Just Stop Oil

Activities

In June 2022, activists with Just Stop Oil glued themselves to My Heart’s in the Highlands by Horatio McCulloch at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. ³ Following their example, activists with Italian activist group Ultima Generazione glued themselves to Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera, while activists affiliated with Extinction Rebellion glued themselves to a Picasso painting in Melbourne, Australia. ^{4 5}

In October 2022, climate activist group Just Stop Oil created controversy when some of its members threw tomato soup onto the 1888 masterpiece painting Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh held at the National Gallery in London to raise awareness about climate change. After throwing the soup, the two perpetrators of the stunt glued their hands to the wall below the painting with one asking the room, “What is more—art or life? […] Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people?” The painting was protected by a glass case, so it was not itself damaged, but there was some “minor damage to the frame” according to the National Gallery. ⁶

Aileen Getty weighed in on the stunt in an op-ed for the Guardian, confirming that Climate Emergency Fund provided the activist group with funding and declaring that she was “proud of the bigger conversation they started.” ⁷

In October 2022, Just Stop Oil activists recreated the album cover of The Beatles’ Abbey Road in London, gluing their hands together and holding demonstration signs before eventually being arrested and carried away by the police. ⁸

As of April 2025, the group announced it would be “hanging up the hi-viz” and ending activities, with a demonstration in Central London on April 26 allegedly marked as their last demonstration. According to the BBC,  the group claimed it had “won their battle because their demand that there should be no new oil and gas licences is now government policy.” ⁹ Others within the group claim that extra steps by police to prevent disruptive protests as well as the arrests of activists after public stunts and demonstrations led to the decline of the group. ⁹

Internal Misconduct

In late September 2025, Just Stop Oil  faced internal turmoil following allegations of sexual misconduct and a “toxic culture of shame and silence” within the organization. A whistleblower email sent to the group’s 100,000 members accused JSO leadership and its human resources team of failing to act on multiple reports of sexual assault, grooming, and coercion against male activists dating back to 2022. The message claimed that the organization had prioritized its climate campaign over the welfare of victims, and that internal safeguards were inadequate to protect vulnerable members. ¹⁰

JSO’s leadership disavowed the email as “unauthorized,” stating that the group handles safeguarding matters confidentially through a team of experienced social workers. The allegations, none of which have been proven, revealed deep divisions within the movement and raised concerns about how radical activism can foster insular cultures resistant to external accountability. Several former members alleged that the group’s anti-police stance and emphasis on restorative justice discouraged victims from coming forward. ¹⁰

Funding

Just Stop Oil is funded by Climate Emergency Fund. ⁷ On its website, Just Stop Oil recommends interested Americans give tax-deductible donations through Climate Emergency Fund. ¹¹

Aileen Getty is the founding donor of Climate Emergency Fund and sits on its board. She is an heiress to the Getty family fortune established by oil magnate J. Paul Getty, who created the J. Paul Getty Trust before he passed away. ¹² Aileen has her own foundation, the Aileen Getty Foundation, which gives grants to LGBT-interest and environmentalist groups. ¹³