Audrina Patridge: If you can’t buy animals, eat ‘em

This is right up there with Paris Hilton wearing a “Vote or Die” t-shirt but forgetting to show up at the polls.

Audrina Patridge, who appears in the MTV reality show The Hills (and is soon to get her own reality show), recently became a PETA “Angel for Animals.” She posed with a star Chihuahua named Speedy Gonzalez for a poster and a short video. PETA said this:

During the photo shoot, Audrina told us, “I wanted to get involved with PETA because I’ve always been passionate about animals, and I think this is a great way to make people and all my fans aware of all the animals that need a home. And a lot of people go to pet stores and breeders to buy their animals, but you should adopt, so go to an animal shelter and rescue a dog.”

But it’s the tag line on the poster that’s particularly awkward right now. “Always adopt. Never buy,” it says.

Why awkward? Within a month, Patridge was posing for another shoot — except this time it was to promote for a new terriyaki burger at Carl’s Jr., the West Coast fast-food joint. Mmm … scrumptious. Except not exactly PETA fare. What if the two posters end up next to each other?

People Magazine’s website was fed this comment, but missed the delicious irony:

“I had an absolute blast shooting. It was my first experience shooting a spot with food, and when I pulled up, I was literally salivating looking at all the rows and rows of perfect burgers waiting for me!” she recalls of the sandwich, available at Carl’s Jr. on June 24, the same day that the TV spot launches.

“I was cracking up because I would take a bite, and almost immediately a food handler with white gloves would have a brand new burger ready.”

OK. I’m not a vegetarian. But you don’t have to be one to realize that this was boneheaded PR. As the blog Vegetarian Star pointed out, Audrina actually appears to be OK with buying animals — so long as they’re dead.

Certainly this puts PETA in an awkward spot. Not sure what the group’s response will be. I just sent some questions to to PETA to see if this changes any of the plans on how to use Patridge. Among my questions is whether the group outlines behavioral expections for celebrity spokespeople before engaging them in a campaign.

The lesson for the nonprofit in this case: The flakier the celebrity, the shakier the ground.

The lesson for the celebrity: Do more of this silly stuff, girl! Before this incident I never even heard of you. The controversy alone moves you from C-list to B-list.

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