What does Taylor Swift’s private jet and the UK’s Stonehenge monument have in common? One would be quick to answer “Absolutely nothing.” However, both in recent days “fell victims” of orange paint. Just Stop Oil was quickly revealed to be behind this “speculative intervention”.

Who are the activists-“painters”

Just Stop Oil is an environmental activist group focused on fighting climate change by advocating an immediate end to fossil fuel extraction. It was founded in February 2022 and has gained attention for its direct actions and public demonstrations. Her mission focuses on growing global concern on climate change and the critical need to transition to sustainable energy sources.

The organization Just Stop Oil became known through its dramatic protests, which aim to raise awareness about climate change and the need to stop oil and gas projects.

The ‘orange interventions’ on Taylor Swift’s private jet and the UK’s Stonehenge monument

Activist group Just Stop Oil has caught the eye of the public with its latest two actions aimed at protesting the use of fossil fuels.

In particular, two activists from the organization Just Stop Oil, Niamh Lynch, a 21-year-old student from Oxford, and Rajan Naidu, a 73-year-old from Birmingham, two days ago covered the Stonehenge monument with orange paint powder. Stonehenge is an iconic and highly recognizable historical monument. By targeting such a well-known venue, the protest gains significant media coverage while also attracting public attention, thus making the message the group is trying to send more widely known.

Stonehenge is often associated with ancient human intelligence and the flow of time. By protesting in this space, Just Stop Oil may have aimed to highlight the urgent need for humanity to switch from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources, to preserve our planet for future generations, as reported by foreign media.

Just Stop Oil argued that its motivation behind its action was to demand that the next UK government stop extracting and burning oil, gas and coal by 2030.

Just one day after they painted it orange famous prehistoric UNESCO World Heritage SiteStonehenge, two protesters from the British environmental activist group, Jennifer Kowalski, 28, and Cole Macdonald, 22, stormed a VIP private airport in Stansted.

They attempted to target Taylor Swift’s jet as the pop star is scheduled to perform at Wembley Stadium on Friday, Saturday and Sunday as part of her Eras world tour.

Unable to find the plane, they instead painted two other jets using fire extinguishers filled with orange paint.

Cole Macdonald said: “We live in two worlds: in one the billionaires live in luxury, they can fly in private jets imposing unfit conditions on countless millions of people. Billionaires are not untouchable, climate collapse will affect every one of us.”

Who funds the organization?

Just Stop Oil states on its website that all of its funding comes from donations, with the group accepting both “traditional” currency and cryptocurrencies. In April 2022, it was reported that Just Stop Oil’s main source of funding was donations from the US-based Climate Emergency Fund. Through this fund, a notable donor to the group has been Aileen Getty, granddaughter of oil magnate J Paul Getty and a descendant of the Getty family that founded the Getty Oil company. Despite the backlash, the Climate Emergency Fund said Getty did not work for the fossil fuel industry.