Trina Talks Performing at SeaWorld Despite PETA Pushback
If your TikTok feed has been looking like a hip hop festival collided with a theme park, you are not imagining things. From Soulja Boy and Bow Wow to Fat…
If your TikTok feed has been looking like a hip hop festival collided with a theme park, you are not imagining things. From Soulja Boy and Bow Wow to Fat Joe and Waka Flocka Flame, rappers have been showing up at SeaWorld in San Diego. It is all part of the park’s “Summer Spectacular Concert Series,” a mash-up of live music and marine attractions designed to draw bigger crowds.
Recently, Miami rapper Trina took the stage there but not without some behind-the-scenes drama.
Trina told VIBE she hesitated when the invite landed. “I was excited, but I was like, SeaWorld? How do you perform at SeaWorld? This is like a theme park with kids,” she said.
Her second thought? An inbox full of messages from animal rights group PETA urging her to back out. “‘We love you as an artist, we respect you, but you can’t perform,’” Trina recalled. She described the outreach as “aggressive,” as reported by the outlet, and VIBE confirmed PETA had contacted her months before the event, asking her to cancel and pledge to avoid SeaWorld altogether.
Trina and her team, however, decided to move forward with the gig.
SeaWorld’s Side of the Story
SeaWorld San Diego president Tyler Carter addressed criticism about the park’s wildlife treatment. “I think the biggest thing we say is come check it out for yourself,” Carter told VIBE.
“Our core mission is education, conservation, and doing better for the planet. I think there’s a lot that people may not fully understand. And so we always recommend checking out our website. We have a lot of information about what we do, and really, just come see it.”
The Bigger Picture
Public opinion on SeaWorld has shifted sharply over the last decade. The 2013 documentary Blackfish shined a spotlight on orca captivity, changing the way many people view the park. While SeaWorld ended its orca breeding program in 2016, PETA Kids and other advocates say problems remain, including the forced breeding and separation of dolphins and other marine mammals — practices they claim disrupt social bonds and cause emotional harm.
SeaWorld has made some changes in response to criticism, such as modifying shows and ending certain breeding programs. But for many, the debate over the ethics of marine animal captivity is far from over — no matter how many chart-topping artists hit the stage.
