Oscar winning actress Brie Larson found herself in in the middle of an animal cruelty controversy these past few days when she put up a throwback photo onto her Instagram account where she was rubbing a dolphin's belly.

The photo featured the caption; "I touched a Dolphins belly while sporting a trucker hat in 2004. #noregrets #fbf. While it was later edited with; "I do not support animal cruelty."

 

Animal rights activists slammed Larson, claiming that visiting and promoting animal theme parks encourages the mistreatment of the marine life on display.

Larson later then put up a formal apology on her Instagram;

 

Yo - it's me again. I posted a photo previously that encapsulated a silly moment in my weird life. I forgot that through social media and random interviews you do not know all the facets of me and what my concerns are. We should be concerned about the well being of all animals. Yes, Dolphins. Along with every other creature. There are problems with animals in captivity. There are problems with animals living in the wild. It has always been a priority of mine to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. I apologize if the photo appeared to endorse animal cruelty. I don't believe any living thing deserves miss treatment. In the comments section feel free to discuss your thoughts, concerns, articles ANYTHING that can turn this into a moment of education for myself all who are interested. We gotta remember that we will make mistakes but we can learn from them, together. Much love.

A photo posted by Brie (@brielarson) on