Just Stop Oil have been urged to “get a grip” after their latest “revenge” demonstration, taking aim at Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork for a second time.
The demonstrators descended on the National Gallery on Friday as two other members, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, were jailed for vandalising Van Gogh’s infamous painting “Sunflowers” in 2022.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that three people were arrested on suspicion of “criminal damage” and were taken into custody following the incident.
In defence of the protest, 71-year-old Just Stop Oil member Ludi Simpson said their actions were “from the heart and the head”.
Just Stop Oil have sparked fierce criticism after their copy-cat protest targeting Vincent Van Gogh’s artworks
GB News / Just Stop Oil
Hitting out at the protest group, commentator Clare Muldoon said they need to “get a grip”, and all the members do is “annoy people” with their actions.
Muldoon fumed: “They say they don’t disrupt, well they do disrupt – and all they’re doing is just completely, undeniably annoying people.
“It’s an ideology, it’s become a religion for some people and it’s really quite worrying.”
Agreeing with Muldoon, political commentator Jo Philips offered her thoughts on the latest Just Stop Oil protest and suggested that the group should “be more witty” with their stunts.
The 1888 “Sunflowers” painting has been covered with soup for the second time after Plummer and Holland were sent to prison
Just Stop Oil
Philips told GB News: “Frankly, if you’re going to attack a painting in an art gallery with soup, at least be a little bit witty and use Campbell’s.
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“They’ve thrown orange powder at Stonehenge, at Wimbledon, the snooker and a flower show – these are all things that are not actually dependent on oil or fossil fuels. I didn’t understand what the sunflower link was either, but they said it was it was making the point.”
Infuriated by Plummer’s statement in court before her sentencing, where she claimed she was a “political prisoner” who is “on the right side of history”, Philips stated that she should “stop being so ludicrous and self-indulgent”.
Philips added: “She’s not a suffragette and she’s fighting for anybody else. They do not attract the support of the people that they need to go on this journey with them.”
However, Muldoon also offered criticism of the courts for sentencing them to prison for two years and 20 months respectively, noting that other crimes, such as sexual offences, have allowed people to walk free from court.
Clare Muldoon was outraged at the stunt by Just Stop Oil, telling them to ‘get a grip’
GB News
Muldoon told GB News: “The difference is of course, in the judicial system in this country, if you throw something at a piece of art, you get tried in a Crown Court, not a Magistrates Court – unlike Huw Edwards, and some other paedophiles in this country.
“Two years for Anna and Phoebe, with one getting an extra three months because they held something up before they went in, I think is just ridiculous.”
Echoing Muldoon’s remarks, Philips added: “We know what they’re trying to achieve, and I don’t necessarily disagree with their aims, but I think going about it like this, it just looks like playtime.”