People Just Do climate activism: ‘We don’t have to all be Greta’s level – but we can make small changes’
David Attenborough has warned us. Scientists have long been warning us. Prince Charles has warned us, and Greta Thunberg and even Leonardo DiCaprio, too.
Now, it’s the turn of Allan “Seapa” Mustafa and Hugo Chegwin – better known as everyone’s favourite pirate radio broadcasters MC Grindah and DJ Beats, from Brentford’s Kurupt FM and the hit, BAFTA-winning mockumentary series People Just Do Nothing – to step up and raise awareness of the climate crisis facing the planet.
The pair recently released a special edition of their podcast, Chattin’ Sh*t, to highlight the problem, and say they want to encourage others who might feel overwhelmed by the noise to find out more about the small changes everyone can make.
The stars were joined by Francisca Rockey, Gen Z climate activist and founder of Black Geographers, for the episode. Pic: Anthony Upton/PA
Speaking to Sky News, they are the first to admit they might be unlikely poster boys for the issue, but hope they can perhaps offer a different perspective to the politicians and experts who made headlines during the COP26 summit.
“It was a good opportunity to actually learn ourselves and make [the discussion] slightly more relatable,” says Mustafa, on recording the podcast. “In my circle, anyway, it’s not a subject that you sit and talk about, but you do realise that you have to make little changes – like people using metal bottles now, not using plastic. There’s all these little things that it’s just generally become part of normal everyday culture to think about more.”
Chattin Sh*t To Save The Planet features the pair talking to Gen Z climate activist Francisca Rockey and learning about the effects of everything from fast fashion to food consumption. The episode came about following research by Virgin Media O2 and environmental charity Global Action Plan, which found that many young people – and young men in particular – feel excluded from the conversation on climate change or are reluctant to engage online, as they don’t feel knowledgeable enough to get involved or worry about being judged for their views.
“I guess it’s people not wanting to get things wrong, people not wanting to make themselves look stupid,” says Mustafa. “And now to add to that is, if you’re looking at public platforms, people not wanting to get cancelled, ousted for having the ‘wrong’ information, the ‘wrong’ opinion.
“I just feel like you’ll never learn unless you try to talk about it. And it’s not [necessarily] about making a conscious effort to sit down and stage a conversation, but just making it a normal thing that’s part of your everyday life so you start talking about it naturally.”
Chegwin admits to having been “naive” about climate change in the past, and in the episode is subject to some teasing from Mustafa about changing his habits.
Over Zoom, he proudly holds his metal water bottle aloft. “It’s small changes,” he says. “It’s getting an understanding. I’m naive to all of this stuff but now I do want to make a conscious effort. I do recycle.”
People Just Do Nothing moved to the big screen with their first film, Big In Japan, earlier in 2021. Pic: Universal Pictures
“We joke about the fact that Hugo doesn’t care and I do,” says Mustafa. “Obviously that’s just two best mates like terrorising each other. Really and truly, we’re both learning at the same time and trying to do what we can.”
But it’s this kind of conversation that is likely to encourage people who might feel they cannot relate to politicians and scientists, or feel preached to by mega-rich stars for whom money is no object.
“I think it’s good for anyone to talk about it,” says Mustafa. “But when you put the news on you [can] feel like you’re getting ploughed with all this information in a language that’s almost designed to alienate people, that’s what I don’t like. That’s what makes it sound like this [issue] that doesn’t relate to us, but it’s not – it’s something that humans have been doing to destroy the Earth slowly, and we are part of that, so we need to look at that and talk about it.”
Hopefully, Chegwin says, they can get the message across to an audience that may not otherwise be engaging. “We don’t all have to be on Greta [Thunberg’s] level,” he says.
“It’s a massive problem that’s affecting all humans,” says Mustafa. “You shouldn’t have to have PhD-level information just to talk about it, but that’s sometimes how you’re made you feel.”
When Chegwin posted details of the podcast to almost 100,000 followers on his Instagram account, one of the first comments that comes up underneath falsely claims that “climate change is a scam”.
“That’s precisely what I’m talking about,” says Mustafa. “In their mind it’s the government and in their mind it’s a conspiracy, and it’s not on.”
Climate change is undeniable, says Chegwin. “It’s obvious. There’s fires, the weather is… the seasons are dramatically different. I don’t think that’s a conspiracy. Unless [the government] has got a weather weapon, which I doubt.”
So what advice do the People Just Do Nothing stars give?
“It’s the obvious, really, like recycling,” says Chegwin. “Be conscious of plastic use, also things like fast fashion – don’t feel pressure from Instagram, the online world, that you can’t wear the same clothes again.”
“We’re not the all-knowing gods on this subject,” says Mustafa. “So start looking into it yourself, you know? But it’s stuff like, cycle when you can, walk… plastic is a huge [issue], just be conscious of it.
“I think it’s just little things that you can do, but I say make your own education on it, man. This is just a gateway.”
Chattin’ Sh*t To Save The Planet with Virgin Media O2 is available now on Apple, Acast and Spotify
Entertainment
Jeff Bezos’s Venice wedding celebrations begin with star-studded party after fresh protests
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s star-studded wedding celebrations in Venice have begun, with VIP guests including the Kardashians descending on the Italian city.
The billionaire Amazon founder and his journalist fiancee waved to onlookers as they left a luxury hotel to travel to their pre-wedding reception by water taxi on Thursday evening.
Hollywood star Orlando Bloom was seen flashing a peace sign to fans as he left Venice’s Gritti Palace Hotel and he was soon followed by TV presenter Oprah Winfrey, who smiled and waved.
Orlando Bloom donning all white. Pic: Reuters
Oprah Winfrey is one of the 200-250 guests. Pic: Reuters
Kim and Khloe Kardashian travelled to the reception with their mother Kris Jenner – who snapped a picture of the pair on a water taxi – and other notable figures in town for the nuptials include Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
Kris Jenner snaps a photo of Khloe and Kim Kardashian. Pic: Reuters
Kim Kardashian gestures on a boat as Khloe appears to take a selfie.
Pic: Reuters
Some 200-250 A-list guests from showbusiness, politics and finance are expected to attend the events, with the wedding and its parts estimated to cost €40m-€48m (£34m-£41m).
Bezos, his soon-to-be wife and their famous guests have taken over numerous locations in the city, with the couple staying in the luxury Aman hotel, where rooms go for at least €4,000 per night.
The bride and groom leaving their hotel. Pic: AP
The first of the weekend’s many wedding parties is taking place in the cloisters of Madonna dell’Orto, a medieval church that hosts masterpieces by 16th century painter Tintoretto.
While the couple and their A-list guests were all smiles, some in Venice are not happy about the wedding – with protesters seeing it as an example of the city being gift-wrapped for ultra-rich outsiders.
Read more: Why are activists protesting the wedding?
An activist from Extinction Rebellion unfolds a banner in front of St Mark’s Basilica. Pic: AP
An activist climbed one of the poles in the main St Mark’s Square on Thursday, unfurling a banner which said: “The 1% ruins the world.”
Elsewhere, a life-size mannequin of Bezos clutching an Amazon box was dropped into one of the city’s famous canals.
In a bid to keep demonstrators away from Thursday’s party, the city council banned pedestrians and water traffic from the area surrounding the venue, from 4.30pm local time to midnight.
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Bezos wedding protests explained
The couple will exchange their vows on Friday, on the small island of San Giorgio, opposite St Mark’s Square.
Another party will follow on Saturday – the venue for which was changed at the last-minute earlier this week.
Entertainment
Convicted killer jailed for stalking Cheryl admits another restraining order breach after turning up at her home
A convicted killer previously jailed for stalking Girls Aloud singer Cheryl has admitted another breach of his restraining order after turning up at her home.
Daniel Bannister, 50, pleaded guilty to the new charge at Reading Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Confirming his plea, he told the court he attended an address he “reasonably believed or suspected” was the star’s home.
A court previously heard Bannister “can’t stay away” from the 41-year-old singer.
He was jailed for 16 weeks in March for repeatedly turning up at Cheryl‘s Buckinghamshire home while under a restraining order.
He had initially been jailed for four months in September last year and was handed a three-year restraining order, which he breached when he turned up at her home unannounced in December 2024.
At the March hearing, Cheryl said she “immediately panicked” when he rang the bell at the gate and was “terrified” when she saw him – fearing for the safety of her eight-year-old son Bear.
Cheryl in June 2022. Pic: PA
In 2012, Bannister killed 48-year-old Rajendra Patel in an attack at a south London YMCA shelter and pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
He was remanded in custody on Friday and will appear at Reading Crown Court on 23 September.
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Bear’s father, former One Direction star Liam Payne, died last October in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after falling from his third-floor hotel balcony.
Cheryl described his death as “indescribably painful“, as she voiced fears about protecting their son.
Sean “Diddy” Combs led a criminal enterprise for two decades, using “power, violence and fear” to carry out brutal crimes, believing his “fame, wealth and power” put him above the law, a prosecutor has told his trial.
Christy Slavik spoke for nearly five hours, as she presented the prosecution’s closing arguments after more than six weeks of testimony and 34 witnesses.
Prosecutor Christy Slavik pictured outside court earlier this week. Pic: AP
She began by describing the 55-year-old music mogul, telling the court: “He’s the leader of a criminal enterprise. He doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. And now you know about many crimes he committed with members of his enterprise.”
She said charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy were supported by proof that over two decades, Combs kidnapped one of his employees, committed arson by trying to blow up fellow rapper Kid Cudi’s car, engaged in forced labour, bribed a security officer and carried out the “brutal crimes at the heart of this case.”
Ms Slavik said Combs “again and again forced, threatened and manipulated” his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura and an ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym Jane into drugged-up, elaborate sexual performances, dubbed “freak offs” or “hotel” or “king nights”.
“The defendant used power, violence and fear to get what he wanted,” she said. “He thought that his fame, wealth and power put him above the law.”
Combs is charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, two charges of sex trafficking, and two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has strenuously denied all allegations of sexual abuse.
Read more:
Everything you need to know about the trial
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
What we learned from Cassie’s testimony
Ms Slavik said Combs used a “small army” of employees – his trusted inner circle of staff including bodyguards and assistants – to “serve his needs,” covering up his harm to women in the process.
Homing in on the racketeering charge against him, she said, while Combs was already “very powerful”, he became even more so with the support of his business.
US Attorney Christy Slavik. Pic: Reuters/Jane Rosenberg
She said Combs and his inner circle “committed hundreds of racketeering acts,” including drug distribution, kidnapping, arson and witness tampering.
They listed drugs such as cocaine, meth, ketamine, Oxycodone and MDMA, that Combs’s assistants said they procured for him, or that federal agents said they found during raids of his multiple homes.
During parts of the evidence, Combs looked dejected, sitting with his head down, and with his chair pushed back from the defence table. At one point, when video footage of Combs appearing to beat Cassie at the InterContinental Hotel was shown to the court, he looked away.
Combs has been in a New York jail since his arrest in September last year. If convicted on all counts, he could face a minimum 15-year prison term and could be sentenced to life behind bars.
The 12-member jury must be unanimous to convict Combs on any of the counts.
Defence lawyers have conceded that Combs was involved in domestic violence but say he committed no federal crimes.
They say the women took part in the “freak offs” willingly and that there was no racketeering conspiracy because none of his employees agreed to be part of any conspiracy. They say the drugs procured were for his own personal use.
But in her closing argument, Ms Slavik said employees repeatedly agreed to commit crimes for Combs, such as delivering him drugs, accompanying him to kidnap his personal assistant, Capricorn Clark, and locking his girlfriend in a hotel room after he stomped on her face.
In her conclusion, she said proof of Combs’s guilt had been demonstrated, adding: “Before today, he was able to get away with it due to his money, power and influence, but that stops now…
“It is time to hold him accountable, it is time for justice, and it’s time to find him guilty.”
On Friday, Combs’s lead attorney Marc Agnifilo will give his closing argument, followed by the government’s rebuttal.
Judge Arun Subramanian says he will instruct the jury on the law later that day, allowing them to begin deliberating as early as late afternoon.
The trial continues.
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