Jason Derulo has been criticized for keeping a shark aquarium beneath his living room floor, which he showed off on recent tours with streamer N3ON and journalist Graham Bensinger.
In April, the "In My Head" artist showed N3ON the circular glass tank, which guests can walk above in his $15 million Tarzana, California, mansion.
Telling the streamer that construction of the tank "took a lot" of time and money, Derulo explained that an aquarium team tends to the tank every two days to clean and monitor the water.
After clips of the tour spread on social media, per The Mirror, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) called out Derulo for setting a "bad example."
"Sharks are facing severe pressures — threatened by overfishing, pollution and habitat destruction, with many species now considered endangered," said Christian Plowman, Program Manager, Wildlife Cybercrime at IFAW.
Plowman explained that marine animals play a "critical role in maintaining healthy ocean ecosystems" but are exploited as "illegal 'exotic' pets," before adding that "sharks, rays and other marine animals are increasingly being targeted to satisfy demand for home aquariums and luxury displays."
Plowman went on to call out Derulo for showing sharks off as "the ultimate status symbol" and treating them as "interior design features."
"Normalizing the ownership of sharks in a domestic tank sends a damaging message to audiences around the world. If Derulo genuinely cares about these animals, he could use his platform as a powerful force for good," he said.
While freshwater sharks and river stingrays are legally prohibited as pets in California, some smaller, non-endangered shark species are permitted to be owned by residents.
