A video of Parsons shooting an elephant in Zimbabwe is making the rounds Thursday, causing the domain registry company to become a Google Hot Topic and the subject of criticism. Leading the charge is PETA, the animal rights group, which has closed its account with GoDaddy and is asking others to follow suit. Parsons, a Vietnam vet known for his brash image, brought on the publicity by himself by posting the video on his blog.
The video shows the damage elephants caused by trampling a farmer’s sorghum field. Parsons and his fellow hunters then waited at night for the elephants to return and Parsons shoots and kills one of the elephants. Dozens of villagers then come to pick off the elephant’s meat.
Anticipating a backlash, GoDaddy competitor NameCheap.com h as already swooped in. The company is running a transfer from GoDaddy to Namecheap.com for .com, .net and .org domains for $4.99 with 20% of the proceeds going to SaveTheElephants.com. For its part, GoDaddy has yet to address the issue on its company blog. Reps from the company could not be reached for comment.
This isn’t the first time GoDaddy has courted controversy. The brand is known for its envelope-pushing Super Bowl ads that feature “GoDaddy Girls” bouncing out of their shirts. One such spot, featuring a retired football player named Lola who becomes a lingerie designer, was punted from the 2010 Super Bowl.
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