Massive BBQ Planned Next to Home of Vegan Who Sued Neighbors Over Meat Smells

Earlier this week, Australian vegan Cilla Carden appeared on television, explaining that her neighbors were literally ruining her life by grilling meats in their own backyards and, to a lesser extent, by smoking, scraping their chair legs on the concrete, and allowing their children to play basketball outside. But she mostly blames the barbecue.

"They've put [the grill] there so I smell fish, all I can smell is fish," she said. "I can't enjoy my backyard, I can't go out there." Carden says that her neighbors are deliberately trying to upset her by taking part in these not-at-all extraordinary outdoor activities, and she's spent the past two years battling them in court. The Supreme Court and a Western Australian administrative tribunal have both previously dismissed her complaints, and last month, the chief justice of the Supreme Court denied her request to appeal those judgments.

Despite her TV appearances and assorted interviews, she hasn't gotten the sympathy that she clearly thinks she deserves. Instead, someone has created a Facebook event called "Community BBQ for Cilla Carden," which is encouraging Western Australians to join a large-scale grill-a-thon in front of Carden's house. "Don’t let Cilla destroy a good old Aussie tradition, join us for a community BBQ in protest of her actions, and help Cilla Carden GET SOME PORK ON HER FORK," the event page says. "BYO hotdog buns, p.s. NO VEGANS."

More than 4,000 people have responded that they'll be attending, and another 10,000-plus say that they're interested. "Throw a nice big steak on there for me! We all have that one miserable lonely neighbor who just hates quality family time," one person wrote on the event page. "Since I don't have the money to go to the Area 51 raid, guess I'll go to this little get together," another added.

The event also got the attention of John Hammond, Carden's attorney. "Any person who seeks to attend Ms. Carden's property on Saturday October 19, 2019 or at any other time in relation to this event or matter will be referred to the [Western Australia] police on the grounds of trespass," he commented. "Security cameras will be installed to obtain vision of any person attending the property and the vision will be provided to the police."

The event page has since been updated to note that the BBQ is a "peaceful protest" and that no one should plan to actually take their meat onto Carden's property. "Instead the front yards of participating neighbors will be available for use [and] food trucks will be parked in participating neighbors' driveways throughout the street," the organizer wrote.

Well, at the very least, the next lawsuit should be interesting.