Ashley Benson learned an important lesson this week:
It’s one thing to make fun of Amanda Bynes. It’s another thing to make fun of a dead lion.
The Pretty Little Liars star came under major fire on Tuesday after sharing a photo of her proposed Halloween costume, which featured the young actress dressed as Cecil the Lion.
Yes, the same Cecil the Lion who was hunted down and killed by a dentist in Africa this summer, despite his status as a protected species.
Following backlash from those who don’t believe one ought to essentially wear an animal corpse as a costume, Benson wrote the following on Instagram yesterday:
“Yesterday’s post was in poor taste and I absolutely regret all of the hurt that photo caused.
“The caption that was posted was incorrect and my costume was not Cecil the Lion, when I saw that, I contacted my management who handled the post and had it immediately changed.
“I recognize that I am responsible for everything posted on my social accounts and this was an unfortunate oversight.
“I am a supporter of Animal conservation and I will be donating all the proceeds of this deal to the World Wildlife Fund. I love you all and I apologize if I let you down.”
We’re not sure if we’re buying the fact that Benson was not dressing as Cecil, but just as a regular lion.
But hey. She has no real history of controversy and, as you can see below, plenty of celebrities have donned far more offensive Halloween costumes over the years:
