Near of a year ago, HBO fans were stunned to learn that despite the critical acclaim of Dustin Hoffman's horse-racing drama 'Luck,' persistent animal cruelty complaints and a third horse's death led to the network shutting down production shortly after beginning a second season. Now, following series star Dustin Hoffman's accusations against PETA and TMZ of misrepresenting conditions, the animal rights movement has issued its own response to the star. Get the latest on the 'Luck' controversy inside!

The 'Luck' controversy may have ended with the show's cancellation nearly a year ago, midway through production on a second season, but that hasn't stopped series star Dustin Hoffman from stirring things up again. A recent interview with Fox411 saw Hoffman talking about the cancellation, claiming that poor reporting on the part of TMZ and PETA exaggerated the controversy, forcing HBO to shut the series down.

“Anyone who raises horses know they break their legs,” says Hoffman. “The accusations they made were distorted. Every time we’d race the horses we’d rest them. They’d race 20 seconds, then we’d rest them for an hour. I think [PETA] were looking to get contributions." Hoffman also mentioned some of the PETA distortions listed by an article from horse-racing website The Paulick Report, with which TMZ has since claimed to be in line.

Now, PETA too has fired back against Hoffman in a statement obtained by Entertainment Weekly, saying:

Dustin Hoffman must have a really cold streak running through his heart, as he isn’t hesitant to disrespect whistleblowers and animals to advance his agenda. PETA wrote to him on two separate occasions urging him to use his position to help improve welfare conditions for the horses on the set of Luck after we were contacted by a dozen whistleblowers who were part of his production. Had he taken PETA’s warnings seriously instead of ignoring them, the life of the third horse could have been spared, the show might still be on the air, and his crew might still have their jobs.

What do you think? Is Hoffman accurate in saying that the horse treatment on the set of 'Luck' was misrepresented? Was PETA right to begin such a vocal campaign against the series? Give us your thoughts on the 'Luck' controversy in the comments!

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