Filmmaker Michael Bay charged with killing pigeon in Italy

Michael Bay has been charged over the death of a pigeon.

The 57-year-old director has been hit with the murder of a bird in connection to an alleged incident in 2018 when he was filming Netflix movie 6 Underground in Rome, Italy, where it is illegal to harm or kill wild birds.

But sources connected to the production insisted all the homing pigeons used in the movie landed safely during filming.

An insider told TMZ: "Everyone knows Michael is an animal activist. This would never happen on his set. There are dozens of witnesses who said that this didn't happen."

Italian prosecutors alleged the pigeon was killed by a camera dolly and that someone from the set saw the incident happen, taking photos before reporting it to law enforcement.

Michael isn't accused of personally killing the bird but is being held responsible for the incident because of his position of director.

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He is said to have tried to get the case thrown out several times, and also declined the option to settle the allegations by paying a small fine, insisting he simply wouldn't plead guilty to harming an animal.

Ryan Reynolds starred in '6 Underground' and he previously admitted he feared he was "gonna die" during a car chase scene they shot in Italy for the vigilante blockbuster.

He said: "There's a car chase in this movie that's unlike anything else, a ride round Florence that's totally wild, speeding in a Day-Glo green Alfa Romeo at 150mph down narrow walkways that should never be used for anything but walking.

"I thought I was gonna die. Weirdly enough, it was Michael Bay's life that flashed before my eyes. That was strange."