Taylor Sheridan’s Landman, which premiered recently on Paramount+, is already shrouded in controversy. The show tells the story of roughnecks working on oil rigs, led by Billy Bob Thornton as Tommy Norris, while the rich tycoons benefit from the oil boom.
The show’s third episode, Hell Has a Front Yard, features a scene that has not gone down well with audiences and environmentalists. In the sequence, Tommy Norris is seen going on a rant against renewable sources of energy like wind turbines.
During a conversation with lawyer Rebecca Savage, played by Kayla Wallace, Norris claims renewable energy sources do not reduce the carbon footprint of the planet. The wind turbine scene in Landman has gone viral on social media and has led to backlash from viewers who did not like Norris dissing green energy.
The wind turbine scene in Landman shows Tommy Norris dissing green energy
The scene in question shows Tommy Norris having a debate about energy sources with Rebecca Savage. As the two walk around the oil rigs, Rebecca notices windmills and expresses her surprise at seeing a clean energy source so close to the oil rigs.
However, Norris tells her that there is ‘nothing clean’ about the windmills, and they can only be called an alternative energy source at best. The lawyer asks him to elaborate on how wind energy is bad for the environment.
Norris then launches a verbal attack on renewable energy sources, saying the concrete used for building the windmills and the oil used for lubricating them increases carbon footprint instead of aiding in protecting the environment. Norris says:
“You have any idea how much diesel we had to burn to mix that much concrete? Or make that steel? Or haul this s**t out here and put it together with a 450-foot crane? You want to guess how much oil it takes to lubricate that f***ing [windmill]?”
“Or winterize it? In its 20-year lifespan, it won't offset the carbon footprint of making it. And don't even get me started on solar panels and the lithium in your Tesla batteries.”
Norris further insults the move from fossil fuels to green energy, adding that carbon emissions would not kill humans, but not finding an alternative source of energy before fossils run out will surely be the doom of humanity. He says:
“if Exxon thought them f***ing things [windmills] were the future, they'd be putting them all over the goddamn place. Getting oil is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. We don't do it because we like it. We do it because we've run out of options.”
The wind turbine scene in Landman is facing backlash
The audience and environmental activists are calling the makers of the show ignorant for including such a scene when the world is already going through climate change issues. Several fans have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to pan Taylor Sheridan and his team.
Meanwhile, Jeff Clark, the president of Advanced Power Alliance, a firm that promotes green energy, has released a statement criticizing Landman’s writers. The statement reads:
“The problem is that it's misinformation and, to respectfully use Tommy Norris's vernacular, it's total bulls**t. The writers clearly intend for Norris to be seen as strong-willed and opinionated, perhaps even misinformed.”
“His hostility toward clean energy is in his DNA. Even still, the televised rant of even a pretend character attacking wind turbines has become a new favorite meme for the anti-renewables crowd.”
Trending
Neither Landman creators nor Paramount+ has released any statement in response to the controversy yet.
Landman airs new episodes on Paramount+ on Sundays.
Reply
