DC Trawler

Xena, Warrior Hypocrite

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Can you spot the familiar face in this crazy Shell commercial from New Zealand?

That’s a pre-Xena Lucy Lawless as the gas station attendant. You can see her at the very end, gaping in wonder at the cartoon bird. It’s always funny to see how celebrities paid the bills before they made it big.

And how’s her relationship with Shell these days? Well, she’s slightly less keen on the product, according to WaPo:

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Police arrested actress Lucy Lawless and five Greenpeace activists Monday, four days after they climbed onto an oil-drilling ship to prevent it from leaving a New Zealand dock.

Police removed the protesters from their perch atop a 174-foot (53-meter) drilling tower on the Noble Discoverer in Port Taranaki. Chartered by oil company Shell, the ship had been due to leave over the weekend to drill five exploratory wells in the Arctic…

One of the activists left the tower Saturday and was initially charged with unlawfully boarding a ship. All seven have now been charged with burglary, a more serious crime. All have been released and are due to appear in a New Zealand court Thursday…

“I’ve got three kids. My sole biological reason for being on this planet is to ensure that they can flourish, and they can’t do that in a filthy, degraded environment,” she said. “We need to stand up while we still can.”

In this case, “standing up” means “breaking and entering,” and I can only imagine the carbon footprint she creates every year to continue teetering up there on her pedestal, but whatever. She’s famous, sort of, and therefore what she’s doing is right because she’s the one doing it. She doesn’t need their filthy oil money… anymore.

She was tweeting up a storm about it during the burglary:

I’d make a joke about not being able to use her iPhone in jail, but unfortunately for her fan base, “Xena in a women’s prison” will probably remain fanfic. Not that I know anything about Xena fanfic. I don’t. Seriously. You know what? I don’t have to explain myself to you.

(Hat tip: Tim Blair)

P.S. Not that Lawless doesn’t have good cause for concern. Global warming is responsible for all manner of disasters, from earthquakes to Tom Cruise.