Comedian Joe Lycett has revealed his attempt to sue
singer Harry Styles over a past-due Kit-Kat payment to be a prank
mocking Shell's multimillion dollar lawsuit against Greenpeace.
In a series of tongue-in-cheek social media posts released since
Saturday, Lycett announced that he had instructed lawyers to sue
Styles for ‘specific performance' after the Watermelon Sugar
singer failed to deliver a Kit-Kat Chunky Peanut Butter promised
as part-payment for a portrait of Styles painted by Lycett last
year.
However, in a video shared on Tik Tok and Instagram this morning,
Lycett revealed the lawsuit to be a hoax mocking oil and gas
giant Shell, who launched a multimillion dollar ‘intimidation'
lawsuit against Greenpeace over a peaceful protest last year.
Lycett has made limited edition t-shirts featuring his Styles
portrait available to purchase, with
proceeds donated to Greenpeace's ‘Stop Shell Appeal', which funds
Greenpeace's legal defence and ongoing campaign against Shell.
As of today, the videos have received millions of views across
all platforms.
Joe Lycett said: “Of course
threatening to sue Harry Styles is ridiculous, but Shell's
multimillion dollar lawsuit against Greenpeace is all too real.
The oil giant is suing them for damages from a peaceful protest,
when they're the ones contributing to the destruction of the
planet. We should be demanding damages to all of us! Greenpeace
won't be intimidated by Shell so easily: I urge everyone who can
to chuck them a few quid so they can keep fighting Shell - and
maybe have a few quid left over to get me a Wispa Gold.”
Styles agreed last year to buy
Lycett's portrait, a parody of a similar painting of Styles by
legendary British artist David Hockney, for £6 ‘and a Kit-Kat
Chunky Peanut Butter'. However, a video posted to Tik Tok on
Saturday showed Lycett opening a parcel from Styles containing
six vacuum-packed pound coins ‘but no Kit Kat Chunky Peanut
Butter!'
Lycett has a history of campaigning against Shell. In 2021, he
starred in Joe Lycett vs
the Oil Giant, a Channel 4 documentary in which he produced
adverts mocking the company for greenwashing.
Philip Evans, Campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said:
“We're delighted to have Joe's support. This prank might seem
like a bit of fun, but this lawsuit really is no joke. Greenpeace
is facing one of its biggest legal battles in over fifty years,
all because we peacefully protested against one of the biggest
polluters in history.
“Our leaders are failing to hold oil giants accountable for
the climate crisis they've created, but we're not giving up.
We'll keep campaigning until Shell and the rest of the industry
is banned from drilling new oil and gas and is forced to pay up
for the floods, fires, and storms they are fueling around the
world.”
Lycett is the latest high-profile figure to come out in support
of Greenpeace during its legal battle with Shell. Earlier this
year, celebrity supporters including Stephen Fry, Benedict
Cumberbatch, Emma Thompson and Greta Thunberg joined almost
180,000 members of the public in signing an open letter
backing Greenpeace's campaign. In January, Emmy winning writer of
Succession Jesse Armstrong donated £25,000 to the ‘Stop
Shell Appeal', which has raised nearly £1 million from members of
the public since launching last November.
Shell launched the lawsuit in late 2023 in response to a peaceful protest by
Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International earlier that year, in
which activists peacefully occupied a moving oil platform to
protest against the climate change loss and damage caused by
Shell.
Activists were calling on the company to stop drilling for new
oil and gas, and start paying for the climate damage that the oil
and gas industry is fuelling around the world. Shell acknowledges
no damage was caused to its equipment, but is nonetheless
demanding extensive damages.
- ENDS -
Notes for editors:
-
Lycett posted a total of X videos on social media in the
‘Harry Styles' lawsuit series. They are available at the
following links: video 1 (Instagram),
video 1 (Tik Tok)
video 2 (Instagram),
video 2 (Tik Tok),
video 3 (Instagram),
video 3 (Tik Tok).
-
Limited edition Joe Lycett x Greenpeace T-shirts, featuring
his portrait of Harry Styles, are available to purchase
here, with proceeds
going to Greenpeace's Stop Shell Appeal.
