Filmmakers of family movie "A Dog's Purpose" canceled the United States' premiere and press junket of the film on Wednesday. The announcement was made after the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) called for boycott of the movie due to a leaked video, showing mishandling of a dog featured in the film.
According to Variety, film producers Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment made the call after a disturbing video of a German Shepherd being forced into a raging torrent water on the film's set began circulating online on Wednesday.
BBC learned that the minute-long video shot in 2015 was from "A Dog's Purpose's" Winnipeg movie set. The news website revealed that in the video, which was posted on TMZ on Wednesday, a man was overheard saying, "Don't worry, it's warm water at least. He ain't going to calm down until he goes in the water. Just got to throw him in."
BBC added that the dog named Hercules was also seen "struggling and clawing the side of the pool as his handler pushes him into the water."
The video became viral with people calling out the film producers. This also prompted PETA to call for a boycott of the family movie "A Dog's Purpose" to "send the message that dogs and other animals should be treated humanely, not as movie props," Variety reported.
In a statement released by Universal Pictures, it said that their decision to cancel the event last Jan. 20 was because Amblin's review of the edited video "is still ongoing".
In lieu of the negativity publicity "A Dog's Purpose" has been getting, Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment hope the issue will not "overshadow" the movie's message which is a "celebration of the relationship between animals and humans," according to Variety.
According to CBS News, the film was based on W. Bruce Cameron's bestselling book about an unconditional true love which is told through the eyes of a reincarnated dog. The writer revealed it was inspired by his now wife Cathryn Michon's, co-screenwriter of the movie "A Dog's Purpose," mourning of her dog named Ellie.
As CBS News described, the film will "invoke nostalgia" and will appeal to dog lovers on a personal level.
See the controversial video of a dog forced to jump into the water on the set of "A Dog's Purpose" below.