Lily Allen has been defending herself online amid controversy sparked by her recent comments about returning the family’s dog after it ate her family’s passport.
“I have never been accused of cruelty to animals but this whole week has been extremely hard on me,” Allen, a British singer-songwriter, wrote in an Instagram Story on Sunday.
Allen’s stressful week was sparked by Thursday’s episode of the podcast “Miss Me?”, in which she revealed that she got a dog during the coronavirus pandemic, but “the dog ate my passport, so I brought him home.”
Allen’s revelations sparked backlash online, with media outlets publishing articles about her remarks, after which she posted a statement on Instagram on Sunday slamming internet users’ reactions as “a collection of deliberately distorted quotes to upset people.”
She said on her podcast Thursday that the puppy, Mary, was “a very misbehaved dog and I tried really hard to take care of her but it just wasn’t working and the passport was the final push,” and in her Instagram Story on Sunday she pointed to that as a detail that many tabloids had not cited in their articles.
“I have received some truly abhorrent messages, including death threats, and some of the most nasty comments have been spread across my social media channels. I am not surprised at all as this is exactly what these articles are intended to do,” Allen wrote. “I am OK, but it has been a really tough few days that has affected me and my family.”
The story first came up when she told podcast guest Steve Jones, a Welsh TV presenter, that her family might be considering getting a Chihuahua-mix puppy. Jones then asked Mary if she and her husband, Stranger Things star David Harbour, were prepared to get a dog, and she told Jones about it.
Ms Allen said the puppy had eaten not only her passport but also those of her two daughters, Ethel, 12, and Marnie, 11, whom she has with ex-husband Sam Cooper. Replacing the girls’ passports had been “an absolute logistical nightmare”, she said, and it had delayed the children’s trips to visit their father in the UK for four or five months.
“I just couldn’t look at her. I thought, ‘You’ve ruined my life,'” she added, laughing.
In an Instagram Story on Sunday, Allen reflected on the time they adopted Mary from a shelter in New York, writing that despite “loving her very much,” the family struggled to deal with the “pretty severe separation anxiety” that Mary developed.
Allen wrote that the dog could not be left alone for more than 10 minutes and that her family worked with behavioral specialists at the shelter to care for Mary’s dog while they were away.
She added, “After many months of careful consideration, we all agreed that our home was not the best place for Mary. The person who adopted Mary is someone we know and a rehome was found within 24 hours of Mary being returned.”
“We were unable to meet Mary’s needs and her happiness and well-being were central to our decision, no matter how difficult it may have been,” Allen continued.
A spokesman for Allen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Allen said she has had rescue dogs since she was a child and considers herself “good at understanding a dog’s needs.”
She also directly tagged People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, sarcastically thanking the animal rights group for “adding fuel to the fire.”
The group shared an Instagram post last week with a photo of Allen and the caption, “Lily Allen returns dog to shelter after it ate her passport.”
“While she will be able to get a new passport, Mary may spend months in a shelter waiting for a new family, if she is lucky enough to be found at all,” the charity said in a post.
The company added in the caption that it had sent Allen a mechanical toy puppy that “doesn’t require any of the care, patience or dedication a real dog requires.”
PETA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is not the first time Allen has sparked online controversy with his comments.
She sparked mixed reactions earlier this year when she said on the Radio Times podcast that having a child had “ruined” her career, drawing many angry comments online but also support from those who praised her for her honesty.
This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
