Left-wing activists criticize Ryan Gosling’s film The Fall Guy for closing the Sydney Harbor Bridge – after the climate protest was jailed for eight months for blocking the freeway
Left-wing activists have taken to Twitter to criticize the closure of the Sydney Harbor Bridge this weekend to film Ryan Gosling’s The Fall Guy.
The closure comes weeks after pro-climate change protester Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco, 31, was jailed for eight months in December after blocking a lane in April.
Twitter activists fumed at what they described as “double standards” after Ms Coco was jailed for “selfish emotional” actions.
Left-wing activists criticize Ryan Gosling’s film The Fall Guy for closing the Sydney Harbor Bridge – after a climate protester was jailed for eight months for blocking a bridge lane. Pictured: Ryan Gosling films on the Sydney Harbor Bridge on Sunday
“The Harbor Bridge will be closed due to the shooting of a Ryan Gosling flick. It’s all ok. But a woman slows traffic on it to protest fossil fuels and she gets jailed. Got it,” wrote one.
Others agreed, saying Ms. Coco’s jail time for blocking a lane on the bridge was quite excessive.
“The Sydney Harbor Bridge was closed for filming this morning. All lanes closed to cars, bicycles and pedestrians in both directions. What prison sentence are they getting? Oh wait… It’s for the purpose of making money, not reducing emissions to save the climate,” they wrote.
Twitter activists fumed at what they described as “double standards” after Ms Coco was jailed for “selfish emotional” actions. Pictured: Deanna ‘Violet’ Coco is arrested
Another added: “Sydney Harbor Bridge has been closed for filming a parade starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. Remember when the NSW government locked up Violet Coco late last year? The cognitive dissonance is massive. Closed is closed.’
The bridge was closed in both directions from 3 a.m. to 10 a.m. The Cahill Expressway was closed from 1am to 12:30pm.
The bike and footpath was closed from 5:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The Cahill Expressway sidewalk was closed from 2:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Twitter users were outraged by the closure after the climate activist was jailed for blocking a lane in April last year. She was sentenced in December
Photos from the bridge showed production in the port city in full swing, with Ryan crouched next to his stunt double.
At one point it appeared he was driving on the edge of a garbage can in scenes set on the bridge.
In the full-scale production, the bridge was filled with film equipment and a handful of cars and trucks for the epic scenes.
Helicopters were also seen in the sky flying low as they filmed the high-octane scenes, with the movement also reportedly upsetting nearby residents.
Ms Coco (pictured) stood before Downing Center Magistrates’ Court in December before being sentenced to 15 months in prison, eight of which were without parole
Climate activist Deanna “Violet” Coco was sentenced to at least eight months in prison in December after blocking traffic on the bridge.
The court was told that around 8:30 a.m. on April 13, during rush hour, Coco had driven a large rental truck along the Cahill Expressway on the bridge to intentionally block a lane.
While the truck was obstructing traffic, she stood on it, holding an emergency flare, and livestreamed the event.
In the full-scale production, the bridge was filled with film equipment and a handful of cars and trucks for the epic scenes
After 25 minutes, police arrived and forcibly removed the protesters from the Sydney landmark, with Coco resisting arrest.
Defense attorney Mark Davis told the court a “salient fact” in Coco’s case is that she only blocked one lane on the Sydney Harbor Bridge when there were five.
“One lane was closed … it was a conscious decision to only close one lane,” Mr Davis said.
“To put it simply, traffic may still have been moving, there was no indication of traffic being backed up.”
Coco was found guilty and sentenced to 15 months in prison with an eight-month non-parole period. Her counsel immediately appealed.
Coco is a serial protester and a member of climate activist groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Fireproof Australia.
She was previously on trial for demonstrating topless against a mining operation and setting fire to a pram outside Parliament.
Hollywood actor Ryan was in Australia with his partner Eva Mendes (left). Pictured in 2012