Staff at the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society are apologizing after a cat adoption poster shared on social media poked fun at Donald Trump’s lewd comments from a video earlier this month.
The poster shows two pictures of Donald Trump and two cats with the words, “You don’t have to be a STAR to grab a Pussy … cat.”
The wording references statements Trump made in 2005 during an Access Hollywood taping.
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“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star they let you do it,” Trump was heard saying in video released by The Washington Post, followed by, “Grab them by the p—y.”
The poster sparked a backlash on social media Wednesday.
“We must ensure that demeaning behavior towards women is not perpetuated. Regardless of intent it is never acceptable,” Lisa Gretzky, the NDP MPP for Windsor-West, wrote on Twitter.
In response to criticism of the poster, the humane society has since deleted the social media posts and apologized for the incident.
“There were certainly some people who were concerned and felt we were making light of sexual assault and that was never our intent,” Melanie Coulter, executive director for the Windsor/Essex County Humane Society, told Global News Wednesday.
“We certainly apologize if anyone was offended.”
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Coulter said although a lot of people “took our post in the spirit it was intended, which was to be funny and to poke fun at the U.S. election,” she said staff took the criticisms to heart.
The humane society made the poster in an attempt to find homes for 145 cats that came into the facility last week.
The poster comes after a similar controversial ad campaign by the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.