pspan style=”font-size:18px;”strongDid you know that the movie The Wolf of Wall Street forced a chimpanzee to ldquo;act,rdquo; which can cause severe psychological damage?/strong/span/ppWhen The Wolf of Wall Street premieres in NYC on Dec. 17, there is sure to buzz about whether or not Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays real life law-breaking stockbroker Jordan Belfort, will get an Oscar nod. nbsp;But what likely wonrsquo;t be talked about is one of DiCapriorsquo;s co-stars, a chimpanzee named Chance who portrays his characterrsquo;s pet, and the long-term damage that is done to primates exploited in entertainment.nbsp;/ppimg alt=”” src=”/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/PinkTAFixed_0.jpg” style=”width: 352px; height: 436px; margin: 3px; float: right;” //ppThe damage, which results in negative and neurotic behaviors and an inability to socially interact with other chimps, is the focus of a href=”http://www.scribd.com/doc/191176197/Animals-in-Entertainment” target=”_blank”ldquo;Animals in Entertainmentmdash;Hollywoodrsquo;s Betrayal of Great Apes,rdquo;/a written by Edita Birnkrant, NY director for Friends of Animals, in the organizationrsquo;s winter edition of Action Line. The article also reveals Chancersquo;s life story of exploitation and exposes the cruel teaching methods of his circus animal trainer.nbsp;/ppFriends of Animals knows all too well about this issue since nbsp;it manages the a href=”https://www.facebook.com/pages/Primarily-Primates/166575193411480″ target=”_blank”Primarily Primates/a sanctuary in Texas, which cares for many chimpanzees used in entertainment who were discarded once they got too old to control. In 1986 five chimpanzee stars of the film Project X were brought to Primarily Primates after a lawsuit against the filmrsquo;s producerrsquo;s alleged abuse and mistreatment of chimps by their trainers.nbsp;/ppTwo of the chimps, Willie and Okko, are still alive and cared for 27 years later at the sanctuary.nbsp;/ppldquo;Willie, star of the Project X film still runs away in fear when he sees cameras. Another chimp, exhibited neurotic behaviors like rocking and clutching,rdquo; said Brooke Chavez, assistant director of a href=”http://www.primarilyprimates.org/” target=”_blank”Primarily Primates/a.nbsp;/ppDiCaprio, who runs a conservation foundation and is known for his passion for saving wildlife, and director Martin Scorsese should know better than to feature a chimpanzee dressed in a suit roller-skating through an office in their movie. With current computer graphics technology, animals no longer need to be exploited in film.nbsp;To learn more about Willie and Okko, check out the Winter 2010 and Winter 2011a href=”http://www.primarilyprimates.org” Primarily Primates newsletters/a./ppFurther, Chance could have been spared this cruelty as his characterrsquo;s existence seems to be based on fiction. nbsp;The real Danny Porush, Belfortrsquo;s co-worker, who Jonah Hill portrays in the film, told Mother Jones magazine, There was never a chimpanzee in the office, Porush maintains. There were no animals in the office … I would also never abuse an animal in any way.nbsp;/ppFoArsquo;s Birnkrant plans to confront DiCaprio and Scorsese at the red carpet premiere and has copies of her nbsp;Action Line exposé to hand out./ppnbsp;/ppPress coverage of this issue:/ppa href=”https://friendsofanimals.org/news/2013/december/chimpanzee-exploited-wolf-wall-street” target=”_blank”Animal rights group calls for boycott of Martin Scorsese#39;s #39;The Wolf of Wall Street#39; The Raw Story/a/ppa href=”http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/chimpanzee-dressed-in-a-suit-rollerskating-through-prostitutes-and-dwarves-in-wolf-of-wall-street-prompts-boycott-calls-9008405.html”Chimpanzee dressed in a suit…prompts boycott calls The Independentnbsp;/a/ppa href=”http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/dec/16/martin-scorsese-wolf-of-wall-street-animal-welfare” target=”_blank”Sorcsese#39;s The Wolf of Wall Street: animal rights group calls for boycottnbsp;TheGuardian.com/anbsp; nbsp;/ppa href=”http://variety.com/2013/film/news/wolf-of-wall-street-boycot-1200953311/” target=”_blank”Animal Rights Group Boycotting #39;Wolf of Wall Street#39; Variety.com/anbsp;nbsp;/ppa href=”http://thecelebritycafe.com/feature/2013/12/friends-animals-boycotting-wolf-wall-street” target=”_blank”Friends of Animals boycotting #39;Wolf of Wall Streetl TheCelebrityCafe.comnbsp;/a/p