PETA hung a giant “SeaWorld Kills” banner behind Ashanti’s stage at the SeaWorld concert in San Diego on Saturday night.
During the Ashanti SeaWorld San Diego show, PETA sailed a 49-foot yacht past the Bayside Amphitheater stage with a “SeaWorld Kills” banner hanging on the side.
The amphitheater’s location on Mission Bay allowed PETA’s boat to have a clear view of the crowd without anyone setting foot in the park.
PETA supporters had lined up outside the park hours earlier, holding signs such as “Ashanti: No dolphins are happy in tanks” and “Ashanti: Supporting SeaWorld is stupid” and urging fans to skip the show.
SeaWorld booked @Ashanti so we booked a boat!
As fans watch the stage…
1️⃣The dolphin is still trapped in the concrete tank.
2️⃣These animals have nothing to do and are growing weak.
3️⃣SeaWorld continues to profit from their pain. pic.twitter.com/JAuTIdFqTg— PETA (@peta) July 19, 2026
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Still, hundreds of people came to see Ashanti’s performance, which went off without a hitch except for some interference from PETA.
The group has been fighting SeaWorld for years over its treatment of dolphins and orcas, and Saturday’s stunt continued that fight in front of a packed crowd.
PETA President Tracy Reiman said SeaWorld’s dolphins and whales spend their lives in concrete tanks that are incompatible with their natural habitats. She wants the park to stop breeding dolphins and whales entirely and move existing dolphins and whales to a seaside sanctuary.
This makes me really happy! I love Ashanti 🥹 https://t.co/T7iGTKWH9S
— RIOT (@inknownRIOT) July 19, 2026
SeaWorld San Diego ended its orca breeding program back in 2016 under similar pressure.
PETA now aims to do the same for dolphins and other whales still living in the park’s tanks. The group has been insisting on the same demands for years, but the company has taken little action.
Even before Saturday’s protest, a 2023 Change.org petition had prompted fans to boycott Ashanti, Bow Wow and Soulja Boy’s SeaWorld bookings. None of them quit, and all three ended up back on this year’s bill.
According to San Diego’s Fox 5, SeaWorld will rely on a lineup of people born in the 1990s and 2000s to attract visitors this summer. Ashanti is one of 16 bills in the bill this year. Soulja Boy, Paul Wall, Jordin Sparks and Too $hort are still set to compete in late August.
