Fred Schneider urges fans to give up eating seafood in PETA campaign video

The B-52S star Fred Schneider has marked the 35th anniversary of the band’s breakthrough hit Rock Lobster by urging fans not to eat crustaceans. The singer has teamed up with officials at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to narrate an expose detailing the horrors inside crab and lobster slaughterhouses, and he has further explained his stance on shellfish in a guest blog for the campaign group.
In the post, titled Let Lobsters Rock On, Schneider reveals he swore off eating the sea creatures as a kid after watching his family cook the crustaceans live.
He writes, “I grew up in New Jersey, and every summer we visited relatives near Toms River. They had a boat, and we all would go crabbing out in the bay. We always caught a lot of crabs and brought them back to cook. I was 4, and I watched as they started putting the live crabs in a big pot of boiling water. I was horrified and would never eat crab again.”
The lifelong vegetarian claims the fun single’s catchy tune landed The B-52s a string of promotional offers, including one from soup company executives who wanted to use the 1979 track to promote their lobster bisque line, but the stars were not interested – and Schneider has not changed his views on crustaceans in the years since.
He adds, “To this day, I don’t go to dinners on the beach and I am appalled by people cooking any sea life. I hope my narration and the video will resonate with people everywhere.”
Schneider has been working with PETA activists over the years on a variety of campaigns – he previously encouraged fans to boycott the Maine Lobster Festival, while The B-52s headlined PETA’s Rock Against Fur concert in New York City in the 1980s.