Kate Del Castillo, PETA Ad: Actress Joins Organization Campaign, Exposes Horror At SeaWorld

Kate del Castillo is not only trying to leave her name out of the numerous rumors that emerged when Rolling Stone’s article exposed her as the main connection between Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Hollywood actor Sean Penn. On Tuesday, PETA revealed they had been working with the actress in a new campaign that aims to expose the horror at SeaWorld.

On the heels of SeaWorld's announcement that Tilikum, the captive orca at the center of the documentary "Blackfish," is gravely ill, the 43-year-old telenovela star appears in a new PETA ad, floating underwater and surrounded by the grave markers of some of the 38 orcas, or "Shamus," who have died prematurely on SeaWorld's watch. The hard-hitting ad campaign proclaims, "Look below the surface and you'll see dying orcas and dying profits."

In an exclusive interview, Del Castillo points out that dozens of orcas who have died at SeaWorld, not one has died of old age. "They're confined in these small tanks. It's the most horrific thing. It's like you or I living in a bathtub for the rest of our lives," she says. "[They're] separated from their families…They go crazy, and they're stressed. And they kill each other…[I]t is devastating."

Kate is part of a growing list of celebrities, including Jason Biggs, Jessica Biel, Wilmer Valderrama, Bob Barker, Marisa Miller, Joanna Krupa, and Alec Baldwin, who've teamed up with PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to use for entertainment," to speak out against the exploitation of animals for entertainment.

For years, SeaWorld has been benefiting from these orcas, which have been taken from their natural environment just like a kid can be pulled away from his or her mother at birth. It’s a horrific situation that must be stopped and documentaries, like "Blackfish," help expose the reality of these corporations that are only hurting the environment and defenseless creatures that are meant to be out in the wild, and not held captive in tiny concrete tanks.

Luckily, SeaWorld’s stock has been going down, having dropped an additional 11 percent after its latest earnings call just last month.

For more information on this matter and ways to help the organization, please visit PETA.org or SeaWorldOfHurt.com