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Climate activists disrupted a ballet performance at Lincoln Center on Earth Day — prompting well-heeled attendees to shout at them to “Shut the f—k up” and get out of the theater, video shows.
One of the eco-protesters made her way inside the David H. Koch Theater Tuesday evening, during the the launch of the acclaimed ballet’s spring season.
“It is Earth Day and we are in climate emergency!” she bellowed, just as the third of four George Balanchine ballets on the program, Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, was beginning.
“Our country has become a Fascist regime and we are enjoying this beauty.”
Some attendees didn’t take well to the disruption, snapping back, “Shut the f–k up,” “f–k you” and “stop being morons,” according to the video.
The curtain then came down and an announcement aired: “Due to an issue in the house, we need to pause the performance. We are attempting to resolve this issue.”
Front of house staff escorted the protester out of the theater, as cheers and jeers erupted in the audience.
About five more minutes passed before the ballet restarted from the beginning and the performance continued without further interruption, the New York City Ballet said.
Earlier, as attendees filed into the theater,
two demonstrators with the Extinction Rebellion activist group stood outside, holding signs with the messages, “No Billionaire Ballet on Earth Day” and “4°C 1 Billion Dead.”
“How will you dance when you’re dying of dehydration?” one of the demonstrators yelled as security workers tried to pry the sign from his hands, according to video posted on X.
“How will you dance when you can’t even afford decent groceries? How will you dance when they’re scheming people out of their homes?”
The NYPD said two men, one in his 30s and the other in his 50s, were taken into custody during the demonstration outside Lincoln Center just before 8 p.m. They were released with summonses.
“Our action today is not about drawing attention; it’s about demanding accountability and leadership from all sectors of society,” one of the Extinction Rebellion demonstrators said in a statement. “Cultural institutions hold significant influence, and their silence is deafening in the face of this crisis.”
The demonstration marked the third brazen act of the day for the group.
Members of the group spray-painted the Wall Street Charging Bull — before wiping away their graffiti as cops looked on Tuesday morning.
They later sprayed graffiti on the windows of Tesla’s Meatpacking District showroom — which landed two of them in cuffs, authorities said.
And on Wednesday, a climate protester was busted after he spray painted the word “USA” over a presidential insignia inside Trump Tower, according to law enforcement sources and video from the scene.
The man sprayed the bright green paint over the plaque inside the Midtown landmark before kneeling on the ground in front of it and closing his eyes, according to footage posted on X.
Moments after a small crowd gathered — some snapping photos of the demonstrator — a security officer approached, and the man unfurled a small banner bearing the words, “GAME OVER” with the symbol for the climate activist group Extinction Rebellion.
English (US)