The premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was disrupted by Extinction Rebellion protesters, who invaded the red carpet event in London.
The activists were dressed as Star Wars characters made their presence felt at the event before security intervened and dragged them away.
The XR protesters were able to sneak into the fans’ area, which was positioned outside Leicester Square’s cinema.
The eight ‘rebels’ from the Bristol branch of Extinction Rebellion, rushed the red carpet and lay down holding up signs.
They wanted film industry bigwigs to “tell the story of the climate crisis,” and the actions of XR led to the Star Wars’ main players being moved off the red carpet and unable to greet those in the fans’ zone.
(Image: Facebook)
The XR activists were joined by filmmakers who called themselves Film Strike for Climate.
An XR spokesman said the protest “only lasted a few moments” before their members were “peacefully removed”.
Alfie Warren-Knight, founder of #FilmStrikeforClimate explained the motives behind the red carpet invasion.
(Image: Facebook)
In a statement, he said: “At the world government summit in Dubai, Harrison Ford said ‘We are faced with, I believe, the greatest moral crisis of our time’.
“The film industry must use its influence and story-telling powers to help people around the world understand the urgency of the situation and to spark wide-spread public discussion about the climate and ecological emergency before it’s too late.
“It has shown in the past how it can mobilise around other important issues in society such as the #MeToo movement.
“The industry must show a brighter future is still possible, and inspire people to rise up against the ‘Evil Empire’ of ecocidal business-as-usual.
(Image: Facebook)
“We need radical culture and system change to prevent climate and ecological breakdown, and must join forces to improve our chances of a liveable future.”
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