Hollywood author Adam McKay has defended the climate activists who vandalized Stonehenge on June 19th.
MacKay defended the act in an email that was blasted by Just Stop Oil, the British environmental activist group that organized and carried out the Stonehenge protest. Comparing the environmental activists' environmental activism to the women's suffrage and civil rights movements, MacKay argued that the urgency of the “climate crisis” could be used to justify defacing a monument that far predates the advent of fossil fuels with orange paint.
“Shocked to see Stonehenge dyed orange? Good riddance,” McKay wrote. “Such disruptive actions are designed to break the 24/7 cycle of business and culture as usual – to make us look up at a frightening reality and inspire us to take action. Because if we want to protect our history, our monuments, our art, our culture, our sport, and everything else we love in our society, we need humanity to move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible.” (Related article: Environmental activist who vandalized Stonehenge describes being bullied by fellow Americans who yelled “oil”)
🚨 Breaking News: Just Stop Oil Spray Stonehenge Orange
🔥 The two took action on the day before the summer solstice, demanding that the new administration sign a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030.
🧯 Help us take huge action — https://t.co/R20S8YQD1j pic.twitter.com/ufzO8ZiDWu
— Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) June 19, 2024
“Drawing inspiration from some of history's most influential movements, including women's suffrage, the civil rights movement and the labor movement, the organizers of this movement are not seeking mainstream approval or popularity,” McKay continued. “To be 'liked' they need approval from the very organizations that are contributing to runaway global warming caused by the fossil fuel industry, who must recognize that traditional, uncontroversial, internal tactics have failed and that we are on the verge of exceeding 1.5 degrees.”
Two activists from the group used a device resembling a fire extinguisher to spray orange paint on the prehistoric monument, leading to the arrest of both protesters. according to To National Review.
Just Stop Oil has attracted attention for the protests its members led before the destruction of Stonehenge, a British monument dating back thousands of years. according to to English Heritage. Previous stunts have included disrupting major sporting events, attempting to destroy the glass enclosure protecting one of the few surviving copies of the Magna Carta, and a number of acts at museums housing famous works of art. (Related: Wealthy Hollywood Celebrities Encourage Climate Extremists to Harm Regular People)
Tlaib wants climate activists to be more proactive. https://t.co/GcJYanK5IH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) June 20, 2023
“Stonehenge was the perfect place to sound the alarm. 5,000 years ago, it served as a place of healing, burial and solstice celebration for Early Neolithic and Bronze Age people, a place of worship for the sun and our beautiful planet,” McKay wrote in the letter. “It is hard not to imagine that these ancient peoples would have welcomed activists who temporarily desecrated their symbol in defense of humanity and our home planet.”
McKay is a prominent donor to the US non-profit Climate Emergency Fund (CEF), which is funding Just Stop Oil through the A22 Network, a coalition of similarly styled European climate activism groups, according to the CEF's 2023 report. Annual Report and A22 websiteOther notable donors to the CEF include oil tycoon Eileen Getty's charitable foundation, Abigail Disney and McKay's Hollywood associate Jeremy Strong.
McKay is director and executive producer of HBO's “Succession” and has also written popular comedies starring Will Ferrell, including “Step Brothers” and “The Other Guys.”
Beyond Just Stop Oil and the A22 Network, CEF has also funded disruptive protest groups across the U.S. CEF grantees in the U.S. include Climate Defiance, which has consistently targeted Democrats and Biden administration officials, and New York Communities for Change, an organization that has been involved in confrontational protests in the Hamptons and elsewhere.
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