Climate activists proved no match for an angry cameraman who used his large boom video camera to knock a protester to the ground after interrupting a televised dance performance.
A video post of the incident has garnered over 1,000,000 views in 24 hours.
The event occurred in Sweden when Olympic skier Charlotte Kalla was dancing with professional dancer Tobias Karlsson during Friday evening’s final of “Let’s Dance.” Sweden’s Tv4 broadcast the performance.
As Kalla and Karlsson danced, climate activists stormed the stage. One held a banner reading “Restore wetlands,” while others threw yellow powder about the stage and onto the crowd.
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The mayhem lasted less than a minute. As a cloud of yellow smoke enveloped the stage, the dancers exited, and an enthusiastic cameraman swung his boom camera around to knock one of the protesters off their feet.
Security quickly cleared the stage. Police report arresting three people on vandalism charges.
Tv4 did not show the incident in the broadcast. Kalla and Karlsson were allowed to repeat their interrupted performance and finished second in the contest.
Judges heaped praise on the couple for performing well despite the drama.
The activists reportedly sat quietly in the audience before storming the stage. At least one protester stayed in the audience to film the event. Security escorted all involved out of the building.Â
The activists told the Daily Mail their goal was to “bring attention to the climate disaster being ignored by politicians.”
Tv4 communications director Charlie Forsberg told the Daily Mail: “A number of people made it onto the stage. It was handled by on-site personnel, and the police were quickly called to the recording, which expelled them from the venue.”
