SeaWorld released new video of trainers condemning 'Blackfish.'
"There's no evil empire," said former trainer, Mark Simmons. "I would not have worked the career that I did, and come to work every day that I did, if I felt that these animals were treated anything other than royalty."
Simmons actually appeared in the documentary that blasts SeaWorld's treatment and captivity practices of killer whales, but says most of his story was left on the cutting room floor.
"There were three hours of interview footage and almost anything with any particular weight to it, that I said, was not included in the film," he said.
http://youtu.be/U9C9EtCGfb0
Holly Byrd still works with whales at the park.
"In the movie, the woman swimming with the killer whale... that was me, not [Samantha Berg]. That was two years of my career, leading up to that point, that they twisted and took from me," said Byrd.
She says the footage used by 'Blackfish' producers shows her first time getting in the water with a killer whale. Byrd says it was one of the most amazing moments of her life.
"The one thing that I want people to know after watching the movie is that it's not true," she added.
http://youtu.be/Oyh0PVCNFBA
On their website, SeaWorld claims the scathing film is propaganda, not a documentary.
"We object to Blackfish because its two central premises are wrong: (1) that life at SeaWorld is harmful for killer whales and for trainers working with these animals, and (2) that SeaWorld has attempted to cover up the facts surrounding the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010, as well the history of Tilikum, the killer whale involved in that accident. Nothing could be further from the truth.
To make these ultimately false and misleading points, the film conveys falsehoods, manipulates viewers emotionally, and relies on questionable filmmaking techniques to create "facts" that support its point of view."