It’s Aquaman to the rescue
Actor uses spat with Pratt to highlight advocacy for clean water, ban of plastic
There’s a sea of possibilities when it comes to hot-button issues to support, and clean water is one of Hollywood’s favourites.
Rapper and actor Jaden Smith, 21, was one of the stars who made news this week for diving right in. On Monday, Smith personally unveiled the fourth mobile filtration device for Flint, Mich., from his non-profit, 501Cthree. The system, called a Water Box, removes heavy metals such as lead and harmful bacteria from water, producing almost 40 litres of clean water a minute.
Smith and his partner and co-founder, Drew Fitzgerald, revealed potential plans to donate a fifth Water Box in 2020, which Flint’s Latinx Center executive director told Mlive would also help eliminate plastic waste from water bottles.
Jason Momoa, also fittingly known as Aquaman, also feels passionately about getting rid of those kinds of bottles. The celebrity water advocate — who works with the United Nations making speeches about protecting marine ecosystems and is partnered with a canned water brand — proved Tuesday that he expects everyone, no matter how famous, to make better choices.
Momoa called out fellow superhero franchise star Chris Pratt on Instagram after Pratt, who plays Star-lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, posted a photo of himself flexing and gazing into the distance in front of a treadmill to promote a partnership with Amazon.
“You’re probably wondering why I’m standing here, low key flexing, gazing into the distance ...” the caption reads. “well, turns out I’m teaming up with Amazon to show you guys everything I use for my workouts, keeping active, and all that fun stuff to get you prepped for 2020.”
In the photo, Pratt wears a tight tank top and holds a plastic water bottle, prompting Momoa to comment on Pratt’s post highlighting the implications of single-use plastic. “Bro I love u but wtf on the water bottle. no single use plastic. come on,” Momoa wrote.
The vocal ocean activist got a reply from Pratt, who admitted his mistake. “Aquaman! You’re completely right,” Pratt said, before explaining that “somebody threw that plastic bottle to me in the photo shoot cause I didn’t know what to do with my hands!”
Pratt wrote that he usually carries
a large, reusable jug with him, and even had it on him that day. He signed off by reiterating his pal Aquaman’s lesson. “Love you too buddy. My bad,” Pratt said. “I don’t want your home of Atlantis covered in plastic. Hear that
kids? Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” Momoa, whose original comment on Pratt’s post got more than 60,000 likes and spurred backlash against the Guardians star, later posted an apology to Pratt for the unexpected adverse reaction. But
Momoa made sure to plug his own eco-friendly partnership in the meantime: “You’re an inspiration to many,” the actor wrote to Pratt. “I’m one of them. I’ll send you a case of MANANALU.”
The Washington Post