--- title: 'Blackfish': SeaWorld Boss Resigns After Film Cripples Reputation description: SeaWorld boss resigns after 'Blackfish' wreaks havoc on attendance at parks canonical: https://time.com/3631213/seaworld-blackfish-ceo-resigns-animal-rights/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-12T03:57:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T02:48:10.753Z article:section: Business og:title: SeaWorld Boss Resigns og:description: The enterprise’s share price dropped by more than 40% in 2014. og:url: https://time.com/3631213/seaworld-blackfish-ceo-resigns-animal-rights/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cb882a9751d1a34/69876e613c1639d7934509a8/seaworld.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Killler Whale Calf At SeaWorld San Diego og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: SeaWorld Boss Resigns twitter:description: The enterprise’s share price dropped by more than 40% in 2014. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cb882a9751d1a34/69876e613c1639d7934509a8/seaworld.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # SeaWorld Chief Resigns After _Blackfish_ Film Damages Firm's Reputation by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Dec 12, 2014 3:57 AM CUT  A baby killer whale calf nurses from its mother at SeaWorld San Diego's Shamu Stadium on Dec. 4, 2014 in San Diego A baby killer whale calf nurses from its mother at SeaWorld San Diego's Shamu Stadium on Dec. 4, 2014 in San DiegoGetty Images by [David Stout](/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout Dec 12, 2014 3:57 AM CUT SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment’s chief executive Jim Atchison [announced](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30438924 "undefined") plans to resign this week as the company struggles to attract visitors to their parks since the release of the 2013 film _Blackfish_, according to the BBC. The critically acclaimed documentary revolves around the alleged mistreatment of the amusement park’s orcas and the gruesome deaths of several of the animals’ trainers. SeaWorld’s current board chairman David D’Alessandro is set to serve as the corporation’s interim chief executive and will help manage a reorganization that aims to save $50 million by the end of next year. \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/business-30438924 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3631213/seaworld-blackfish-ceo-resigns-animal-rights/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3631213/seaworld-blackfish-ceo-resigns-animal-rights/"},"headline":"SeaWorld Chief Resigns After Blackfish Film Damages Firm's Reputation","datePublished":"2014-12-12T03:57:28.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:48:10.753Z","description":"The enterprise’s share price dropped by more than 40% in 2014","url":"https://time.com/3631213/seaworld-blackfish-ceo-resigns-animal-rights/","keywords":["Companies","Animal Rights","SeaWorld"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cb882a9751d1a34/69876e613c1639d7934509a8/seaworld.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cb882a9751d1a34/69876e613c1639d7934509a8/seaworld.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Killler Whale Calf At SeaWorld San Diego","caption":"Killler Whale Calf At SeaWorld San Diego","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3631213/seaworld-blackfish-ceo-resigns-animal-rights/","name":"SeaWorld Chief Resigns After Blackfish Film Damages Firm's Reputation"}}]}] ```