Climate activist sticks to the studio table in a TV show

Netherlands
Activist is supposed to talk about climate protests on a talk show – and sticks to the studio table

A climate activist from the Netherlands appeared as a guest on a talk show – and blew up the show: he climbed onto the studio table and glued himself to it.

In order to put more emphasis on their demands for more consistent climate protection, climate activists sometimes resort to radical measures: in the past, some of them stuck to streets or works of art. In order to discuss the usefulness of such protest actions, the television channel RTL in the Netherlands invited an activist to a talk show.

Obviously, however, neither the editors nor the presenter expected that the guest would demonstrate very tangibly how such protests work – and would use the television show as a stage for it. Jelle de Graaf, representative of the group Extinction Rebellion, climbed onto the table in the studio and glued his palms to it under the perplexed gaze of the presenter and the other guests. Extinction Rebellion then shared a video of the protest on Twitter.

Climate activist appeals for media responsibility

“Hunger in Kenya, floods in Pakistan and Nigeria, extreme heat waves: the climate crisis is affecting us and threatening us all. But governments, companies and the media are carrying on as before,” de Graaf later explained on his Twitter account. In order to “uncover this absurdity”, he glued himself to the table on the talk show.

With the campaign, De Graaf apparently also wanted to appeal to the responsibility of the media in the climate crisis: “You have a duty to report truthfully on the climate and ecological crisis. You do not fulfill this duty. All of our lives are at stake,” said he sitting on the table. In his opinion, climate change has not received enough attention since the beginning of the corona pandemic.

Climate protectors are carried out of the studio – including the table

After a brief moment of surprise, the program continued, but the moderator described the type of protest during the live show as “not very likeable and civilized”. He criticized the fact that the other guests did not get a chance to speak. During a commercial break, the climate activist was carried out of the studio with the table (or vice versa). De Graaf even fell off the table. The presenter then announced the man was backstage and doing well.

The topic of the program was the protests by climate protectionists in the past few weeks. They mainly targeted works of art: paintings by Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet were smeared with tomato sauce and mashed potatoes. There are also regular protests in which activists stick to the streets and cause traffic chaos.

Sources: Extinction Rebellion Netherlands on Twitter / Jelle de Graaf on Twitter / NOS / NL Times