Culture

The United Kingdom Decides To #Brexit And Many Are Crestfallen

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Thursday evening saw global chaos as the United Kingdom voted (with 52 percent approval) in favor of kissing the European Union goodbye. And once the votes were clear, the British pound immediately crashed to its lowest level since 1985. The global markets are now in disarray, and the fallout will take years to determine. All of this depends on what type of deal the United Kingdom strikes with the union, and the extrication will surely be messy after over four decades in the bloc. Quite absurdly, Lindsay Lohan — who fancies herself a Brit after taking up residence across the pond — live-tweeted the vote while insisting that she wasn’t hacked. Her opinions were across the board all evening, but others formed more concrete perspectives.

Before we launch into some reactions, this Good Morning Britain clip deserves a highlight. The leader of the U.K. Independence Party, Nigel Farage, admitted that one of the major Leave campaign promises (“Let’s give our NHS the £350 million the EU takes every week”) was “a mistake.”

Twitter has decided that the entire world is doomed, and even David Cameron is outta there after announcing his resignation. This video, which features former London Mayor (and probable future Prime Minister) Boris Johnson, shows how many people feel #Brexit.

https://twitter.com/PrivateBetClub/status/746253234461892608

Celebrities are being quite vocal on Twitter too. Edward Snowden delivers a not-so-cryptic warning about the present and the future.

One person is very, very happy about this decision.

Elsewhere, J.K. Rowling expresses the common sentiment that Scotland will now seek independence, and Cameron’s legacy is down the drain.

Lily Allen gets straight to the “really really f*cked” point.

Many other British celebrities (and a few Americans too) added their voices.

https://twitter.com/elliegoulding/status/746227912848769024

https://twitter.com/therealelp/status/746198533141737472

Under typical circumstances, these reactions would likely look like a severe overreaction. Yet when it comes to Brexit, the immediate and future fallout will hold severe and lasting consequences. Neil Gaiman perhaps had the best reaction: “Dear UK, good luck. I am afraid you are going to need it.”