American rock musician and actor Meat Loaf has said that teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg “has been brainwashed” into believing that climate change exists.
The 72-year-old rock star, born Marvin Lee Aday, made the bold claim during an interview with the Daily Mail on Wednesday after admitting he’s skeptical about global warming.
“I feel for that Greta,” said the Bat Out of Hell singer. “She has been brainwashed into thinking that there is climate change and there isn’t.”
Aday continued: “She hasn’t done anything wrong but she’s been forced into thinking that what she is saying is true.”
Frank Gunn / CP Images
Frank Gunn/CP Images
Thunberg, the 17-year-old Swede, rose to global stardom last September after making her historic speech at the United Nations’ 2019 Climate Action Summit in New York City.
During her infamous speech, Thunberg attacked various world leaders for failing to take strong measures to combat climate change: “How dare you,” she said.
She said: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”
“You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal.
“The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.”
“We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not.”
Aday’s choice words about Thunberg prompted many on social media to criticize him for his beliefs.
While some poked fun at the self-proclaimed “sex god,” suggesting his career was no longer relevant, most backed Thunberg and her “science-based opinions, whether they listened to Meat Loaf or not.
Here’s what some Twitter users had to say:
“Imagine how hard Greta Thunberg must have laughed after someone had to explain to her who Meat Loaf even is,” tweeted another user.
Rather than directly criticize or defend herself against the Rocky Horror Picture Show star, Thunberg took to Twitter on Monday morning writing about the importance of being aware of climate change.
“It’s not about Meatloaf [sic],” she wrote. “It’s not about me. It’s not about what some people call me,” she continued. “It’s not about left or right.”
Thunberg added: “It’s all about scientific facts and that we’re not aware of the situation.”
“Unless we start to focus everything on this,” wrote the teen, “our targets will soon be out of reach.”
Furthermore, Thunberg included global emissions statistics from a U.K.-based website — Carbon Brief — which focuses on the analysis and fact-checking of energy policy and climate change science.
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