Gary Lineker has hit out at a GMB interview with a climate campaigner, saying Richard Madely was "deeply patronising and dismissive". The interview, which aired on Good Morning Britain on Monday, April 11, saw climate activist Miranda Whelehan grilled by presenter Richard Madely, who has been described as a "bully" and "patronising" by social media users.
The former footballer said: "The protest, whether you agree with them or not, got the eloquent young woman on to national television to talk about the likely catastrophe. Madely is deeply patronising and dismissive of someone who understands their future is in grave danger. Desperate times and all that..."
During the interview, Madely accused the 'Just Stop Oil' slogan of being childish, calling it "Very playground-ish, isn’t it, it’s very Vicky Pollard, it’s quite childish. 'Just stop Oil, I mean, come on, there's more to say than that.” Exasperated, Whelehan quickly responded that the answers are actually "very simple" and that "we need to stop new oil licensing in the country."
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The presenter then moved on to the protests that have seen activists disrupting the lives of everyday people. He said: "They deeply resent having their personal lives interrupted by the actions of people like you are taking."
Madely appeared keen to keep pressing the guest however, stating they had had no positive responses from viewers about the protests. Whelehan countered that the latest IPCC reports published stated the world was on the road towards three degrees of warming that could cause a "climate catastrophe". She added: "We have a moral responsibility to act now."
Another guest on the show, journalist Lowri Turner, was also keen to voice her view, accusing the campaigner of getting involved for "ego", calling the barricades an "eco-festival". Whelehan, shocked by the accusations, highlighted once again the seriousness of what scientists and academics are predicting.
Presenter Ranvir Singh added her thoughts also, stating that repeating the facts wasn't tackling the issue that activists were encroaching on the lives of ordinary people, rather than the Government. Whelehan, visibly tiring of the presenters refusing to listen to the seriousness of the situation, explained that peaceful protests and asking for conversations with the government don't work, thus they are left to more extreme measures.
Lineker later took to Twitter once more, praising the activist and shaming the interviewers. He wrote: "Seeing the interview in its entirety is sickening, but at the same time the bullying & patronising nature of it is getting plenty of coverage for what is the most crucial time for our future existence on this planet. Only one person came out of this well & that’s Miranda Whelehan."
Others shared Lineker's views, with one Twitter user Joe Hislop writing: "The parallels with scenes from Don’t Look Up were hard to ignore in that shambles of an interview, or should I say three-person attack" Like stories like this? Get all our latest news straight to your inbox for free with our newsletters.
