Update: This story has been corrected to reflect a later statement from Michael Bay's legal representation.
Michael Bay is known as the director of some of the best action movies in existence. That sort of title doesn’t come easy, and admittedly there’s a fair amount of danger on the set of films like the Transformers franchise or even Bay’s Netflix action-comedy with Ryan Reynolds, 6 Underground. In the case of that last movie, the director has been accused of killing a pigeon, with this supposedly taking place during the film’s shoot in Italy.
The accusations stem from a 2018 incident, which, according to reporting by The Wrap saw Bay’s production accidentally killing a pigeon in the middle of a take. As the birds are a protected species in Italy, this death is considered a criminal offense. In response to these claims, Michael Bay issued the following statement:
I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist. No animal involved in the production was injured or harmed. Or on any other production I’ve worked on in the past 30 years. We have clear video evidence, a multitude of witnesses, and safety officers that exonerates us from these claims. And disproves their one paparazzi photo — which gives a false story. There is an ongoing court case so I cannot get into the specifics, but I am confident we will prevail when I have my day in court. I was offered by the Italian authorities a chance to settle this matter by paying a small fine, but I declined to do so because I would not plead guilty to having harmed an animal.
Naturally, Bay has denied these claims of wrongdoing, to the point where he’s rejected offers from the Italian government to pay a fine to settle the legal issues. No further information is available at this time, except that the crime was anonymously reported to the authorities by an alleged witness.
Though no specific sequence is mentioned in the 6 Underground allegations, there are some clips from the Netflix original that suggest where and when this supposed death took place. Again, when a movie makes claims that it contains maximum Bayhem, concerns are to be had whether or not criminal allegations are in play.
What usually quells those thoughts is Bay’s methodical execution of larger than life stunts that still find their way safely onto camera. Even last year’s Ambulance saw Michael Bay share a particularly dangerous car stunt on social media, and the entire process showed a controlled environment that played to the director’s strengths, but still looked rather safe.
No matter what arguments are made for or against the hypothetical methods for this alleged wrongdoing, the legendary action director is ready to make his case. When that will happen, and what the results will be, are currently unknown. For now, the world will have to wait and see where this story goes in the days to come. Those curious to see the film for themselves can catch 6 Underground through access to a Netflix subscription.
