Chinese sci-fi film Crazy Alien, starring Glee alum Matthew Morrison, is under investigation for allegedly abusing a dog while filming a particular scene that involves alien abduction.

Footage

Footage from the said abuse shows a live German Shepherd locked in a cage and being hoisted in the air. The cage violently spins around as the men pull at the cables attached to it before it drops to freezing cold waters. Listening closely, viewers can hear the dog bark before he lands on the water.

The filming took place in China on Nov. 28, 2017. According to a whistleblower who released the footage to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA, the scene was repeated at least once until the director was satisfied. The script reportedly says the stunt was made to show the dog's abduction by aliens.

The whistleblower called it "one of the worst animal cruelty acts" and recounted the disbelief he witnessed during the filming. The dog was reportedly initially tormented into a frenzy to get it to bark as loudly as possible for a scene. Then the German Shepherd was locked in a solid metal wire cage that was hoisted to the air by a crane. The dog stopped barking the instant it lifted off the ground and flung 40 to 50 feet away.

"The cage was completely submerged with the dog in it landing in a 10 mph current. After 5-8 seconds, the director yelled out 'cut' ... A final decision was made by the director to shoot a second identical take. I could not believe my eyes," reads the whistleblower's log on PETA's website.

The dog did not receive any rest during the two-hour duration of filming Crazy Alien, where "numerous takes of all these scenes" happened. Sources for TMZ said the dog was shaken up after the stunt but did not appear to be hurt. They also revealed that Morrison was not on set when the scene was filmed.

PETA's Plea

PETA Celebrity Media Officer Moira Colley told IndieWire that they have a number of things planned to do as a result of the horrifying abuse. They are going to be calling director Ning Hao and request that he remove the scene from the film. PETA also wants the director's commitment that he will not work with live animals again.

PETA wants the cast to hold the production accountable and calling for the public to boycott Crazy Alien. The organization is also asking the actors, including Morrison, to donate their salaries to animal-protection charities in China, where there are no laws preventing animal abuse from happening like there are in the United States.

Tags: Matthew Morrison Crazy Alien PETA Glee Ning Hao