Zac Efron lands in trouble after shooting ad with a captive bear

Hollywood star Zac Efron has come under fire from PETA after starring in a new advertisement, featuring a bear in captivity.

The Baywatch star, 34, has collaborated with Kodiak Cakes as a Chief Brand Officer and appeared in a new ad with Tank the bear.

Efron was also seen posing near the bear as part of promo campaign for the brand’s ‘Keep it Wild.’

While the money raised will go to a good cause, animal rights organization PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) slammed the decision to use a bear that has spent its whole life in captivity for the images.

According to TMZ, PETA US’s Foundation Director of Captive Animal Welfare, Debbie Metzler, shared the statement, ‘It’s hypocritical to exploit one animal to potentially help another.”

Metzler further stated that the Greatest Showman actor needs to "come down to Earth" by rethinking his spot in the video ad.

In the video, Efron can be seen asking the bear a variety of questions for comic effect. Metzler suggests Efron should add the question, "How wrong is it to use a captive bear to promote 'keeping bears wild?'"

PETA has further demanded for the ad to be edited or reshot with the bear either replaced with CGI or outright removed.

Meanwhile, Efron has not publicly responded to PETA’s claims to change the ad.