Beth Dutton (played by Kelly Reilly) is nothing if not hard to handle. The “Yellowstone” maverick is a wild child with no compunction about inflicting violence upon others and no fear about acting inappropriately in public. But in one episode, Reilly was required to film a moment that double-underlines Beth’s over-the-top behavior — and it made her just a little bit nervous about romping with some of Beth’s furry friends, who were actually on set with the actor, eating chunks of red meat.
Season 1’s “Kill the Messenger” is where fans can find the scene in question. In the show’s second episode ever, while on a date with Rip (Cole Hauser), Beth tries to commune with a bunch of wolves as they’re eating a recent kill on the Dutton’s property. To get the proper mood for the moment, the show’s producers used real (albeit trained) wolves. While it ultimately became one of Beth’s best “Yellowstone” moments, Reilly admitted she did balk at having to perform the moment before cameras. Thankfully, she ultimately got a little bit of offscreen help from the show’s production team.
Kelly Reilly had to dodge danger while filming the scene
When Kelly Reilly quizzed the behind-the-scenes crew for advice when she was told she was going to have to dance with wolves, they assured her they had the animals well in hand. “The crew said, don’t worry,” she told Yahoo! News. “We’ve got these invisible pieces of cord so if they do run at you, that will trip them.”
While the notion that some ropes were all that protected her might not have comforted most people, Reilly went for it. She genuinely ran full-tilt toward the wolves, coming within feet of them before Cole Hauser’s Rip intervened to stop her from becoming puppy chow. Within the fiction of the show, Rip and Beth get even closer — and within the legend of the series, they form an unshakable bond.
Fortunately, Reilly wasn’t injured in the process of filming the scene, nor were the wolves hurt. But there are several examples of incidents where “Yellowstone” has been called out over its treatment of other animals.
Yellowstone came under fire for the way it’s used animals before
While there was no controversy related to the wolves used on the set of “Yellowstone,” the show did run afoul of animal rights activists on multiple occasions. In 2018, a whistleblower published accusations through PETA that an actual cow was slaughtered for a scene used in the program. Paramount Network and the show’s producers vehemently denied the accusations via a statement released through The Wrap, though PETA insisted its sources were correct.
One of the show’s actors has debunked concerns over scenes some fans felt involved unnecessarily cruel actions towards animals, such as when Mo (Mo Brings Plenty) and Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham) are forced to watch as a number of dogs are shot. Fans were concerned that the moment might encourage viewers to treat animals poorly and found the series’ overall treatment of such issues appalling.
Forrie J Smith, who played Lloyd on “Yellowstone,” ultimately spoke out on his Instagram, defending the storylines along with how the show treats its animal actors. He said in part, “Not one horse or animal has been harmed or put down on Yellowstone! [Series creator] Taylor Sheridan is very conscientious about the animals we use in our scenes!” Since Sheridan runs his own ranch and the show often uses his own horses, cattle, etc. on the set, Smith’s statement is one you can probably accept at face value no matter if you agree with the show’s tendency to depict animal mistreatment or not.
