I’m only attention seeking for the cause, says topless Extinction Rebellion mum trolled for “fat rolls” & “Barbie looks
Laura Amherst, 31, from Brighton, joined the group, known as XR, earlier this year and since then has been going topless to "draw attention to the threat of climate change".
But her protests have come under fire from people online who claim she's "attention-seeking", "wants to be an influencer" and told her to put her clothes on.
The mum-of-one told The Sun: "Recently I was fat-shamed, people have said, ‘You’ve got so many rolls on your body I don’t want to have to see that’.
“Others have called me ‘disgusting’ and someone even said ‘I’ll turn vegan if you let me motorboat them’.
“They love to rip into me because I have fake boobies and say, ‘Oh, she must be a horrid person looking for attention,’ but they have me all wrong."
Photographs of Laura's topless displays went viral as she joined XR activities designed to bring London to a standstill. since the group took to London – and even drew the attention of Piers Morgan.
The former Good Morning Britain host joked about the writing on her chest, which read 'Wake Up', being "unexpected publicity" for his book of the same name.
But Laura insisted she wasn't deliberately attention-seeking. She said: “I’m getting attention because unfortunately, our society likes women with blonde hair, who are pretty and have big boobs.
“People say, ‘Oh, she’s getting her t**s out, this Barbie-like girl must be desperate to be an influencer,’ but that's not my hope at all."
Blockades, delays & fury
Extinction Rebellion's activities have caused misery and disruption across the country. Motorists at London Bridge were furious last month when a blockade caused hours of delays.
Today, climate activists Insulate Britain – who demand the government provide better home insulation to reduce emissions – struck the M25 for the second time this week.
The actions, including some protesters glueing themselves to railings and others causing blockades near junctions, brought traffic to a standstill.
The Telegraph reported that a car crash near Junction 23, in Hertfordshire, was blamed on the group and a woman in her 50s had to be airlifted to hospital.
Despite the disruptive action of protesters, Laura maintains it has to be done to force the government to act on climate change more quickly.
Laura, who is not part of Insulate Britain, said: “I do support civil disobedience... but there are limits. We're not horrible people, we're compassionate and really care.
“Whether it’s stopping traffic on the M25 or protests in London, it is nothing compared to the catastrophe that our nation will face if we and our government don’t do something.
“If you see us as the problem, when we are just trying to warn people and make a plea to both the government and individuals to act… you’re not seeing the bigger picture nor how catastrophic this is going to be.
"We really don't want to be doing this but it's a drop in the ocean compared to the threats that are happening right now and are going to happen."
I'm not rich, I was homeless
Laura first got involved with Extinction Rebellion (XR) earlier this year and claims XR activists are "misunderstood" who aren't all "hippies with dreadlocks who don't wash".
The politics student, who studies at the Open University, claims she's been a victim of these misconceptions too.
Laura said: “I’m not rich or middle class, I’ve been homeless in the past and have been through a lot of hard situations.
“I’m a minimalist, I don’t have a lot of clothes or jewellery. The most expensive things I own are my laptop and car.
“Yes, I have fake boobs but I did that nearly 11 years ago and if I could afford it I would take them out and get biodegradable ones.
“I’ve always been geeky, I’m painfully quiet and an awkward person despite showing my boobs to the world.”
Hunger strike
Laura, who stopped eating meat six years ago, first showed off her fake boobs during the 'Free the Nipple' march against unrealistic beauty standards.
And despite being fat-shamed is determined to continue her naked protests.
On Monday, she started a one-week hunger strike to highlight food shortages caused by climate change that others experience.
Laura adds: “I’m willing to feel a tiny bit of what people around the world are going through right now by giving up food and want to show how serious the climate crisis is.
“This is a desperate plea to encourage the government and others to act – not to promote eating disorders or to cause harm to anyone."
'I hope my daughter's proud'
Laura’s motivation is her daughter – who she asked us not to identify – whose future she fears for after increased warnings about climate change.
She says: “I hope my daughter is proud of the efforts I’ve made when she gets older.
“I want to provide her with a happy, carefree childhood and I am deeply concerned about how life will be for her.
“I don’t have a lot of money and if our house was affected by climate change we couldn’t afford another."
Laura says her boyfriend of three years, Leon Harris, is extremely supportive of her decision to go topless too.
Despite the ongoing disruption caused by climate change protesters, Laura remains in support of their actions.
She says: “We don’t like disrupting people’s lives and I understand that people are just trying to put food on the table but our government is not doing enough.
“It’s nearly too late now and we need to make very drastic decisions to cool the planet enough so that we will be in a safe zone.”
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