The entertainer and actor Stephen "Steve-O" Glover is facing a traffic citation for a May 2013 prank that involved vandalizing a highway sign that led to SeaWorld San Diego - an act meant to criticize orca captivity and inspired by the film "Blackfish."
Steve-O changed the sign to read "SeaWorld sucks," for which he's been given a $239 fine. He can either pay before Dec. 22 or show up at traffic court, according to the City Attorney's Office.
Back in August, Steve-O told The Dodo about his prank.
"I have a pretty passionate stance against animal cruelty, as everyone knows," he said. "It's magical if I can take a wild and crazy stunt and do some good. Here I am setting out to entertain people and then I can do something to make a difference."
Steve-O also maintained during that interview that he was careful not to damage the sign (he taped his sign over it) or any other property, but Gerry Braun, the director of communications for the City Attorney's Office, said that he was putting "drivers and their passengers in harm's way" by climbing up on the sign.
Steve-O isn't upset by the fine, though.
"I think the citation is fantastic," he told The Dodo on Tuesday. "It's great to have the story back in the news."
It's worth noting that SeaWorld is rarely fined for practices that animal advocates say put animals - and their trainers - in harm's way. After the 2010 death of senior orca trainer Dawn Brancheau, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration originally cited SeaWorld for three violations, ordering the company to pay a penalty of $75,000. After an appeal, SeaWorld only had to pay $12,000 of that fine.
Despite SeaWorld's reluctance to pay up, shareholders are seeing the signs. The company's stock (SEAS) hit an all-time low of $16.16 per share this month, and its market CAP has fallen over $1 billion since its April 2013 IPO. A one-year chart of the stock shows a clear downward trend:
UPDATE 10:30 a.m. 12/3 - Steve-O has accepted an offer from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to cover the fine for his prank, Times of San Diego reports.
