Over the weekend former Disney star, China Anne McClain, shared video from her Hawaiian vacation showing her gently stroking a sea turtle she found on the beach.
Later China is forced to apologize after her post was flooded with comments telling her that touching the turtles is illegal...
From Hawaii News Now
An actress known for her roles in multiple Disney productions is apologizing after she recently posted a video gently touching resting turtles in Hawaii.
Actress China Anne McClain is at the center of the fallout. Her sister Sierra McClain was filming.
In a now-deleted video once posted to her Instagram page, she’s seen walking up to to the turtles and begins touching them.
One environmental activist says that’s likely a violation of federal protection laws, however state officials say that might not be the case.
The video was posted sometime over the weekend, and quickly went viral for the wrong reasons.
It was taken in Paia on the north side of Maui, though Hawaii News Now hasn’t been able to confirm the exact location.
In an update put out by the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources late Monday afternoon, McClain and her sister apologized and said the video was taken two years ago.
“I was not fully aware of the situation until today, and I certainly wasn’t aware of the laws,” McClain told the DLNR.
“It’s the people I don’t want to hurt. I understand respecting culture, and I understand the pain that comes with not having your culture respected. Those are never lines that we cross intentionally, so that part of this situation is hurting us right now. I adore these beautiful turtles, and the people of Hawaii. We’re very sorry,” she added.
Her father and manager, Michael McClain, added, “All our family loves and respects Hawaii and we apologize for inadvertently causing this pain.”
Before it was deleted, the caption of the video said in part: “Just found this turtle gem... Found so many other pics from this beautiful healing place that I might share. Don’t be shocked if I pack up and move to Maui one of these days.”
10 comments:
They're responding as if she's a p*do
^^^^
No they’re not. They stay silent with real pedos.
learn the laws before you go I guess - bet not try that I didn't know stuff in Dubai
How would anyone know not to touch the turtles?
Asking a guide first if you don't reside there whether it's safe or not to touch them-as you would a human, too.
That turtle could be in the middle of giving birth which is why they come ashore most of the time and they do not desire to be touched during that time. And after giving birth myself I can definitely understand not desiring a unwelcomed touch during hard labor! lol
Though Hawaii is the 50th state of the U.S., there's a lot of rules on things that you cannot do while on their land.
Natives are insulted by a cornucopia of things mainland Americans do and see nothing wrong with doing.
This is silly. I'm sure if they were with a native islander they would've asked them questions or been schooled beforehand. They had an error in judgment and apologized. Move TF on. No speech required.
Now More Folk Are Aware Of This Law. Positive Outcome.
When I went to a beach in Hawaii where turtles lay their eggs, there were signs everywhere saying not to disturb the nests or touch them. They even had barricade tape protecting the nests. I'm sure there were signs somewhere telling them not to touch the turtles - maybe they didn't see them. Glad that they know NOW not to touch an endangered species.
4:30 this!
4:30 AND 8:25 pm-Spoken like ppl who don't reside on what is considered sacred lands! Native Islanders consider Hawaiian Islands to be their sacred lands as well as their sanctum. So there are rules and ppl visiting those sacred lands need to be aware of them-what to do what's allowed and what's not allowed or find themselves in jail!
China could've found herself injured by the sea turtles who feel vulnerable when humans are around them., which is why 3:00 said what they said! If you're not an native islander or someone who'd visited the islands often you're unaware of what one should and shouldn't do to the other species on said islands!
You've both shown your ignorance as did China McClain had.
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