Sam Asghari Partners With PETA After They Called Britney Spears 'Toxic'

It looks like Sam Asghari has entered into a partnership with PETA ahead of the holiday season, even though they were quick to label Britney Spears "toxic" for buying a new puppy earlier this year.

The 42-year-old pop star introduced Instagram to her new puppy, Snow, in late August, less than two weeks after the 29-year-old actor filed for divorce on August 16 citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split in court documents obtained by The Blast.

Sam has made it pretty clear that he loves animals from his Instagram Stories, which often include trips with his Doberman, Porsha. The puppy was originally given as a gift to Britney Spears a month after they got engaged in September 2021; however, Sam got to keep the dog in the custody agreement that the former couple settled a few months ago.

The "Gimme More" singer got to keep four of their other dogs, including an Australian Shepherd puppy named Sawyer that she adopted in Maui in February 2022, only a few months before the former couple tied the knot in June 2022. She also got to keep her Yorkie, Hannah, her Maltese, Lulu, and another small dog, which might have been referring to Snow.

On Tuesday night, PETA released an ad that featured Sam cuddling a puppy in an orange shirt that read “Adopt, Don’t Shop” on the front. The text over the ad read, “Some Loves Last: Never Buy Dogs. Always Spay or Neuter.” The next slide shows Sam lying shirtless next to a dog. The text over this ad reads, “You can’t buy love, but you can adopt it.”

“You can’t buy love! Lucky enough, actor @samasghari is showing the world that millions of dogs & cats are looking to be adopted into loving forever homes,” the brand wrote in the caption, crediting photographer Charlie Nunn and creative director Greg Garry for their work.

“Why is he trying to thirst-trap me into adopting a puppy?” one fan lamented. “Did it work!?” Sam replied. “Why are you complaining? Thirst trap away @samasghari,” another follower chimed in.

“Did he buy or adopt his Dobie?” another fan asked, referring to Porsha. “Lol, he and his ex-wife absolutely bought all of those dogs,” another follower wrote. “I thought that! But didn’t want to assume so asking @peta since they chose him as their spokesperson!” the fan replied.

PETA shared another ad with Sam Asghari that featured him with Porsha. “Actor @samasghari says Some Loves Last…adopt, don’t shop!” they wrote in the caption. “We’re collabing with the star to show you that the perfect addition to your family shouldn’t come from a breeder.”

“I am all for adoption but those animals that one shops for also deserve a chance at their forever home. The problem is humans who discard their pets. And there are extenuating circumstances that may cause them to do so, however, most are left in a shelter because they no longer want them,” one follower commented.

They went on to write, “At the end of the day it’s humans who create the shelters to be overrun. I hope both shelters and dogs who are bought all find the loving home they deserve. It’s just an opinion but I applaud him doing this!” However, another user replied, “You sound just as contradicting as him. None of his dogs are from shelters. But PETA does whatever it takes to stay relevant.”

The “Hold Me Closer” singer shared four Instagram posts on Tuesday night but only mentioned her ex and a dog in one of them. The throwback video featured a screenshot of her dancing in her living room while showing off her manicure for the camera.

“This was last year and the first time showing my hands like this on Instagram !!! Assuming it’s an affirmative way of saying nice to meet you with correct mannerisms 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ !!!” she wrote in the caption. “Which confirms real age and it was so so cool because the very next day Hesam took me to his place and jumped out of the car and got a new dog 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 !!!”

It is unclear if she is trying to imply that they bought the new dog instead of rescuing it or which dog she is referring to. In August, after Britney acquired Snow, a rep for PETA released a statement to TMZ, saying:

“When influential people buy puppies, puppy mills cheer and animal shelters watch the homeless-animal crisis get even worse. With this one cutesy post, Britney Spears has sentenced countless deserving dogs in shelters to more days without love, a comfy bed to curl up on, or a chance at a real life.”

“She could have been a force for good and adopted, but instead she chose to be toxic, and animals will pay with their lives,” they added, working the name of the pop star’s hit single “Toxic” into their statement.