June 24, 2024, 1:11 pm | Read time: 6 minutes

For years, Olivia Jones has been campaigning for animal welfare. Just this week, she disclosed the new motif, which includes a photograph that was taken for the animal welfare organization Peta. In this case, the demand is for people to adopt pets instead of buying them from breeders. This is not the first time the popular drag queen has collaborated with Peta. In the following PETBOOK interview, she reveals how they once shut down a KFC restaurant together.

This is why Olivia Jones currently doesn’t have any pets

PETBOOK: Olivia, you are modeling for the new Peta campaign “Adopt, don’t shop!”. Why is this issue so close to your heart?
Olivia Jones: “I grew up with a dog, a Yorkshire Terrier. He was like a member of the family, and I was able to learn to take responsibility for a pet at an early age, and I learned a lot. Animals feel, they learn, and they are great companions. They always reflect something back to us, and they are quite clear about what they are feeling. I am an absolute dog fan, and I would love to have a dog again. But I view it as part of my responsibility towards animals to prioritize their needs over my own desires, and I must honestly admit that my current lifestyle does not allow me to fulfill my responsibilities as a pet owner. But if that changes at some point, it’s definitely clear: it will come only from a shelter or as a rescue dog.”

You recently convinced your mother to adopt a pet from the shelter. Please tell us about it.
“My mother loves animals as much as I do, and she wanted another dog. I told her about all these dogs that are longing for a new home. It wasn’t long before she realized she wanted to give a fresh start to a stray pet. Her dog comes from an animal welfare project in Bulgaria. Lupo would not have survived much longer on the street. Now he is so happy in his new home, and he is a member of the family, and my mother did not regret her decision. They are both very happy together.”

Olivia Jones: ‘A little soul can’t cope with that’

We keep hearing from readers and on social media about people who would like to adopt animals from a shelter. However, they often complain about how difficult it is to adopt and say that it often seems as if the shelters don’t really want to place the animals with them. What are your thoughts on this?
“I think it’s very important that shelters look carefully at whom the animals are being placed with and that people are aware that it’s a responsibility that will last for years. There’s nothing worse than a pet being adopted from a shelter and the person becoming overwhelmed with it so much that the pet ends up back in the shelter. A little soul can’t cope with that. I think animal shelters experience this very often, so I think it’s good if everything is clarified and checked beforehand. So that there really is a new home, but this time for good.”

‘Especially animals from shelters show a lot of gratitude and love’

What experience do you have with animal shelters?
“A friend of mine works in an animal shelter. So I often see what the situation is like there these days. The shelters are overcrowded, and some have even stopped taking animals in. The situation became even worse after Covid: many people got pets then, and once normal life started again, the pets suddenly became a burden for them. As a result, many of them ended up in shelters, which is terrible. It is very important to me to raise awareness here. Especially animals from shelters show a lot of gratitude and love.”

Have you considered adopting a pet? If so, which kind?
“I work a lot and I have very little time, so I don’t want to put an animal through that. Even if you travel a lot, like I do, you should think carefully about whether an animal really suits your everyday life. But if I have time at some point, then it will be a dog looking for a second chance.”

You have modeled for Peta several times. Which topic has touched you the most?
“To be honest, I think all the topics are important! The fur motif was a challenge, and to this day, it is so important to me that nobody wears fur. I can’t understand why more and more fashion designers and celebrities are making fur socially acceptable again. At the Olivia Jones Bar, I even put a sign on the door with Dirk Bach saying that fur is not welcome here.”

More on the topic

PETBOOK interview Social pedagogue: “An assistance dog can often achieve more than a person”

Opinion ‘A dog from the animal shelter? Out of the question for me!’

Lost or abandoned You’ve found an abandoned pet in the street? What you should do now

‘Back then, we shut down an entire KFC store on Reeperbahn for a few hours’

“The campaign for KFC has also been very important to me. Back then, we even shut down a store on Reeperbahn for a few hours with Sissi Perlinger – with police presence. This really has set an example. And I’m still completely against eating lobster: it’s an unnecessary cruelty, and it’s outdated. Everyone should know what it means to eat an animal that in a ‘normal life’ would live up to 100 years but has to die prematurely in such a cruel way. The current topic also touches and concerns me a lot. I think it’s very important that people give strays that are longing for a new home a chance. That’s why I don’t have a preference – every topic is important!”

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
“Right now, we’re celebrating our grand Olivia Jones family and iconic neighborhood tour summer party with numerous celebrity guests. We are also continuously updating the lineup of our shows at our Bunny Burlesque and Drag Theater, ‘Olivia’s Show Club’, as well as our neighborhood tour program. This year, we are revising some of our exclusive Kieztour stops. My costume collection, for example.

I’m also filming a lot for several projects. Among other things, the next season of ‘Das große Promi Büßen’ is coming up soon. There’s always something going on here, and it never gets boring.”