Reverend Billy is the stage name of Bill Talen, an American activist and performer born in 1950. He is known for creating a charismatic character that blends theatrical performance, social critique, and environmental activism. He presents himself as a gospel-style evangelical preacher, but his “church” is not religious in the traditional sense. It’s the Church of Stop Shopping, a theatrical and musical collective that denounces rampant consumerism, corporate power, pollution, and environmental injustice.
He and his Stop Shopping Choir stage public “sermons” and interventions in malls, banks, and other public spaces—often without permission—to protest capitalism, climate change, mass surveillance, and labor exploitation. The style is deliberately provocative and satirical, echoing American televangelists while turning their format into a critique of the systems they often support.
Over the years, Reverend Billy has targeted major corporations like Starbucks, Walmart, Disney, and big banks funding the fossil fuel industry. He has performed in places like St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Times Square, and his actions often lead to arrest—something he uses to draw media attention and spark reflection.
His work sits at the intersection of performance art and activism, especially in the New York artivism scene. Continue
