PETA is once again going after the woman who tried to fake a chimpanzee’s death in 2021.
In a new motion filed Wednesday, the animal rights organization accused exotic animal broker Tonia Haddix of committing perjury and violating previous court orders, citing the recent HBO docuseries “Chimp Crazy” as evidence.
The four-episode series, which premiered in August, followed Haddix’s tumultuous custody battle with PETA over several chimpanzees — including one named Tonka, a movie star chimp best known for his role in the 1997 film “Buddy,” with Alan Cumming.
Tonka disappeared in 2021 under Haddix’s care at the Missouri Primate Foundation, a now-defunct breeding facility, after a court granted PETA permission to transfer Tonka and several other chimps to a sanctuary.
In a January 2022 virtual court testimony featured in “Chimp Crazy,” Haddix sobbed as she insisted under oath that Tonka had died and was cremated. Later, however, authorities found the chimp alive and concealed in a basement cage, according to a June 2022 court filing. In the docuseries, Haddix was filmed pumping her fists in the air and grinning widely after convincing the Missouri judge of her story.
As she revealed to the audience that Tonka was indeed alive, Haddix was seen telling Connie Casey, owner of the Missouri Primate Foundation, on the phone: “They have to leave us alone unless they can get evidence he’s alive. We won.”
The salacious series became a hit online, with certain scenes being turned into memes. In one scene, Haddix showed a bag of what she claimed were Tonka’s ashes — which many online noted looked more like dried cake mix than ashes.
In its latest motion, PETA requested that the court require Haddix and her accomplices to justify why they shouldn’t be held in civil contempt for “willfully defying” court orders; allow PETA to further investigate these issues of contempt and perjury; and impose penalties as the court sees fit.
“Tonia Haddix brazenly defied court orders on camera and made a mockery of the justice system in front of an international audience in order to deprive a chimpanzee of a real life,” PETA general counsel Brittany Peet said in a news release. “PETA is asking the court to hold Haddix and her accomplices in this scheme accountable for flagrantly flouting the law.”
An attorney for Haddix did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new filing is the latest development in a yearslong case since PETA first entered its legal battle with the Missouri Primate Foundation, having initially sued over concerns about the living conditions of chimpanzees housed there.
After the chimp was found, Tonka was ultimately removed from Haddix’s custody and placed in a sanctuary. Haddix was also ordered in 2023 to pay a total of nearly $225,000 to reimburse PETA for fees and costs incurred throughout the saga.
The motion cited numerous scenes in the documentary as evidence that Haddix had violated court orders — including by sedating and removing Tonka ahead of his scheduled transfer, by leaking the transfer date to those who weren’t involved, and by filming her court hearing, among other violations.
It also named Casey, Haddix’s husband Jerry Aswegan, and Cy Vierstra (the owner of a roadside zoo in Ohio) as accomplices in helping Haddix violate the court’s transfer order. Casey did not immediately respond to an email request for comment. When reached by phone, Aswegan declined to comment. NBC News was unable to reach Vierstra on Wednesday.
In the third episode of “Chimp Crazy,” Haddix said that she and Aswegan sedated Tonka and took him to a hotel. In the same episode, the motion states, Casey referred Haddix to Vierstra as someone who could help her hide Tonka and fake his death. Vierstra was also filmed admitting to helping Haddix violate the order.
“Haddix so publicly disobeying this Court and then profiting from her disobedience by sharing it with a national audience,” the motion read, “will only incentivize future defendants to engage in similar misconduct unless this Court decisively intervenes.”
