Lucinta Luna has written an apology for swimming with a dolphin in Sanur, Bali, which prompted massive backlash toward the dangdut star.
Related — Indonesian celeb condemned for swimming with a dolphin in banned Sanur facility
Last night, the 31-year-old posted her apology via stories on Instagram, in which she also explained how her visit to the banned Dolphin Lodge came to be.
In her post, Lucinta said she and her film crew were invited by the lodge to “learn more about dolphins.”
“Our main purpose is to help tourism in Bali that has been impacted by [the coronavirus]. We also asked about their permit and the facility told us that they have a permit from BKSDA,” Lucinta wrote, referring to the Natural Resources Conservation Center.
Dolphin Lodge is a swim-with-dolphins attraction located in Sanur that has been banned from operating by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry since April 2020. Operated by PT Piayu Samudra Loka, the facility appears to have been actively promoting its business in the last couple of months on Facebook.
Lucinta went on to write that she and her crew were given an educational session on dolphins, sharks, and stingrays, explaining that the facility was located right by the sea in Sanur.
“If this was a circus location we would have certainly rejected the offer. The dolphins there are dolphins that have been lost or separated from the group, stranded or hurt. They were rescued and then placed here, they informed us that everything was carried out with a permit,” she wrote.
The post ended with an apology, in which she also addressed former Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, who was among those who condemned her yesterday.
“We promise that we will not repeat this again. We were careless and we just realized it now,” Lucinta wrote.
However, it seems that Lucinta has taken the Dolphin Lodge at its word and apologized solely for agreeing to swim with dolphins, as opposed to giving a thoughtful acknowledgment of how the facility is known for holding dolphins captive — a point that was brought up by those who criticized her online, including animal rights activists.
“I truly apologize to everyone. I really didn’t mean to, I regret it. Basically I regret what I did. What I did by riding the dolphin was inappropriate. I will be more careful in the future,” Lucinta said in gossip show !nsert Pagi today.
We have reached out to BKSDA for comment but have yet to receive a response from them as of publication time.
