Just Stop Oil protests: Bob Geldof reveals why he thought climate activists who threw soup on a Van Gogh painting were ‘clever’
Bob Geldof has backed climate change protesters who threw tomato soup over Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting – saying they were “1,000% right” in their actions.
The 71-year-old musician, said it had been “clever” to deface the famous 1888 painting while it was covered with a glass screen, because people would only view the act as annoying – and “annoying is quite good”.
The masterpiece – which has an estimated value of £72.5m – was hanging in the National Gallery when it was targeted by two women from the Just Stop Oil group earlier this month.
The women, who also stuck their hands to the wall with super glue, were charged with criminal damage and aggravated trespass.
The National Gallery has said there is “minor damage” to the frame of the painting, but the work is “unharmed” and is now back on display.
Geldof, a long-standing climate and humanitarian campaigner, told Radio Times: “The climate activists are 1,000% right! And 1,000% I support them.
“It’s offensive to destroy Van Gogh’s genius. That achieves nothing. But it was clever to throw it on the glass knowing it wouldn’t be destroyed.
“That’s just annoying. And annoying is quite good.
“I was driving to Hyde Park when the Extinction Rebellion people blocked it and I was f****** furious.
“But I wasn’t railing against them. I was thinking, ‘If I was 18, would I be there?’ and the answer is yes.
“Annoying people into policy change may not work. Does that mean I’m against their passion? Their anger? Their bravery? No.
“Would I put up with it? They’re not killing anyone. Climate change will.”
The throwing of the tomato soup is the latest in a series of actions by the climate activists, who are demanding the government halts all new oil and gas licences and consents.
On Monday, the Madame Tussauds waxwork model of King Charles III was smeared with chocolate cake, in what Just Stop Oil said was their 24th day of civil unrest.
On Sunday, the group praised activists in Germany who threw mashed potato over Claude Monet’s Les Meules painting, which sold for $110m in 2019.
Previous protests have included activists gluing themselves on to the famous Abbey Road crossing in London, scaling the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge 200ft (60m) above the Dartford Crossing, and spraying the Aston Martin showroom in London’s Park Lane with orange paint.
During the Radio Times interview, Geldof also addressed the issue of some Western activists being labelled as “white saviours” for their humanitarian work.
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Asked whether he feels charities try too hard to steer clear of such criticism, he replied: “I don’t think most people give a f*** about that.
“It’s just a wormhole that people have disappeared down, where everything can be deconstructed. But it’s trite and silly, in my view.
“If someone is hurt and I personally see it, and I’m aware of it, I’ll do what I can to make them less hurt… black saviours, white saviours, green saviours, brown saviours, I’m with them all.”
The full interview is in the current edition of Radio Times.
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