Oscar-winning Hollywood director who helps fund Just Stop Oil is accused of hypocrisy after he emerged he has an eight-bedroom holiday home 5,000 miles away in Ireland where he flies away ‘when the going gets tough’
A Hollywood director helping fund Just Stop Oil has been accused of hypocrisy over his lavish vacation home in Ireland, 5,000 miles from his Los Angeles base.
Oscar-winning actor Adam McKay, whose films include Big Short and Don’t Look Up, is part of a group of multi-millionaires behind the Climate Emergency Fund.
The Beverly Hills-based fund raises money from its mega-wealthy supporters and distributes it to ‘disruptive’ activists, including donating nearly £1million to help Just Stop Oil wreak havoc in the UK.
Mr McKay is director of the fund and has donated more than £3.2million to it to support the ‘recruitment and training’ of groups including UK activists.
During a webinar last year, he pledged to help Just Stop Oil in any way he could and was even willing to be arrested for their cause.
Oscar-winning actor Adam McKay (pictured with his wife), whose films include Big Short and Don’t Look Up, is part of a group of multi-millionaires behind the Climate Emergency Fund
Chris Packham joins Just Stop Oil activists as they form an ongoing protest in central London on May 26, 2023
Despite his financial commitment to the environment, the director, who owns a £6million home in Los Angeles, described how he spends his holidays at his eight-bedroom second home in rural Ireland.
A 2020 Architectural Digest interview with Mr McKay and his wife, fellow writer-director Shira Piven, described how ‘when the going gets tough’ the couple ‘take refuge in their 12-acre getaway in the Celtic countryside’ ‘.
Details of his holiday home emerged as Just Stop Oil fanatics were branded ‘absolute morons’ last week for permanently damaging a sustainable garden at the Chelsea Flower Show by throwing orange powder paint on it .
The group have also been criticized for a series of slow marches in London this week that have caused chaos among commuters – and on one occasion a worker was handcuffed by police as he tried to move them.
The Climate Emergency Fund was launched in 2019 after the three founders’ multi-million pound homes in the exclusive California ocean town of Malibu nearly burned down in bushfires they attributed to climate change.
These included Aileen Getty, the granddaughter of billionaire oil tycoon Jean Paul Getty, and Rory Kennedy, the daughter of Senator Robert Kennedy.
The third founder, investor Trevor Neilson, who is listed as the owner of a £2.1million house in Malibu, said he wanted to support ‘disruptive activists’ after being disappointed by the slow pace of the approach of mainstream environmental groups.
But while the Climate Emergency Fund kicked off due to concerns close to home, much of the money it has raised has been sent thousands of miles away to help activists disrupt lives in the Kingdom. -United.
It has handed out £4m in grants in 2022, much of it going to 11 groups – including Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain in the UK.
Adam McKay wears a Just Stop Oil t-shirt as he openly supports the band in the photo shared on social media
On its website, the fund brags about the chaos caused by Just Stop Oil and has posted a link to a report on the protest at the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
In its annual report, it hails road blockades in Britain by militants which have caused huge problems for commuters.
Gareth Johnson, the Tory MP for Dartford, said the fact that Hollywood stars were helping to disrupt the lives of hard-working Britons has hurt their cause.
“It’s ironic that these people say they want to help the planet while at the same time one of them seems to be harming it by going to a vacation home thousands of miles away.
“I’m sure these multimillionaires wouldn’t like their travel plans disrupted, but they’re only too happy for travel plans or ordinary people to be disrupted.”
Representatives for McKay, the Climate Emergency Fund and Just Stop Oil did not respond to a request for comment.
