Standing on the deck of Berta Cáceres, the now-iconic pink boat, Emma Thompson addressed a sprawling crowd of protestors and gave a slew of media interviews. It was April 2019, Extinction Rebellion had occupied Oxford Circus in London, and the actress was eager to lend her headline-generating celebrity status to the group’s cause.
As it turned out, however, the tabloids told a different story. “Dame Emma Jets 5,400 Miles to Show How Green She Is!”, the Daily Mail crowed. In subsequent months, it went on to gloat “Emma Thompson Admits She is a Hypocrite for Flying Round the World While Protesting Climate Change”, as if to confirm its initial cod-outrage had been vindicated.