Vivienne Westwood's explosive interview about Julian Assange

2022-12-30

‘Let me out of the cage!’: Moment Vivienne Westwood had a run in with Victoria Derbyshire during a heated interview about the extradition of Julian Assange

Dame Vivienne Westwood died this week at her South London home aged 81
Known as the ‘undisputed Queen of British fashion’ she was also an activist
A passionate supporter of Julian Assange, she protested against his extradition
During interview on the topic she had run in with the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire
READ MORE: Fashion world mourns Dame Vivienne Westwood after she died peacefully at her London home aged 81

Dame Vivienne Westwood, the godmother of punk who changed the fashion world forever, died this week at the age of 81.

While many tributes have poured in for the influential designer thanks to her status as the ‘undisputed Queen of British fashion’, Dame Vivienne was also a committed activist.

And the designer, who died peacefully surrounded by her family in Clapham, South London, was known for advocating for a range of issues including the environment.

Another cause Dame Vivienne was deeply passionate about was WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, with one of her most memorable interviews taking place in July 2020, a day after she protested his extradition to the US – with the veteran designer clashing with BBC reporter Victoria Derbyshire.

Dame Vivienne Westwood got heated during a 2020 interview with BBC presenter Victoria Derbyshire about Julian Assange

To protest against the extradition, the designer dressed as a canary and suspended herself in a giant birdcage outside The Old Bailey in central London.

She explained that she had chosen that set-up as Julian Assange was ‘really the canary in the cage’.

Speaking to Ms Derbyshire during the explosive interview, Dame Vivienne said: ‘He has got to be let out of his cage and he cannot be extradited to America for his own sake because he will be embedded in a concrete jail for the rest of his life.’

However as the cameras drew away from Westwood at the end of the interview, and cut back to Ms Derbyshire, the designer again shouted ‘get me out of the cage’ as the deadpan BBC presenter continued: ‘Get me out of the cage I think were her last words.’

A day before the interview, Dame Vivienne (pictured) protested the extradition outside the Old Bailey, suspended in a giant bird cage

Earlier in the interview, the designer had said: ‘He really is the canary in the cage which is what I’m dressed up to be because I am Julian Assange.

‘It is a signal for American government to arrest anybody in like for publishing the truth and once they do it then that will be worldwide and if they’re going to arrest Julian Assange for publishing war crimes which were the truth then they’ve got to arrest The Guardian, The New York Times, Der Spiegel.

‘Everybody that also publishes information’.

Moments later the fashion designer went on to claim that The Guardian had published the code for the documents identifying activists, whistleblowers and informants before Assange decided to release it.

She said: ‘What happened is all his stuff was redacted but The Guardian had the code for the unredacted documents and they published that code number.

‘Then after that Julian Assange decided also to release it because thought all those people whose lives were in danger should be warned against it.’

However when Ms Derbyshire immediately called out the allegations and said ‘The Guardian say that’s absolute nonsense that they did that’, Westwood hit back at the presenter.

She responded: ‘You want him in concrete don’t you? All the media they are just such morons. Such brainwashed people and you’re one of them!’

During the 2020 interview, Westwood said America was inventing charges against the WikiLeaks founder

Earlier in the interview, Westwood refuted claims that the Wikileaks founder was being extradited because he had hacked into a U.S. department of defence computer system and went on to claim that America was ‘inventing charges’.

She continued: ‘Yes but what I am saying is if they arrest him then they all should also arrest the other people.

‘They are inventing charges and fit them to him. He is a hacker so they are charging him with hacking and that’s got nothing to do with anything because all their charges are worded so as to tick the box.

‘You are guilty because you are guilty. Tick the box you are a hacker therefore you are a hacker aren’t you, yes guilty. I mean this is the way they are dealing with this case.’

Westwood also claimed that Assange would not be given due legal process if he were to be flown to America.

As the cameras drew away from Westwood and cut back to Victoria Derbyshire (pictured) the designer shouted ‘get me out of the cage’

She said: ‘You are assuming that he is the subject of due legal process and it’s the abuse of due legal process in his particular case that is so bad that if he had been a murderer or a drug dealer it would have been thrown out of court.

‘You’ve got to allow me to tell you exactly what has been happening.’

Assange is wanted in the U.S. to face charges under the Espionage Act and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion after the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011.

However, President Biden is reportedly facing increasing pressure to drop the charges against Assange, who argues that his prosecution is an assault on journalism and free speech, which is politically motivated.

He is currently being held in London’s maximum-security Belmarsh prison, and has been since 2019.

Fashion world unites in grief for Dame Vivienne Westwood: Victoria Beckham and Marc Jacobs lead tributes to pioneering punk icon after she died ‘peacefully’ among family in London
Vivienne Westwood… An icon whose clothes were a vessel for her politics
The Grand Dame who shook up the British fashion scene: How Vivienne Westwood trained as a primary school teacher…before bringing punk rock to the mainstream, dressing everyone from royals to the Sex Pistols – and meeting the Queen with no underwear on

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