Harambe: Martin Shkreli refuses Cincinnati Zoo’s request to ‘stop memeing’ gorilla who died

After Harambe’s one-time home asked that people stop creating memes of the gorilla, the infamous pharmaceutical executive told them ‘REQUEST DENIED’

Andrew Griffin
Monday 22 August 2016 16:00 BST
Comments
A Harambe memorial is shown outside the Cincinnati zoo.
A Harambe memorial is shown outside the Cincinnati zoo. (John Sommers II/Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Martin Shkreli has refused to stop making memes of Harambe, the gorilla who died, and called on other people to join him in continuing to do so.

The infamous businessman and pharmaceutical executive – who has in recent weeks called for Harambe’s DNA to be used to resurrect the gorilla – said that he will refuse to comply with the Cincinnati Zoo’s request for the joke to come to an end.

Harambe was killed at the end of May, when a zoo worker shot the gorilla because they were worried that he would kill a child that had fallen into his enclosure.

The zoo had asked that people on the internet stop making jokes because it was making it difficult for them to move on.

"We are not amused by the memes, petitions and signs about Harambe," Thane Maynard, Cincinnati Zoo director, told the Associated Press. "Our zoo family is still healing, and the constant mention of Harambe makes moving forward more difficult for us. We are honoring Harambe by redoubling our gorilla conservation efforts and encouraging others to join us."

But Mr Shkreli has refused to give up on “memeing” the gorilla and says that doing so serves an important purpose.

“I have a profound love for non-human primates that is 100% real & 0% facetious,” he wrote in a string of tweets. “These animals are so close to human & we treat them poorly.

“So if we want to celebrate the life of Harambe, as a symbolic gesture towards better NHP-Human relations, what is wrong with that?”

It was his final tweet, though, that was the most vociferous response to the Cincinnati Zoo’s request.

As well as his efforts to bring the gorilla – or a clone of him – back to life through DNA sequencing, Mr Shkreli has been one of the most prominent people creating and spreading Harambe memes.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in