SeaWorld's Latest Problem: Rock Stars Won't Perform There

Monday’s news that the veteran rock band Heart was canceling a February show at SeaWorld Entertainment is the latest sign that hit documentary Blackfish is having its intended effect on the popular marine parks. The film, which opened theatrically in July and has been recently airing on CNN, exposes the circumstances around the killing of trainer Dawn Brancheau by one of the park’s orcas in 2010. In doing so, it condemns the practice of keeping killer whales in captivity.

At the time of the film’s release, SeaWorld was faced with a tough choice: Ignore the film and hope it would go away, or fight back against Blackfish’s allegations and turn it into a cause celebre. The company, which went public in April, decided to take a middle ground—after making some initial efforts to contact critics with strongly worded statements, it has mostly kept quiet about film. Unfortunately for the company, the film has continued to win critical acclaim and viewers—it currently enjoys a 98 percent “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has made $2 million at the domestic box office, an excellent total for a documentary.