A billboard of the award-winning Scottish actor Alan Cumming, with no clothes on, has been shown at Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, during its-famous Fringe festival, to promote veganism. The animal rights campaign group Peta has created the image of Cumming reclining in a nearly-nude state, with nothing but a romaine lettuce to cover his most intimate region, suggestively posing on the bar of the Ladybird vegan tapas restaurant in New York. His image hovers above the text “I’m the vegan option, Join me.” The billboard is at Croall Place at the top of Leith Walk.
Cumming has been vegan since 2012 after being vegetarian since 2010, and in a video to accompany the campaign, he said he had been inspired to make the change by former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. He said, “I thought if Mike Tyson can do it, surely I can.”
In Peta’s press release he said, “If someone is questioning being vegan, I would say to them, ‘Don’t be ridiculous. Just do it. It’s so easy!’ We’re not living in the dark ages!”
The actor wrote on Instagram as he shared the photo, “Just another day in the east village getting naked for @peta.” Peta commented, “A typical day with us. We love you for always going above and beyond for animals. Thank you for everything that you do!”
Cumming has previously appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe handing out free vegan ice cream to promote the philosophy of veganism to festival-goers, and he has also spoken out against a proposed caviar farm in Scotland in a letter to Argyll and Bute Council in 2018.
One commentator reported by Yahoo Life said, “Alan Cumming is the vegan KING,” and another supporter said: “Love this. TYSM [thank you so much] for being vegan – we love to have you on our team.”
