“Pretty Little Liars” star Ashley Benson found herself in hot water when she posted a picture (below) of herself in what she described as a “Cecil the lion costume.”
Benson has since changed the caption on Instagram to read “lion costume,” but fans took to social media to express their outrage.
“YOU [sic] are ignorant. So appalling,” one user wrote. Another said, “She changed her comment…@itsashbenzo-coward …dumb remark should have just said Lion…who are you anyways?”
Others voiced support for Benson, saying things like, “People that got upset or offended over a lion they only know from hearing on the news need to get over themselves.”
Cecil was the name given to a lion living in Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. In July, the lion was killed by a Minnesota dentist named Walt Palmer, who piad two local guides $50,000 to help him track and kill the lion. However, the lion 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.
