The White House is fuming over a new anti-fur campaign featuring first lady Michelle Obama.

She appears alongside Oprah Winfrey, Carrie Underwood and Tyra Banks -- who have all refused to wear real fur -- in "Fur-Free and Fabulous," PETA's new ad, which was unveiled last week and can be seen at Washington, D.C.-area Metro stations and on the group's website.

But the White House maintains that PETA had no right to use the image of the first lady in its new ads.

PETA president Ingrid Newkirk insists her organization wouldn't have sought Obama's consent for the ad because it knows that she can't make such an endorsement.

"The fact is that Michelle Obama has issued a statement indicating that she doesn't wear fur, and the world should know that in PETA's eyes, that makes her pretty fabulous," she said in a press statement.

PETA senior vice president Dan Mathews added that Obama should be flattered. Introducing the campaign, he said: "By rejecting fur, these style icons demonstrate to the world that fur is old-fashioned and cruel."

SOURCE