An Instagram influencer with more than half a million followers has responded to criticism of her recent photo shoot, in which she is depicted naked on an endangered Sumatran elephant in Bali.
Alesya Kafelnikova, 22, originally shared a video of the February 13 shoot on Instagram, according to The Sun. A few days later, she uploaded another photo of herself with the elephant, along with a caption, “Loving nature is human nature.”
Alesya Kafelnikova apologized to anyone who viewed her actions as “vulgarity”
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But among the many fans who liked Kafelnikova’s photo, a number of critics agreed that the influencer staged her shoot with a critically endangered animal that was likely transported to Bali for tourist purposes – including an advocacy group campaigning to remove Asian elephants. to save.
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“Yet another tragic trivialization of the majestic Asian elephant as the species fights for its existence against brutal abuse in tourism and human ‘entertainment,'” Save the Asian Elephants (STAE) wrote in a statement shared with The Sun. On Twitter, the group further labeled Kagelnikova’s shoot as a “gross stunt Exploit and humiliate Asian elephants for commercial gain. “
The Bali Tourist Board also agreed, telling The Sun that Kafelnikova’s video “certainly falls short of the standards we promote as part of Bali tourism.”
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A Bali Tourism Board representative was not immediately available to comment on the controversy for Fox News.
However, Kafelnikova has since defended her photo in a later Instagram post, claiming she is doing charity work and donating money to support both the elephant and the people of the village where he lives. The influencer, also the daughter of Grand Slam-winning tennis champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov, added that she never wanted to offend and apologized.
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“It’s a shame people see this as vulgarity, not beauty and love of nature,” she wrote. “I love animals, I love elephants! And I love Bali so much! I hope you will all arouse an aesthetic love for my post and the beauty.
“It was a private photo shoot, I had no aim at all to hurt the feelings of the local people. We love the Balinese culture and respect the Indonesian rules. Sorry if you see anything different in this. My intention with these photos was to get you show that I love and respect animals more than anything else. “