To celebrate her work in support of an animal-friendly fashion industry, her compassionate action to help spare elephants from the misery of captivity, and her tireless advocacy on behalf of all living beings, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has named meat-free Bollywood star Adah Sharma its 2024 Person of the Year.
This year, Sharma partnered with PETA India to gift a life-size mechanical elephant to a Kerala temple in recognition of its compassionate decision never to own or hire live elephants for ceremonies. Sharma also starred in a provocative campaign against leather for the group, in which she appeared to be “skinned alive” to call attention to the suffering of more than 1.4 billion cows, sheep, goats, and millions of other animals who are violently slaughtered each year for their skin. She actively encourages her nearly 10 million Instagram followers to embrace animal-friendly clothing – and previously modelled the sustainable styles in PETA India’s first-ever vegan fashion lookbook.
Adah Sharma’s advocacy for animal rights is diverse and unwavering. Over the years, she has held a Christmas party for chickens rescued from the slaughterhouse knife, called for an end to horse-drawn carriages in Mumbai, caged herself in an appeal for everyone to let birds fly free, and starred as a mermaid in the group’s campaign urging the public to stop eating fish.
“Whether she’s championing plant foods, cruelty-free fashion, fighting to end the exploitation of elephants and horses, or fostering empathy for birds, Adah Sharma never misses an opportunity to speak up for animals,” says PETA India Vice President of Celebrity and Public Relations Sachin Bangera. “PETA India is delighted to celebrate her tireless work to make the world a more compassionate place for all.”
“Once you realise the many similarities we share with other animals, who each feel love, pain, joy, and fear just as we do, it’s only natural to want to do everything in your power to spare them from suffering,” says Sharma. “I’m proud to stand with PETA India in encouraging kindness and respect for all thinking, feeling beings.”
Past recipients of PETA India’s Person of the Year Award include former Supreme Court Justice KS Panicker Radhakrishnan, cricketer Virat Kohli, comedian Kapil Sharma, and actors Dia Mirza, Alia Bhatt, John Abraham, Anushka Sharma, Sunny Leone, Sonakshi Sinha, R Madhavan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Hema Malini, and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja.
