Locals Only: Minnie Driver Calls out Diplo for Malibu Drop-In

On a recent podcast appearance, actress Minnie Driver ended up making a passionate statement on the subject of surf etiquette. Though she’s better known for Academy Award nominations than cross-stepping, the Malibu regular’s words faithfully echoed the sort of “earn your place” ethos we’ve heard time and time again from the surfing community. The missive also called out a fellow celebrity she had encountered in the lineup.

The whole thing happened on Table Manners, a podcast hosted by musician Jessie Ware and her mother, Lennie. Though the podcast generally focuses on food, the conversation eventually turned to surfing, which Driver has done since the age of 30. When asked if she had seen other actors in the water at her home break of Malibu, Driver answered, “Yeah, I have. Also, do you know who I could name and shame right now? Because I could give a fucking shit…”

Before launching her attack, Driver made an aside for a quick primer on drop-ins and surf etiquette. Of course, as a regular at a spot with possibly the most drop-ins this side of Snapper Rocks, it makes sense that she would be well versed in the phenomena. Afterwards, she finally got to the subject of the aforementioned naming and shaming: Diplo.

“Diplo dropped in on me last summer so many times on his stupid foam board,” she told Ware. “He was out with a mate of mine, so I wasn’t allowed to say, ‘Would you fucking stop it and have some respect? Also, you can’t surf.’ I was so annoyed.”

Driver continued with an admonishment that should warm the hearts of angry locals the world over. “If you’re gonna come to Malibu and, like, buy your big house and suddenly consider yourself a surfer and paddle out and piss off the people that have lived there for years, you’re gonna get outed on a podcast,” she told Ware. “So anyway, Diplo, I’m coming for you this summer. Look out.”

Later on, she explained that her frustration with Diplo wasn’t just over a lack of awareness, but also “the level of entitlement.”

“I didn’t get waves for years,” she explained “I literally would paddle out. I would try and get waves. I wouldn’t get waves. A bunch of old guys took pity on me and eventually, after like six or seven months of paddling out and having to wait till everybody got out until I would get waves, these old guys were like, ‘I’ll give you a set wave (which is like the big waves that come through), but if you don’t make it, you’re not gonna get another one.”

However, she also clarified that she would rather not stoop to the level of dropping in on the music producer in retribution…unless he had it coming. “I would really rather go over and go, ‘Look mate, not sure if you’re aware of the rules, but like, don’t be a dick out here.’ I’d rather shame him rather than go and do what he did,” she explained. “But yeah, if I come across him again and he does it again, then I would.”

Da Hui would be proud.

The post Locals Only: Minnie Driver Calls out Diplo for Malibu Drop-In first appeared on The Inertia.