Lily Allen Responds to Backlash, ‘Death Threats’ Over Returning Adopted Dog

Lily Allen is addressing the significant backlash over a decision involving a dog she adopted, named Mary.

In a recent episode of her Miss Me? podcast, the 39-year-old singer disclosed that she returned Mary after the dog destroyed all her family’s passports and visas, preventing her children from visiting their father in London.

“She ate all three of our passports, and they had our visas in,” Allen explained. “It cost me a fortune to get everything replaced, especially during COVID, which made it a logistical nightmare.”

“Because the father of my children lives in England, I couldn’t get them back to see their dad for like four months, five months because this [expletive] dog had eaten the passports,” continued Allen, who shares two children with her ex-husband, Sam Cooper.

The “Alfie” singer is now married to Stranger Things star, David Harbour. She said she couldn’t “look” at Mary again after the incident, adding, “I was like, ‘You’ve ruined my life.'”

Allen noted that Mary wasn’t a good behavioral fit for the family, despite her efforts to integrate the dog into their lives. While it was the passports that “broke the camel’s back,” Allen mentioned that she might get a new puppy soon.

After sharing her story, Allen received a flood of backlash and even death threats for returning Mary. The animal rights group PETA also publicly commented on the issue.

“We tried very hard and for a very long time, but the passports were the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Allen wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “This is the part of the podcast that the tabloids decided not to quote in their articles about me ‘dumping my puppy.'”

She continued, “People have been furiously reacting to a deliberately distorted version of events designed to make people angry. I’ve received some really abhorrent messages, including death threats. It has been a really tough few days that has impacted me and my family.”

Allen elaborated further about her time with Mary, explaining the efforts they went to in trying to make their home work for Mary.

“We rescued our puppy Mary from a shelter in NY and loved her very much, but she developed severe separation anxiety and would act out in all sorts of ways,” Allen said. “She couldn’t be left alone for more than 10 minutes. We worked with a behavioral specialist and a professional trainer, but everyone eventually agreed that our home wasn’t the best fit for Mary.”

Mary was rehomed with someone known to Allen’s family, and the process was completed within 24 hours of returning her. “We couldn’t meet Mary’s needs, and her happiness and welfare were central to us making that decision, as difficult as it was,” Allen stated.

Touching on her past with rescue dogs, Allen mentioned that she has had rescue dogs since she was four years old and never before had been accused of mistreating an animal.

“I’ve found this whole week very distressing,” she wrote. “People are reacting to clickbait articles without doing their due diligence.”

Allen criticized the narrative surrounding Mary’s return and compared it to the spread of misinformation that led to racially motivated riots in the U.K. following the stabbing of three little girls at a Taylor Swift dance class.

“All you are doing by engaging with these stories is making more money for those who profit from sowing division and tearing us apart,” she concluded. “It’s toxic, and I know we can do better.”

PETA initially responded by sending Allen a toy pet, stating she was unfit to care for an animal. They followed up with a harsh tweet saying, “YOU laughed when speaking about abandoning Mary. She thought she had a loving forever home before you tossed her out.”

“Shame on you,” the post added. “You don’t deserve even the toy dog we sent you.”

Allen fired back, accusing PETA of spreading lies. “People laugh when they talk about painful things all the time,” she responded. “I’ve clarified that we didn’t abandon Mary and that she was rehomed with people we knew almost immediately. Your post is dangerous.”

Allen had introduced fans to Mary in a 2021 Instagram post, hinting at the time that followers would “be seeing a lot more of her” before the painful decision to rehome the pup.