PETA sheds no crocodile tears for Steve Irwin

Plus: No Suri, Moby doesn't approve of baby Cruise's magazine debut

Adrees Latif / Reuters file

Steve Irwin, seen here in 2002, was a favorite of many TV viewers, but not of PETA.

By Jeannette Walls

MSNBC

updated 3:00 a.m. ET Sept. 19, 2006

Some animal lovers aren’t shedding any crocodile tears for Steve Irwin.

The Aussie naturalist, known as the Crocodile Hunter, was killed last week by a stingray while filming off the Great Barrier Reef. But the folks at PETA are neither surprised nor upset by his passing.

“It comes as no shock at all that Steve Irwin should die provoking a dangerous animal,” PETA’s Dan Mathews tells The Scoop. “He made a career out of antagonizing frightened wild animals, which is a very dangerous message to send to kids.”

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Does Irwin’s career as a naturalist impress the animal-rights group? Says Mathews: “If you compare him with a responsible conservationist like Jacques Cousteau, he looks like a cheap reality TV star.”

MESSAGE BOARD: HAVE YOUR SAY

No Suri, Moby doesn't approve
Moby is not impressed with baby Suri Cruise’s unveiling.

“Are you kidding me?” the techno rocker blogged. “Putting your [bleeping] CHILD on the cover of Vanity Fair? Are they out of their minds? Using a child as a p.r. prop?? Argh.”

“In the grand scheme of things fame pales in comparison to family and child-rearing. I don’t know Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, but I really cannot for a second fathom the mindset of parents who would sell pictures of their children and use their children to get better press coverage.

“I’m sorry, I try not to be too judgmental, but it’s gross.”

Notes from all over
Look for Kabbalah to launch a major money-making campaign, spearheaded by celebs. “They’re looking to raise tens of millions of dollars,” says a source. . . . Cameron Diaz was spotted buying a diaper bag — sort of. “She’s a self-admitted handbag junkie and she was at Barneys buying a Mia Bossi bag, which doubles as a diaper bag and is called ‘diaper bags in disguise,’” claims a source, who says that boyfriend Justin Timberlake was with her. . . . P. Diddy is still the man. At least, he says he is. “I’m still the flyest mother[bleeper] out there,” the rap impresario tells the forthcoming issue of Elle. “I’m still dictating what’s hot, what the flavor is, what dance should be done. I’m not trying to hold on to my youth — I’m just timeless, I guess.”

Jeannette Walls Delivers the Scoop Mondays through Thursdays on MSNBC.com