“Pretty Little Liars” star Ashley Benson has issued an apology after posting a photo to Instagram of herself in what was described as a “Cecil the Lion costume.”
“Yesterday’s post was in poor taste and I absolutely regret all of the hurt that photo caused,” Benson wrote on Instagram. “The caption that was posted was incorrect and my costume was not Cecil the Lion, when I saw that I contact 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,” she continued. Benson also said she would be making a donation to the World Wildlife Fund.
The photo had depicted her in a gold-colored dress with a furry hoodie on her head and shoulder resembling a lion’s mane.
Cecil was the name of a lion in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe that was shot and killed in July by Minnesota dentist Walt Palmer. Palmer paid two local guides $50,000 to help him track and kill the lion apparently unaware that it was part of a study being conducted by Oxford University.
It was wearing a GPS tracking collar, which helped authorities determine who the guides were, and eventually led them to Palmer.
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