An Australian actress who turned her back on stardom has made a rare television appearance to speak out about her shocking decision.
Yael Stone, who is best known for her role as Lorna Morello in the Netflix comedy series Orange Is The New Black, gave up her Hollywood career in 2019 to return to Australia and ‘work on climate action’.
In response to the 2019-2020 bushfire season in Australia, the actress gave up her green card in the United States to permanently return Down Under to fight a “climate war.”
Speaking on Monday’s episode of Australian Story, the 39-year-old said the turning point happened years after her partner Jack Manning Bancroft realized the pair shared similar ambitions.
“I’m sure there are people who look at my decisions and think they’re a bit unhinged in the sense that they’re totally sabotaging my career,” she shared with the ABC.
“I think a lot of people say, ‘This lady is cuckoo.’ But you have to make choices you can live with.’
In 2020, Stone said she came to the decision to give up her life in the United States “after a long, deliberate process.”
“We have come to understand that it is unethical for us to build a life in two countries knowing what we know,” Stone said in a video posted to social media at the time, describing the trip as “ecological unjust’.
Yael Stone, 39, gave up her Hollywood career in 2019 to ‘work on climate action’
Speaking on Monday’s episode of Australian Story, the former actress said the turning point came years after her partner Jack Manning Bancroft (right) realized the pair shared similar ambitions.
‘The CO2 emissions from flying alone are unethical. It’s not right,” Stone said in her statement.
“So I will go through the process of giving up my green card and saying goodbye to a life in America. I’m going to be here in Australia doing my very best to make a difference here. Because the time is now.”
After working extensively in Australian theatre, Stone won two Sydney Theater Awards before moving to New York in 2011.
At the 2008 Sydney Theater Awards, she won Best Newcomer and Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Kid.
Stone is best known for her role as Lorna Morello in the Netflix comedy series Orange Is The New Black
Stone also starred in the Australian dramas All Saints and Spirited.
Stone is an outspoken advocate for several causes, including women’s rights and environmentalism.
The former actress and her partner Manning Bancroft are back together after reconnecting in 2016.
They share daughters Pemau Stone Bancroft, six, and Marli, two.
Manning Bancroft is the founder of the AIME Indigenous mentoring program ‘to alleviate inequality’.
Stone is an outspoken advocate for several causes, including women’s rights and environmentalism