Henry Winkler may be beloved among fans of his portrayal of Fonzie in Happy Days, but he isn’t receiving the same fanfare among animal lovers. The 75-year-old actor, whose net worth is a reported $40 million, is catching some flak online after he excitedly shared a post documenting his most recent fishing excursion.
On Wednesday, Winkler took to Twitter to once again show off his latest catch. In the post, the actor shared a photo of himself beaming as he held up his day’s catch, captioning the image, “the end of a perfect day !!” In recent years, Winkler has been known to fill his days with relaxing and leisurely activities such as fishing, with the actor frequently sharing highlights from his excursions with fans online. His most recent post, however, didn’t seem to go over too well with some Twitter users. Shortly after Winkler shared the update, his replies were inundated with negative responses from those concerned about the fish’s wellbeing, with some criticizing Winkler for taking part in the activity as others urged him to simply place the fish back in the water. Others were more bothered by those taking issue with Winkler’s hobby. Keep scrolling to see what fans had to say.
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Winkler responded to backlash with assurance
Winkler was seemingly aware of the grave concern fans had for the fish. Amid the rush of comments urging Winkler to return the fish to the water or simply not fish at all, Winkler eventually returned to the platform with an update about his catch’s wellbeing: “He is back with his family.”
The photo didn’t upset everyone
Not everyone was as critical, though. Commenting on the post, one person wrote, “live your life like you are Henry Winkler on a boat, grasping life in its hands.
Some felt ‘very bad’ for the fish
“You’re a great man. But I feel very bad when smart and sentient beings are hunted/hurt/ killed,” added somebody else.
‘Poor fish’
“Beautiful fish! But can you just cradle them in the water for pics instead of lifting them up?” asked one fan. “Less likely to harm them that way. ‘Keep ’em wet’ is a good rule.”
Fans called for Winkler to release the fish
“Pop that fish quickly back in the water and the fish can have the end of a perfect day, too,” tweeted another person. “You’re welcome!!!!!”
‘Excrutiating pain’
“As a fly fisherman I gotta admit I prefer barbless hooks… & never caught a fish who didn’t seem absolutely miserable w the whole experience,” one person replied to the above tweet.
Some dubbed the outing ‘wrong’ and ‘cruel’
“Trophy hunting is wrong. ‘fish held out of the water for around 30 seconds has 62% chances of survival, and fish held out of the water for about 60 seconds only has 18% chances,’” one person quoted. “Catch and release is cruel. They feel pain just like us. I can no longer do it!”