In 2018, filmmaker Michael Bay was in the midst of Italy while directing the Netflix film 6 Underground. However, he’s recently been charged with having killed a pigeon during the production. Michael Bay has since denied the charge that he killed a pigeon while in Italy.
Interestingly, as shared via TMZ, sources close to the production support Michael Bay’s claims. They insist that none of the homing pigeons used in the film were ever harmed.
Here’s what their source had to say:
“Everyone knows Michael is an animal activist. This would never happen on his set. There are dozens of witnesses who said that this didn’t happen.”
As for what Italian officials say, they claim that a pigeon was killed by a dolly during the film’s production. The alleged incident would have occurred while 6 Underground was filming in Rome – a location where it’s illegal to harm or kill wild birds.
Additionally, authorities have claimed that there was a witness on the set. The witness is said to have taken a photo of the incident before reporting it to officials. Furthermore, while Michael Bay is known to have not personally harmed the bird, he is being held responsible for having been the director.
Michael Bay is said to have tried having the pigeon case thrown out multiple times. However, prosecutors have persisted in having him charged. Furthermore, as shared via The Wrap, Michael Bay is said to have been offered a small fine to have the entire case settled. However, Bay refused to pay the fine, as he claims he wouldn’t plead guilty to harming an animal.
He further claims to be confident that he and his legal team will prevail once they have their day in court. As such, we’ll have to see how this case develops. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we have them.