SeaWorld releases video of ex-trainer
ORLANDO, Fla. – SeaWorld has ratcheted up its offensive against former trainer John Hargrove, who last week published a book criticizing the company.
On Tuesday, SeaWorld sent to reporters an almost 5-year-old video of Hargrove drinking and repeatedly using a racial epithet during a recorded cellphone conversation. The company also said Tuesday that Hargrove quit “after being disciplined for a severe safety violation involving the park’s killer whales” that resulted in his transfer from the orca stadium.
Hargrove’s book “Beneath the Surface” has generated a media blitz since its release last week. It details Hargrove’s SeaWorld career in Texas and California and his gradual change of heart regarding whales in captivity. Hargrove says trainers sometimes held back food, which SeaWorld denies, and he discusses other issues raised in the 2013 anti-captivity documentary “Blackfish.”
Hargrove on Tuesday disputed the company’s portrayal of his departure and accused SeaWorld of conducting a smear campaign against him.
“They’re going to pull out everything they can, drag up any dirt they can on me to make me look like this awful person,” he said. “What’s so amazing, they’re not addressing the issues at hand. This is about killer whales in captivity.”
SeaWorld spokesman Fred Jacobs said the company received the video of Hargrove during the weekend “from an internal whistleblower.” It shows Hargrove with a glass of wine, laughing and talking with a woman on a cellphone about an incident in which a group of black men apparently threw a rock at her. He repeatedly uses the N-word in the video.
“We are offended by John’s behavior and language,” Jacobs said in an email. “The video is particularly reprehensible since John Hargrove is wearing a SeaWorld shirt. SeaWorld would have terminated Hargrove’s employment immediately had we known he engaged in this kind of behavior.”
Hargrove said he did not remember the incident and had not seen the video.
“These are all just personal attacks to try to slander me and my character,” he said. “This is so typical of SeaWorld. If they’re going to pull up videos and say he was drunk one night and used a derogatory word, these are petty, childish attempts to discredit somebody.”
Hargrove said he did not violate SeaWorld’s safety rules. SeaWorld, which has previously said Hargrove’s book contains misleading or false statements, said it needs to do a better job telling its side of the story. Last week it started a new campaign to counter criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and others who oppose it.
An attorney for Hargrove said SeaWorld sent a “threatening letter.” A lawsuit the attorney’s firm filed last week against SeaWorld on behalf of consumers says Eric Davis, AwesomeOcean.com editor, sent a threatening email to Hargrove.
“Hey John, Just your friendly AwesomeOcean guy Eric here!” the email says in the lawsuit. “Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that some journalist (sic) are digging DEEP into your past. They have some crazy stuff that is ready to drop when your book drops.”
Davis said the email was not meant to be threatening.