked by the magazine whom he considered an influential gay person, he replied, spree killer "Andrew Cunanan, because he got Gianni Versace to stop using fur." In 2007, Mathews was ranked 37th in Out magazine's "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America".[1]

Mathews has written a memoir, Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir, which he characterized as "an adventure story. It's like 007 wearing freaky outfits".[2] Committed was published in the USA by Atria books in 2007 and in the U.K. by Duckworth Overlook in 2009. The book tells the story of how he became a public person, the various exploits he's undertaken for PETA, and different campaigns he has done.[3]

In May 2009 he commented on the actions of the governor general of Canada who, in participating in an Inuit tradition, consumed a raw seal heart. He is quoted as saying to the Toronto Star, "It amazes us that a Canadian official would indulge in such bloodlust. It sounds like she's trying to give Canadians an even more Neanderthal image around the world than they already have."[4] Although Mathews admits to being attracted by extremes, he states that he and PETA engage exclusively in legal activities, but they do not necessarily condemn the actions of animal rights extremists.[5]

See also[]

  • List of animal rights advocates

Notes[]

  1. ^ Oxfield, Jesse, Idov, Michael (March 4, 2007), 'Out' Ranks the Top 50 Gays; Anderson Is No. 2 Archived June 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, New York Magazine. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
  2. ^ Wilson, Craig (April 11, 2007), Crusader's 'Committed' is a monument to PETA power, USA Today. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  3. ^ "Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir (review)". Book review & BlueRectangle.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
  4. ^ Mitch Potter. "Row erupts over Governor General's seal taste" The Toronto Star May 26, 2009
  5. ^ Emma Brockes. "Dan Mathews of Peta: 'I've always been drawn to extremes'" The Guardian May 28, 2009

References[]

  • Mathews, Dan, 'Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir, Atria Books, 2007. ISBN 0-7432-9187-5
  • Mathews, Dan, 'Committed: A Rabble-Rouser's Memoir', Duckworth Overlook, 2009. ISBN 978-0-7156-3846-0

External links[]

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