Aussie dwelling in UK tells ‘soft’ Brits to ‘toughen up’ as we face 41C ‘hottest day ever’
Taila Batiste, an Australian living in London, has sparked fury online after sharing a TikTok video calling Brits ‘soft’ for their reaction to the UK heatwave
Taila Batiste, an Australian currently residing in Battersea (Image: Tiktok)
An Australian woman living in London has sparked outrage after branding Brits “soft” for their response to the record-breaking June heatwave.
The UK and most of Europe has been grappling with scorching temperatures due to a “heat dome” effect that originated from the Sahara Desert. According to the World Health Organisation, 1,300 people have died across Europe since 21st June due to the severe weather conditions.
Taila Batiste, an Australian currently living in Battersea in south-west London, took to social media to share her thoughts on the British reaction to the hot weather.
In a TikTok video, she expressed her disbelief that London had come to a virtual standstill, noting that such temperatures wouldn’t even warrant a second thought in Australia.
“Brits are a bit soft, I think,” reads the caption of the video. “I’m just on the train in London because of the heatwave, and they have reduced services.
“So the next few days there are less trains, and they are advising you not to travel unless it’s completely necessary. Also, schools are closing early because of the heat. Can you imagine in Australia if we got sent home, or couldn’t get to and from work because of the heat? My God, the whole economy would shut down.”
The clip has become a sensation online after it hit a nerve with Brits. Many viewers immediately lashed out at her for claiming they needed to “toughen up”.
One wrote in response to the video: “Girl, my classroom today was 37 degrees. I had no aircon, 30 kids and old infrastructure that’s designed to retain heat. Please, sit this one out,” reports the Mirror.
Another added: “If you’re in London, you should know then that the buildings and trains aren’t equipped to deal with the heat.”
A third stated: “It’s called being acclimatised; we are not used to these kinds of temperatures in the UK.”
A fourth said: “Hey, guess what, we don’t have this kind of weather often. You DO have it often in Australia and are equipped for it.”
In an interview with Australian media, Batiste described the backlash as “up there with the most hate” she had ever received.
“I’m being called uneducated because I’m simply saying that in Australia, life would go on as normal,” she told Australian news website news.com.au.
She added: “Meanwhile, schools and public transport are shut down, and the city is on red alert in London if it hits 30 degrees. They were getting so defensive and angry – probably because they’re hot.”
She added: “I have rage-baited the whole of England.” But it wasn’t just Brits who piled into her comments. Even Batiste’s fellow Aussies hit back at her remarks.
One TikTok user said: “Think about it as if Australia had snow and freezing temperatures for a week. You wouldn’t cope; it would be the same thing.”
A second added: “As an Australian also living in the UK… you clearly haven’t lived here long enough if you think the heat is the same over here. UK buildings are built to trap all heat in. 35° outside means min 30° inside!”
Another stated: “Okay, but as Australians it’s something we are used to? We’ve got fans, aircons, cooler building designs. They aren’t used to heat like that, they don’t have aircons like we do, their buildings are designed for the colder weather.”
Batiste told news.com.au while she didn’t anticipate becoming such a focal point when she aired her views on TikTok, she still believed Brits needed to “toughen up”. Ms Batiste stated: “It was around 32 degrees on the day I filmed, but the coming days were slated to hit 35 and 36.
“I’ve been in England during summer four times now, and every time there has been a ‘heatwave’.”
She added: “Why are they not realising this is their climate changing, and maybe their infrastructure and attitudes need to change too? “A heatwave in summer is not new for them, but they are acting like it’s an apocalypse.”
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