Former Home and Away star Isabel Lucas, 35, attended a ‘peaceful’ anti-5G protest in Byron Bay on Tuesday.
Isabel, along with a small group of protestors, marched from the Jing Organics health food store to the proposed location of a 5G tower.
The protest was in response to a recent vote from the Byron Bay Council, which voted in majority for a 5G upgrade at 8 Acacia Street in the Arts & Industry Estate.
Protest: Former Home and Away star Isabel Lucas attended a ‘peaceful’ anti-5G protest in Byron Bay on Tuesday
Isabel was one of the guest speakers at the protest and was featured in fliers and promotional material advertising the march.
‘Together we can keep Byron Bay SAFE, especially for our children and the bees!’ read one flier, which was shared to Isabel’s Instagram account.
Photos from the protest show a nervous-looking Isabel speaking to the small crowd of protestors while a man holds a microphone to her mouth.
The actress, who is an anti-vaxxer, was dressed comfortably in a brown linen dress and a matching blazer.
Making a statement: The 35-year-old was one of the guest speakers at the protest
Helping hand: A man held the mic up to Isabel’s mouth as she addressed the crowd
Organic: The protest started out the front of the Jing Organics health food store
Isabel has a long history of activism dating back to 2007, when she and fellow actress Hayden Panettiere joined activists on surfboards to try and stop a pod of dolphins being slaughtered in Japan.
The group were charged with ‘interfering with international commerce’ after they paddled across nets to stop dolphins and whales from being killed near the village of Taiji.
At the time, Isabel said: ‘I’m not scared in the least about going back there [to Japan]. In fact, now I think it would draw even more attention to the barbaric act.’
A little help: Isabel read from a handful of note cards to ensure she didn’t miss any of her points
Nervous? The former Home and Away star looked a little nervous as she spoke
Isabel said later that year that she wasn’t deterred by the warrant, and was interested in returning to Japan the following year.
In April, Isabel hit the headlines when she shared dangerous anti-vaccination views on Instagram, while commenting on a post by fellow conspiracy theorist Pete Evans.
Throwing her support behind the disgraced former MKR judge, she wrote: ‘Freedom of choice is every human’s right. I don’t trust the path of vaccination.’
Surfer Taj Burrow added: ‘Vaccines not needed, just a good immune system.’
March: Isabel, along with a small group of protestors, marched from the Jing Organics health food store to the proposed location of a 5G tower
‘Keep Byron 5G free!’ Many of the protesters held homemade signs at the march
Fighting back: The protest was in response to a recent vote from the Byron Bay Council, which voted in majority for a 5G upgrade at 8 Acacia Street in the Arts & Industry Estate
Anti-vaxxers spread conspiracy theories with no basis in scientific fact. They claim that ‘boosting’ the immune system through diet, supplements and sunlight can make people immune to certain diseases, which is completely false.
Before vaccination campaigns in the 1960s and ’70s, diseases such as tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough killed thousands of children, whereas today in Australia, dying from one of these is extremely rare.
Isabel later clarified her remarks on Instagram, saying she has ‘concerns around “mandatory” vaccination, not vaccination itself’.
Style: The actress, who is an anti-vaxxer, was dressed comfortably in a brown linen dress and a matching blazer
‘Protect paradise!’ The protestors felt passionate about keeping 5G out of Byron Bay
Plan International Australia, a charity for girls’ rights, had announced on March 27 that Isabel was joining its stable of ambassadors.
However, following her controversial comments, she was swiftly dropped by the organisation in mid-April after less than a month.
A Twitter user wrote: ‘Are you aware your ambassador, actress Isabel Lucas, is one of these conspiracy theorists stoking fears during this crisis? She’s also anti-vaccination… go figure.’
Eclectic: It was an eclectic mix of people at the protest, which included a number of families
Safe: ‘Together we can keep Byron Bay SAFE, especially for our children and the bees!’ read one promotional flier, which was shared to Isabel’s Instagram account
Woof! One protester brought his pet golden retriever along to the protest
Plan replied: ‘We are aware of the issues and as of today, Ms Lucas and Plan International have come to a mutual agreement to end the ambassadorship.’
Shortly after being dropped from her ambassador role, she came under fire for promoting a baseless conspiracy theory about the 5G network.
In a statement on Instagram, Isabel – who played Tasha Andrews on Home and Away – wrote: ‘Freedom of speech is a human right.
‘Just two weeks ago the second top trending question on Google was “Is 5G safe?”
Police state: A number of police officers manned the protest to keep everything safe
‘People power!’ Isabel’s public activism dates all the way back to the mid-2000s
‘And now Google have announced they are censoring discussions on 5G health effects. Apparently violent pornography has not been censored for our “protection” though. Would it not be wise to ask why?’
Isabel, who has an entire subcategory on her Instagram account dedicated to the theories, continued: ‘If you don’t personally believe 5G is harmful, that’s okay but may I gently ask, what could be lost if we all paused for a moments re-evaluation?
‘If there is a possibility that a re-evaluation could benefit our global health and humanity, is it not worth it?’
Head down: The 35-year-old star kept her head down as she marched in solidarity with the other protesters
She clarified that she would ‘never suggest COVID-19 is 5G related’, but wanted to ‘support cohesive, clear, calm communication that welcomes healthy questioning’.
In August, Isabel was caught going to great lengths to stay anonymous during a Zoom call with COVID-19 conspiracy theorists and lockdown critics – including Pete Evans.
Covering her face with a black hoodie and mask and using the alias ‘X’, the anti-vaxxer told her co-panellists that she needed ‘to be careful about being outspoken’ because she was a famous Australian film and television actress.
Dangerous: In April, Isabel (left) hit the headlines when she shared dangerous anti-vaccination views on Instagram, while commenting on a post by conspiracy theorist Pete Evans (right)
Oddball: In response to celebrity chef Pete’s criticism of a potential COVID-19 vaccine, Isabel wrote: ‘Freedom of choice is every humans right. I don’t trust the path of vaccination’
‘I’m here, and I don’t want to be anonymous, but I am about to start filming a film, and I do need to be careful about being outspoken because you can get dropped from charities, you can lose campaigns with car companies,’ she said.
‘It has happened to me in recent times for speaking out. I feel careful, and I don’t want to elicit any aggressive, threatening responses.’
Isabel said she felt ‘100 per cent called to shine a light on the reality of what’s really going on’ in reference to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown directives.’
On the alternative health podcast Alfa Vedic, Isabel revealed she had ‘opted out’ of receiving a COVID-19 test while filming the movie Bosch & Rockit in Byron Bay last month.
C For COVID: Isabel (top right) went undercover while appearing on a live chat with coronavirus conspiracy theorists and lockdown critics including former celebrity chef Pete Evans (bottom centre) and anti-5G activist Zev Freeman (top left)
‘I gave my duty of care of what I could offer to respect everyone’s health and maintain my own health, and I shared that, and I opted out of doing the COVID test,’ she said.
‘Everyone was really respectful and really honouring of, like, how to maintain health while this very tricky time is under way. But I needed to do that. I felt like it was quite an understanding, relaxed group of people.’
Isabel insisted that she has a strong immune system due to her healthy lifestyle and that most of the people on set were wearing masks.
‘My immune system has just become so solid from my way of life, how I live and eat and think,’ she explained.
‘So it was a really beautiful experience all up, even though people were wearing masks most of the time and adhering to those rules.’
Doubter: Isabel, who has an entire subcategory on her Instagram account dedicated to conspiracy theories, said: ‘If you don’t personally believe 5G is harmful, that’s okay but may I gently ask, what could be lost if we all paused for a moments re-evaluation?
Producers of the film have since stated that COVID-19 testing was a mandatory requirement of filming.
In a statement, producers Tyler Atkins and Cathy Flannery told the Brisbane Times they were not aware that Isabel hadn’t been tested until the publication contacted them for comment.
‘Every cast and crew member was required to sign an acknowledgement that they would adhere to the COVID-Safe guidelines adopted by the production, which included an acknowledgement that they had been COVID-tested prior to principal photography,’ said a statement from the film’s production company, Black Pearl Productions.
‘Isabel’s recent statement that she was not tested is inconsistent with the producers’ understanding that she had complied with the COVID-Safe guidelines adopted by the production.’