‘Dragged through the mud’: Locals organise protest to stop Netflix’s Byron Baes reality show

Netflix’s proposed ‘Byron Baes’ reality show about influencers has been met with fury from locals, who have now organised a protest against the production.

Locals at one of the nation’s most famous holiday spots have organised a “paddle out” in protest of a Netflix documentary about influencers.

Byron Bay residents will paddle out at Main Beach on Tuesday morning to “formally request Netflix cancel the show immediately”.

“Byron deserves better,” a poster reads.

A local man named Mark shared the poster to Facebook, urging the community to get behind the event and to help “protect the town from continual vampires sucking the life out of our small community”.

“Even if you can't paddle out, come down to the beach and show your support,” he wrote.

The post has been inundated with messages of praise from Byron locals.

“This is a great way to show how residents feel and numbers count. If you live here, please show you care and send a strong message to all media that this type of proposed show does not focus on the real way of life in Byron Bay and the challenges we face day to day,” one person wrote.

The post which was shared on social media. Picture: Facebook

Ben Gordon, a local residents and anti-Byron Baes spokesman, said it was a “very serious” issue for the community.

“There was absolutely no consultation whatsoever,” he told the Today show.

“They (production crews) simply turned up unannounced.”

“They are proposing to drag our name through the mud and make millions of dollars without offering anything back to the community and completely misrepresenting who we are, and it's totally wrong.”

He argued that what producers were proposing was “manufactured drama” completely focused on social media popularity.

“There’s no one in the show that’s actually from Byron. They’re simply trying to use our name and image for profit. It’s not hard to see why we are upset about this,” Mr Gordon said.

Ben Gordon, a local residents and anti-Byron Baes spokesman, said it was a ‘very serious’ issue for the community. Picture: 9 News

Last week, the coastal town’s sought-after local businesses were knocking back approaches to be featured in the salacious Netflix reality series about Instagram influencers as a petition to block its production gathered thousands of signatures.

The week prior, Netflix revealed it had teamed up with Eureka productions to create the reality series Byron Baes that would explore “fights, flings and heartbreak” among social media influencers who are based in the idyllic town on the NSW far north coast.

Emma Lamb, a reality producer who has previously worked on Married At First Sight and The Real Housewives Of Sydney, was brought in to help with production.

While it’s likely to draw huge ratings, the concept has not gone down well with locals.

A petition titled “Boycott Byron Baes Netflix Series by Refusing to Grant Filming Permits” has reached 7360 signatures.

Locals have been left fuming. Picture: Supplied

Earlier, the petition’s creator, Tess Hall, told NCA NewsWire that the concept would grossly misrepresent Byron Bay and its values.

“We don't want to be an Instagrammers’ paradise,” she said.

“When it comes to Byron Bay, what we have seen about the show would shine a light on the town which doesn’t reflect our values and who we are as a community.

“The fallout for Byron Bay is we become even more renowned as a hot spot for influencers; people who have a massive following who come to these hot spots and create a desire for their followers to visit.

Word is, Love Island’s Elias Chigros may appear in the show.

“But that traffic has the potential to cause significant environmental impacts without any real valuable or meaningful injection to the region.”

It is believed a handful of the town’s most popular local businesses have declined appearing in the documentary.

“Anything that brings large-scale production and jobs to the region is great,” Ms Hall said.

“But ‘brand Byron’ has become so big and has been exploited. When I saw the series idea, I decided enough is enough.”

Rumoured cast members include model and influencer Jess Vander Leahy and Love Island contestant Elias Chigros.

– additional reporting by Evin Priest