Model, lawyer and actor Peya Jannatul has criticised brands for using the suffering of a motherless baby monkey as promotional “content”.

A video of the orphaned monkey from Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan recently went viral on social media. In the clip, the baby monkey is seen clinging to a soft toy as if it were its only source of comfort. The emotional footage moved many viewers.

However, she expressed disappointment over how some brands responded to the viral video. In a Facebook post, Peya wrote that while the video was heartbreaking — “a small creature just looking for a little affection” — she was disturbed to see brands tagging the monkey and attaching its story to their own products.

Criticising the trend of turning distress into marketing material, she said writing emotional captions for promotional purposes felt “selfish”. “Even a baby animal’s suffering is now content,” she wrote, adding that using an animal’s emotions for profit is wrong.

Referring to Ramadan, she noted that fasting allows people to understand hunger before iftar and urged followers to consider the plight of animals who go without food daily.

In her concluding message, she called on her followers to extend compassion during the holy month. “Please let us be a little more humane. If possible, offer some food and care,” she wrote.