A host of global celebrities has signed a letter backing radical climate activists Extinction Rebellion.
Among the stars to put their name to the missive – addressed to “journalists who have called us hypocrites” – are Benedict Cumberbatch, David Byrne, Thom Yorke, Ray Winstone and Mark Rylance.
Extinction Rebellion has organized protests around the Western world that have caused chaos in major cities.
They call for – among much else – a dramatic decrease in carbon emissions.
But the media and others have frequently attacked the movement’s celebrity backers for polluting the planet far more than the average person.
The letter starts by addressing those accusations of hypocrisy.
“You’re right,” it reads.
But it goes on: “We live high carbon lives and the industries that we are part of have huge carbon footprints. Like you – and everyone else – we are stuck in this fossil-fuel economy and without systemic change, our lifestyles will keep on causing climate and ecological harm.”
The letter adds that there is a “more urgent story” than their lifestyle, however.
“Life on earth is dying,” it explains. “We are living in the midst of the 6th mass extinction.”
The letter also appears to accuse the press of not writing honestly about climate change.
“The media exists to tell the public the truth,” it reads.
“Right now there has never been a more urgent need for you to educate yourselves on the CEE (Climate and Ecological Emergency) and to use your voices to reach new audiences with the truth.”
It adds: “The stories that you write calling us climate hypocrites will not silence us.”
To read the full letter, and to see the full list of signatories, click here.
