When Netflix announced Byron Baes, a brand new docu-soap following the high drama of Byron Bay influencers, we’ve been absolutely mesmerised with the idea (mostly because it’ll make for some outrageous telly.) The original series couldn’t come soon enough, but it seems the residents of the Bay aren’t too happy with the whole idea.
If you threaten a Byron Bay resident with a bad time, their only logical response is to paddle out to sea in protest. It’s instinctive in Byron Bay folk, who are born on the sands of the beach and scuttle up to land. This is a scientific fact, don’t look it up.
And I’m not even joking here, the actual residents of Byron Bay planned to stage a “paddle-out” in protest of Netflix’s Byron Baes.
“We are paddling to formally request that Netflix cancels the show immediately!” reads a post shared across socials.
https://twitter.com/edengillespie/status/1384112539164823558?s=20
You may notice that on the poster for the protest it says 7am Tuesday, 20th April. Yes, that is in fact this morning.
So, did a bunch of disgruntled Byron Bay residents get out their boogie boards and surfboards just to paddle out in the ocean to prove a point against Netflix? You better fkn believe they did.
Have a look at these paddling peeps that were captured on film this morning, just doing their best, trying to defend their sunny suburb from being stereotyped as an influencer haven.
Dozens of Byron Bay residents have flocked to Main Beach this morning to paddle-out in protest of new Netflix series ‘Byron Baes’ – plenty more people on shore in support too @nbnnews pic.twitter.com/wPFqulp3ZY
— Georgia Schefe (@GeorgiaSchefe) April 19, 2021
“We’ve been here for a very long time,” Dan Readman, owner of Byron’s popular Bayleaf Cafe, told SBS.
“We are a community orientated business. We know the community doesn’t want [Byron Baes] and we don’t want it.
“COVID just exploded this place. We’ve probably had five years, 10 years, maybe growth in one year. There’s a lot of pressure on the community here.
“200 million people visit Netflix Global. We have enough spotlight, we don’t think this kind of spotlight is going to do good things for the community.”
Locals also spoke to Nine’s Today, in which you can see signs in the background that read “our community not your commodity” and “give Netflix the flick.”
#ByronBay locals are pushing to immediately cancel production of a Netflix reality series about the seaside community. #9News pic.twitter.com/kv2MIIYeuR
— 9News Gold Coast (@9NewsGoldCoast) April 19, 2021
It’s highly unlikely that Netflix will stop its show from going ahead, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
