Swedish activist, Activist
IKEA meatballs are disgusting!": Greta Thunberg Unpopular Opinion
"As a Swede, I'm deeply offended!"
Greta Thunberg reacts to unpopular opinions from Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James listeners about bird song, The Lion King and dog names - plus gives some of her own!
#BBC #GretaThunberg #UnpopularOpinion
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About Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg spoke at the Tech for Palestine Brussels Conference in April and June 2026, where she discussed the connection between climate activism and other social justice issues, including Palestine. She stated that the same values drive her activism for the climate and for Palestine, describing them as part of a fight against the same system that exploits people and nature. Thunberg argued that climate activists cannot ignore injustices such as the situation in Gaza, and she criticized what she described as the complicity of governments, institutions, and companies in enabling genocide. She also said that accusations of antisemitism are used to water down the term and to silence criticism of Israeli policies. In interviews, Thunberg addressed the relationship between ecocide and genocide, stating that the destruction of ecosystems and people's means to survive are methods of oppression. She named Swedish officials and companies, including Vice Prime Minister Ebba Busch and Spotify founder Daniel Ek, as examples of those she believes are enabling the conflict. Thunberg also discussed her personal habits, noting that she does not buy new clothes and prefers receiving socks as gifts. She described herself as autistic and said that people sometimes perceive her as serious and angry, though she noted that her friend calls the "Greta effect" a regression of humor to that of a 12-year-old boy.
Transcript (83 segments)
✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
H
Host0:00
Is Swedish? I'm deeply offended. Oh no, I'm sorry, Greta.
We have five people with brand new unpopular opinions, and they're gonna try and make you laugh with them. Greta, here we go. Come and give us your unpopular opinion, something up till now that you've been scared to say.
A Greta Thunberg special, and we start with Jack.
J
Jack0:24
IKEA meatballs are absolutely disgusting.
H
Host0:27
Why did we have to bring up IKEA just because Greta's on and she's from Sweden? Jack, come on.
Greta, what do you make of that one?
G
Greta Thunberg0:37
Well, I mean, I'm a vegan, so of course I don't like meatballs. But as a Swede, I'm deeply offended.
H
Host0:44
Oh no, I'm sorry, Greta. Jack, why is this the thing that angers you the most?
J
Jack0:48
Because they're just not as good as people like. How are they really? They look like you nuns tried to have a go on them first and kind of brought them back up.
H
Host0:57
Oh, Jack, come on. But this is, you know, it's a supplementary thing to go shopping. You don't go for the food.
G
Greta Thunberg1:04
Well, as a Swede, I can say people do actually go to IKEA just for the meatballs. It's a national pride.
H
Host1:10
Oh god, what have people done without it in the last 12 months? Because obviously the IKEA restaurant has been closed.
G
Greta Thunberg1:16
I don't know. I would maybe... it's safe not to ask. Well, maybe we've learned in the COVID-19 pandemic we've learned to live without certain things. Maybe the meatballs fall by the wayside. Who am I to say?
H
Host1:29
Jack, thank you so much for being on.
J
Jack1:30
No problem.
H
Host1:34
Let's go again. Come and give us your unpopular opinion, something up till now that you've been scared to say.
S
Sam1:45
Lion King is the most overrated film of all time.
H
Host1:52
Okay. Oh, Greta, is that a favorite of yours, The Lion King?
G
Greta Thunberg1:56
Honestly, I might disappoint, but I haven't actually seen the movie. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.
H
Host2:02
Okay, you're not missing anything. Don't worry.
G
Greta Thunberg2:06
But it seems like a religion, Lion King. When I tell people I haven't seen it, they are like... people just can't grasp that fact. So I think I would agree with you.
H
Host2:17
Progress. What film would you go for over The Lion King?
G
Greta Thunberg2:19
I mean, literally every other film, I guess.
H
Host2:22
But what are your favorite one?
G
Greta Thunberg2:24
One favorite of mine is, of course, Forrest Gump.
H
Host2:26
Forrest Gump is a great shout. Sam, do we have a... are we in agreement here?
S
Sam2:29
Yeah, great film. You know, I'm with you on that 100%.
H
Host2:34
Sam, thanks for being on. Okay, let's go again. Come and give us your unpopular opinion, something up till now that you've been scared to say.
F
Frankie2:46
I don't like bird song. I find it aggressive.
H
Host2:51
You don't like bird song? No. Greta, over to you for this one. I think you can take this.
G
Greta Thunberg2:57
Yeah, well, as an environmental activist, of course I fall into the stereotype of people who like birdsong. So yes, of course I disagree with that. I love birdsong.
H
Host3:08
Does it not make you feel like, you know, the world is alive and it's hopeful and it's thriving and that's nature at its finest?
F
Frankie3:15
I think my dad told me that it was like territorial and all shouting at each other. So now I just hear it as birds like shouting at each other.
G
Greta Thunberg3:23
Living so up north, I mean, it's a sign of spring that the birds are returning and they're calling on each other to mate. And I find it beautiful.
H
Host3:32
So Frankie, thank you. Let's move on. And come and give us your unpopular opinion, something up until now that you've been scared to say.
Let's go to the next line and we should have Hugh.
H
Hugh3:49
Peanut butter and jam on toast is actually disgusting.
G
Greta Thunberg3:53
I agree. I completely agree. It's something that the Brits have invented.
H
Host3:56
It's not... no, I feel like is it not American? Is an American invention, Hugh?
H
Hugh4:01
It might be, yeah. Like a sort of the peanut butter and jelly.
H
Host4:05
Jell-O. What would your chosen breakfast be? Tell Greta, exchange breakfast stories, please, Hugh.
H
Hugh4:10
I probably have cereal.
H
Host4:13
Greta, ideal breakfast?
G
Greta Thunberg4:14
Today I actually ate waffles. But I like bread and I like porridge and so on. But in Sweden we like, at least when I was younger, I heard like horror stories about British children only eating like white toast with peanut butter and jam at school. So I think I'm scarred by that. I never want to go to the UK. It sounds horrible. Don't make me go.
H
Host4:43
All right, Hugh, thank you. Let's go again. Greta, do you want to... do you feel like you've learned the song enough to do a solo?
G
Greta Thunberg4:50
Maybe I can try.
H
Host4:52
Okay, let's give it a go. I'll count you in. Here we go.
No, you nailed it. It was great.
We've got Brett. Dogs shouldn't have human names.
B
Brett5:14
What do you mean, Brett? Well, I call it the field, basically. If you've lost your dog, you could call it sandwich, and then you could be shouting 'sandwich, sandwich', and then you could ask people, 'Have you seen my sandwich?' Right?
H
Host5:29
Okay. Do you have a dog?
B
Brett5:33
Yes, I do.
H
Host5:34
And what is your dog called?
B
Brett5:35
My dog is called Taxi. And it's a black lab.
H
Host5:40
Brett, give us an example of what it sounds like when you're calling after your dog.
B
Brett5:45
Taxi! Taxi! Come on, Taxi! Yeah.
H
Host5:48
Greta, do you have any pets?
G
Greta Thunberg5:52
I do. I have two dogs. Also a black lab and a golden retriever.
H
Host5:56
Oh my god. Okay, wait, this is the Labrador fan club. I've got a brown lab. Brett's got a black lab. You've got black... what's your dog's called, Greta?
G
Greta Thunberg6:04
Moses and Roxy. Maybe Moses is a bit of a human name, but he just looks like a Moses. Moses and Roxy.
H
Host6:10
Great names. Do you approve of those names, Brett?
B
Brett6:12
I think you're a bit kind. I'm sure she could think of something a lot better than that.
H
Host6:17
So you want something that causes alarm?
B
Brett6:20
Yeah, she could actually think of something to do with the alarm in the environment.
G
Greta Thunberg6:24
Yeah, like you could have 'Run, run, run'. That could be a good name for a dog.
H
Host6:30
Do you know what though? I feel like a playdate one day with Moses, Roxy, Taxi, and Barney, my dog, would be great fun. The Labrador fan club. That's great. Greg, you need to change your dog's name.
G
Greg6:41
Barney's a good name, do you not think, Greta?
G
Greta Thunberg6:42
I agree here. I think if two human names are not good, Barney is very close to the limit.
G
Greg6:50
I could try and rename him.
G
Greta Thunberg6:52
If you say rename your dog, I will rename my dog.
G
Greg6:54
I think Barney's... it's okay. I approve.
H
Host6:57
Yeah, I think you should do a test out in the weekend, Greg, and say... call your dog something like headphones or iPod.
Right, I mean, this is a fascinating conversation, Brett. Thank you so much for being on.
B
Brett7:10
That's okay.
H
Host7:12
And what a wonderful way to end today's unpopular opinion with Greta. One last time, if you've got some energy left, come and give us your opinion, something until now that you've been scared to say. Do you have any other unpopular opinions for us that you wanted to talk about?
G
Greta Thunberg7:29
British food is not the best, to be honest. I'm sorry if I offend anyone, but I do like baked beans.
H
Host7:39
I don't think that is offensive. I think you're absolutely spot on. And actually, it's a great unpopular opinion. British food.
G
Greta Thunberg7:44
Actually, fun story. On the Atlantic, when I was on both of the trips back and forth across the Atlantic, I had like cans of baked beans, and that's almost all I ate.
H
Host7:59
Amazing. Okay, I mean, they are delicious. You might get sick of them. It might get quite... the air might get quite foggy in that small boat.
G
Greta Thunberg8:08
You don't have anything else to do, so I sat there with a can and I ate every bean by bean.
H
Host8:14
You need to keep yourself busy. That's a great unpopular opinion. Greta, you're really extraordinary, and you're a real inspiration for millions and millions of people around the world. Thank you so much for your time today. Thanks for doing the silly unpopular opinion game. Thanks for chatting to the listeners, and thanks for singing. I look forward to chatting to you again whenever you like. It's been a real pleasure.
G
Greta Thunberg8:34
Definitely, and likewise. Thank you for having me on. It was a real pleasure.
H
Host8:38
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