Greta Thunberg may have been named TIME Magazine's 2019 Person Of The Year for her high-profile environmental activism, but for a time yesterday, she was simply "Sharon" on Twitter.
No, the 17-year-old Swedish firebrand wasn't the latest celebrity to have her social media accounts hacked. She was actually referencing a viral moment from the BBC quiz show Celebrity Mastermind.
In a clip widely shared online on Friday, actress Amanda Henderson is asked to name the Swedish climate change activist who has written the book No One Is Too Small To Make a Difference.
Clearly unsure of the answer, Henderson's instantly iconic response is to shake her head and say "...Sharon?"
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kicking the year off with this absolute gem pic.twitter.com/TiLrigpPaU
— Hannah Jane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) January 2, 2020
The clip became so popular on Twitter that #Sharon began trending, and Thunberg, clearly amused by it too, duly changed her name to Sharon for a few hours.
This in turn delighted Twitter, too, helping to keep the viral clip alive. Thunberg was even branded a "comedy legend" by one of her followers.
I’m obSESSED with her omg a humorous environmental icon pic.twitter.com/IIbtC24Krc
— hbd miranda x (@jackremmington) January 3, 2020
greta thunberg changing her name on twitter to sharon is hilarious what a comedy legend
— becca 🌹 (@tarthsevenstar) January 3, 2020
greta thunberg clapping back at by changing her twitter bio or name is hilarious but it almost makes me tear up BC THAT'S WHAT SHE SHOULD BE DOING AS A 17 YEAR OLD SHE SHOULD BE HAVING FUN NOT FIGHTING FOR OUR PLANET BY HERSELF WHILST THE WORLD LEADERS DO NOTHING
— izzy✊🌹 (@_partypoisxn_) January 3, 2020
Well played, Greta, very well played.
Thunberg, 17, recently guest edited a special episode of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, during which she met Sir David Attenborough for the first time.
Attenborough hailed her work in making people more aware of the global climate change crisis as “astonishing and admirable”, saying: “She’s achieved things that many of us who have been working on it for 20-odd years have failed to achieve.”
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