Climate activist Greta Thunberg has another celebrity supporter, this time in ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus.
The 16 year old, who has captured the world’s attention – praise and criticism – for her protests and unabashed savagery when it comes to messages and their delivery, has become a symbol of unrest within the youth and population set to be directly affected by climate change and the ignorance of those in power.
Thunberg has also become the subject of inevitable memes and internet attention, while her UN speech went viral even further after being given the heavy metal treatment.
Still, Thunberg’s effect on others is prompting people to use their own platforms in voicing their concerns and bringing them to the higher ups. In an interview with The Irish Times, Ulvaeus took aim at those who had belittled Thunberg (namely US President Donald Trump and Piers Morgan).
“How can you stoop so low as to criticise the looks of a child? Young people need role models and as such, Greta is a blessing in the world of influenzas and reality TV stars.” he said.
“The spin off of the greater effect is that the patriarchy is pissing in their pants in fear of a 16 year old girl with superpowers. She has become a populist nightmare. She says signs and enlightenment are what we need right now, not stale old nationalism and conspiracy theories.”
A welcome intervention in favour of @GretaThunberg…she is more than capable of defending herself, but personal testimonies supporting her (from all generations) help counter the poison of trolling climate science deniers.
via @IrishTimeshttps://t.co/KnWhMBosFh— Kevin O'Sullivan (@KOSullivanIT) October 4, 2019
In other ABBA-related news, Ulvaeus has pretty much squashed any fans’ dreams of ever seeing the iconic group take to Glastonbury.
Speaking on BBC Radio 2 on Friday, he simply said, “Oh, no. It’s a straight, straight no.” when asked if ABBA would be taking part in the 50th anniversary of the British festival event.
“We recorded some new songs and you’ll probably hear them next year, at least one of them, but that’s quite a different thing from going through the hassle of rehearsing and – just one show, it would be the same as doing a whole year of tours. It would take 10 years out of our life.”
