British tabloids and their readers wasted no time lashing out at the rogue royal couple, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, for using a private jet to return to their home in California after a grand tour to New York.
The two were caught by a paparazzo after touching down on Saturday night at a private airport in Santa Barbara, California to reunite with their children. They spent the previous three days in New York, attending several public events and meeting important people. The photos were first printed by The Daily Mail, with other tabloids soon catching on to the story.
The duke and duchess of Sussex are vocal advocates of reducing human impact on the climate, so their greenhouse-gas-pumping air-travel habits have long been a matter of controversy.
Nudged by the latest coverage of the power couple’s lifestyle, a lot of people were upset about what they perceived as the sheer hypocrisy of the preachy elites, who stick to their private jets and other privileges while telling the masses to take personal responsibility for climate change.
“Eco- warriors” and “private jet” in the same sentence..
— Gio DeBatta 🍸 (@GDebatta) September 27, 2021
Their environmental credentials are as fake as their personalities!
— Fred (@SaigonStyle) September 27, 2021
Others jumped to defend the woke celebrities, explaining how they are totally justified by offsetting their trips (i.e. paying extra money for them) or pointing out that other wealthy people were worse polluters. Some argued that private jets don’t deserve their bad rep, based on how highballers flying them are better for local economies than regular tourists.
Are you sur its not the best choice? https://t.co/CEI76pLJjN
— Julie (@Julie98050036) September 26, 2021
There was also a lot of shoulder-shrugging, especially from readers outside of the UK, who seem to be less invested in following the drama surrounding the marriage and Harry’s alienation from the British royal family.
Sky News obsession with these two is really quite alarming. It's so constant!
— Matt Percival (@CosmicMatt92) September 27, 2021
Manufacturing News and Outrage daily 🤦🏻♂️
— Blu 🏅🚽🦝 rattus ignawus (@2ManyAustriches) September 27, 2021
The need to mitigate the damage caused by climate change has been propped up to the top of Western political discourse with the Biden administration making it a top priority. There is, however, a lot of scepticism about the efficiency and public acceptance of proposed solutions. Many less-fortunate people don’t feel like switching to bug proteins and turning down home heating during winter while millionaires ride space planes to personally confirm that the Earth is round.
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