Jason Momoa had a snarky response for those that mocked his “dad bod” in recent troll attacks. The Aquaman star was photographed on vacation recently, and some tried to shame him for being out of shape — at least by movie star standards. This week, however, he has been unabashedly shirtless as he joins in protests in Hawaii.
Momoa was right there with the crowd this week at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The protesters were gathered to oppose the construction of a Thirty Meter Telescope on a site that is sacred to Native Hawaiians, according to the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
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In one video, Momoa panned across his torso with his phone, showing the words written on his bare chest and stomach. They read “TMT + CANARY ISLANDS + DISCOVER,” implying that the Thirty Meter Telescope would be more at home on the other chain of islands.
“How’s that for a dad body?” pic.twitter.com/Fgv9fDsJCl
— Batman (@Batmancanseeyou) August 9, 2019
“How’s that for a dad body?” Momoa asked in the clip. “TMT, the Canary Islands want you, but we don’t want you. Please leave.”
Other demonstrators were crowded around Momoa, all wearing similar traditional Hawaiian garb and cheering along with his message. Momoa is taking the protest very seriously, as he demonstrated in another post on his Instagram showing the halted construction site.
“Sorry Warner Bros we can’t shoot Aquaman 2,” he wrote, “Because Jason got run over by a bulldozer trying to stop the desecration of his native land THIS iS NOT HAPPENING. WE ARE NOT LETTING YOU DO THIS ANYMORE. Enough is enough. Go somewhere else.”
Momoa and other protesters are trying to stop the construction project by literally putting themselves between the equipment and the summit of Mauna Kea, the largest mountain on the Hawaiian islands.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige has stood behind the TMT project, saying that it will bring invaluable resources to the island state. Scientists hope that this advanced telescope will enable some breakthrough discoveries about about our universe, possibly including new data on life outside of our solar system. For Ige, that is cause enough to build on the site at Mauna Kea.
“The Maunakea Observatories represent an invaluable sector for Hawaii Island and our entire state — the economic impact, intellectual capital, educational resources and community support they provide is irreplaceable,” the governor said. “The interim solution for access to the telescopes is a step forward but remains inadequate for the long term. The state remains committed to re-opening the Maunakea Access Road intersection as an immediate priority. The state stands behind the more than 500 employees’ efforts to bring the telescopes back online to begin astronomical observations again.”
However, Momoa is not the only big name opposing the construction either. Last Wednesday, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson addressed the controversy in an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
“This is so much bigger than a telescope being built,” said Johnson. “This is humanity, these are human beings whose hearts are hurting, and I think any time situations like that come up… that’s our indication that we gotta stop. Let’s be considerate, let’s be empathetic, and let’s always take care of our people.”
Right now it looks like astronomers are back at the summit of Mauna Kea, but the protesters have not given up yet, and Momoa is ready to put everything on the line.
