Byron Bay Wants Nothing to Do With Netflix Series About Hot Instagrammers Called ‘Byron Baes’ (Oh, But We Do!)

As if Instagram influencers didn’t get enough screen time, Netflix had to go and offer them a “docu-soap” (read: reality show). Called Byron Baes, the premise is stupidly and vapidly simple: it features “hot Instagrammers living their best lives, being their best selves, creating the best drama content. #nofilter guaranteed,” Netflix stated in a press release, which also promised, “fights, flings, and heartbreak.”

The location of this already obnoxious show? Byron Bay, Australia, or what Netflix calls “the playground of more celebrity-adjacent influencers than you can poke a selfie-stick at.”

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that an influencer in possession of a good follower count must be in want of a beach backdrop,” the streamer continued. “And there’s no better backdrop – or magnet for influencers – than Byron Bay.”

Well, the Australian town and its residents would beg to differ. An online petition quickly amassed more than 6,700 signatures from people who want nothing to do with the baes in question.

“We are a community experiencing significant challenges driven by influencer culture and rapidly shifting demographics of residents,” the petition read. “We do not want to be cast as the perfect backdrop and magnet for social media influencers. We do not want to appear in ‘Byron Baes.'”

Those opposed to the show are asking local authorities to deny filming permits and/or rescind any that have already been provided. They are also demanding that those same authorities “address systemic issues of housing affordability, coastal erosion, increasing unemployment, traffic management challenges, low high school completion rates and high levels of gendered and domestic violence.”

So, it sounds like there’s already a lot going on in Byron Bay without the influx of a group of narcissistic A-holes bringing their issues to the beaches Down Under. And yet…good luck winning a battle against an entertainment behemoth like Netflix.

We have to admit, we’ll probably be glued to our screens just like the rest of the world whenever the eight-episode series drops.

Cover Photos: Netflix and Don Arnold / Contributor (Getty Images)

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