Michael Bay accused of killing a pigeon in Italy

Director Michael Bay was charged with the murder of a pigeon on the set of Netflix's 6 Underground in Italy in 2018.

Bay has denied the allegations and has reportedly tried several times to contact Italian authorities to clarify the matter.

“I am a well-known animal lover and major animal activist,” Bay told TheWrap in a statement. "No animals involved in the production were hurt or harmed. Or on any other production I've worked on for the past 30 years."

The director is confident he has enough evidence to clear the film's production of these charges; evidence that includes witnesses and security agents.

“We have clear video evidence, a multitude of witnesses and security officials who exonerate us from these allegations,” Bay said. "And refutes their only paparazzi photo - which gives a false story."

Finally, Bay said he was offered to pay a small fine to fix the problem, but refused to pay because he had no intention of pleading guilty.

"The Italian authorities offered me a chance to settle this case by paying a small fine, but I refused to do so because I would not plead guilty to harming an animal," Bay said.

Italy has a national law that forbids harming or killing pigeons, as the country considers them a protected species. The court case against Bay is currently ongoing, so further specific details are currently under wraps.