Michael Bay Charged With Killing a Pigeon While Filming Hit Movie
Director Michael Bay is reportedly facing charges in Italy of allegedly killing a pigeon while filming the 2019 Netflix hit 6 Underground. On Thursday, a new report from The Wrap outlined the legal predicament, which stems from allegations that a homing pigeon was killed by a dolly in the middle of a take while the film was in production in Rome in 2018. Pigeons are regarded to be a protected species in Italy and the European Union, with the former having a national law that makes it illegal to harm, kill, or capture any wild bird. As a result, after an unnamed individual who happened to be on set allegedly took a picture and reported the incident to local authorities, a court case was opened.
Bay, as well as his legal team, have reportedly attempted to get the case thrown out of court on three occasions in the past year, but it has not yet worked. The director denies the allegations in The Wrap's report, saying that he is "confident we will prevail when I have my day in court."
"I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist," Bay said in a statement to the outlet. "No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I've worked on
in the past 30 years."
"We have clear video evidence," Bay continued, "a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims. And disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story."
"I was offered by the Italian authorities a chance to settle this matter by paying a small fine, but I declined to do so because I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal," Bay added.
What is 6 Underground about?
Released in 2019, 6 Underground follows six individuals from all around the globe, each the very best at what they do, have been chosen not only for their skill, but for a unique desire to delete their pasts to change the future. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent, Corey Hawkins, Adria Arjona, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Ben Hardy, Lior Raz, Payman Maadi, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Kim Kold, and Dave Franco. A sequel was originally greenlit, but was ultimately cancelled due to the poor critical response that the first film received.
"We didn't feel like we got there on [6 Underground] creatively," Netflix film chief Scott Stuber said in 2021. "It was a nice hit, but at the end of the day we didn't feel like we nailed the mark to justify coming back again. There just wasn't that deep love for those characters or that world."