Actresses rebuked for posting video of one of them touching sea turtle while in Hawai‘i

Two actresses and their father/manager contacted Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources officials Monday to apologize for creating a social media outburst by posting a video of one of the women touching a sea turtle while the other videotaped.

The Instagram post by actress China McClain — perhaps best known for her roles on Disney’s “A.N.T. Farm” and The CW’s “Black Lightning” — was taken down by midday March 3 after garnering tens of thousands of reactions and more than 2,000 comments, many of which pleading for the video to be removed and an apology for potential cultural insensitivity.

Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green was among them.

“I was not fully aware of the situation until today, and I certainly wasn’t aware of the laws,” the 26-year-old McClain told Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources. “The video was from 2 years ago when we visited Hawai‘i and I came across it in my phone and decided to post it.”

She has more than 7 million followers on Instagram.

McClain and her actress sister Sierra — best known for her roles in the TV series “9-1-1: Lone Star” and “Empire” on Fox as well as the Netflix original series “Mindhunter” and Tyler Perry’s 2007 “Daddy’s Little Girls” — said they are sorry.

They didn’t understand the impact the video would have.

“It’s the people I don’t want to hurt. I understand respecting culture, and I understand the pain that comes with not having your culture respected,” McClain said. “Those are never lines that we cross intentionally, so that part of this situation is hurting us right now. I adore these beautiful turtles, and the people of Hawai‘i. We’re very sorry.”

“We have an immense amount of respect for the residents of Hawai’i and their intent to safeguard their land and their wildlife, and we plan to take the necessary precautions in the future when traveling,” added the 30-year-old Sierra McClain.

State and federal agencies charged with protecting marine species such as Hawaiian sea turtles became aware of the post Monday. The state Land Department made multiple phone calls and sent emails to the McClains, their managers, publicists, record labels and production companies to ask that the post be removed.

“We want people to know that China was not aware of the laws, and we appreciate that people and the agencies reached out,” said their father and manager Michael McClain. “All our family loves and respects Hawai‘i and we apologize for inadvertently causing this pain.”

Touching turtles is not necessarily breaking the law unless law enforcement agencies determine that the actions are a “take.”

For example, if a person’s actions in some way harm a turtle or alter a turtle’s behaviors, there are a variety of state and/or federal laws with which a person could be charged.

“On its face, their activity may not have been a violation of state or federal rules that protect endangered or threatened species like turtles, but it certainly ignored wildlife viewing guidelines developed by [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration], the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the [Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources],” said state Land Department officials.

The public is reminded to:

• Keep at least 10 feet away from sea turtles.
• Avoid touching, chasing, feeding, or interfering with adults and hatchlings.
• Avoid blocking their access to or from the ocean.

As this incident was not directly witnessed or reported by anyone, it is difficult for state or federal conservation law enforcement agencies to establish intent.

For many years, the agencies have conducted extensive outreach to spread awareness about Hawai‘i wildlife viewing protocols.

Brian Neilson, administrator of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources, said that while it was probably not intentional, this is not a pono way to interact with Hawaiian wildlife.

“We encourage the sharing of positive behaviors on social media to inspire others to appreciate and protect our beautiful surroundings,” said Neilson.