Lily Allen is no stranger to public scrutiny, but the recent backlash she has faced after revealing she returned a dog she had adopted has been intense, even by her standards. The 39-year-old singer and actress shared during a podcast interview that she had to give up her adopted dog, Mary, after the dog caused significant issues for her family, including eating their passports and visas, which prevented her children from visiting their father in London.
The revelation sparked a fierce backlash online, with some people accusing Lily of being irresponsible and uncaring. In response, Lily took to social media on Sunday (August 25) to address the criticism and explain the situation in greater detail. She also revealed that the backlash had escalated to the point where she had received death threats.
In her statement on X, Lily expressed her frustration with how her story had been twisted by the media. “‘We tried very hard and for a very long time, but the passports were the straw that broke the camel’s back,’” she wrote. Lily was particularly upset that the media had focused on the more sensational aspects of the story without providing the full context. “This is the part of the podcast that the tabloids decided not to quote in their articles about me ‘dumping my puppy,’” she continued.
Lily explained that after the initial story broke, she was bombarded with a torrent of hateful messages across her social media platforms. “People have been furiously reacting to a deliberately distorted cobbling together of quotes designed to make people angry,” she said. “As a result, I’ve received some really abhorrent messages including death threats. Some of the most disgusting comments have been all over my social media channels, and I’m really not surprised because this is exactly what those articles are designed to do. I’m okay, but it has been a really tough few days that has impacted me and my family.”
In her post, Lily also elaborated on the challenges her family faced with Mary, explaining that the dog suffered from severe separation anxiety. “We rescued our puppy Mary from a shelter in NY and we loved her very much, BUT she developed pretty severe separation anxiety and would act out in all manner of ways,” she wrote. Lily described the lengths she and her family went to in order to make things work with Mary, including giving her three long walks a day, working with a behavioral specialist, and even having a volunteer from the shelter dog-sit when they were away.
Despite their best efforts, it became clear that their home wasn’t the right environment for Mary. “After many months and much deliberation, everyone was in agreement that our home wasn’t the best fit for Mary,” Lily explained. The decision to rehome Mary was not taken lightly, and Lily emphasized that the dog’s happiness and welfare were central to their decision. “The person that she was rehomed with was known to us and that rehoming happened within 24 hours of her being returned,” she said. “We couldn’t meet Mary’s needs, and her happiness and welfare were central to us making that decision, as difficult as it was.”
Lily, who has had rescue dogs throughout her life, was deeply hurt by the accusations of mistreatment. “I’ve had rescue dogs pretty consistently throughout my life since I was 4 years old. I’m pretty good at ascertaining a dog’s needs. I have never been accused of mistreating an animal, and I’ve found this whole week very distressing,” she shared.
In her statement, Lily also called out the media for their role in fueling the backlash. She urged people to be more discerning about the information they consume and to avoid jumping to conclusions based on sensationalized headlines. “Please stop acting on clickbait articles when you haven’t done your due diligence,” she pleaded. “I know that people sending horrible messages hadn’t listened to the podcast but had been reading the Mail Online and the follow-up articles and videos that followed. I could tell by the language they were using exactly what their sources were.”
Lily concluded her statement by condemning the toxic environment that such distorted reporting creates. “It is distortion, and all you are doing by engaging with these stories is making more money for people who profit from sowing division and tearing us all apart,” she wrote. “In the same way that misinformed people acted on distorted propaganda that led to the racially driven xenophobic riots we’ve seen recently in the UK, it’s just all so toxic, and I know that we can do better.”
