‘Chernobyl’ Writer Speaks Out About ‘Disrespectful’ Tourists Flocking To The Disaster Site

Since HBO’s Chernobyl has aired, tourist groups associated with the Chernobyl disaster site have reported as much as a 40 percent spike in tourism in the area. People are flocking to the danger zone and snapping pics within the eerie deserted landscape. Many of these images are tasteful. However, some pictures have been deemed disrespectful and the show’s writer, Craig Mazin, has now voiced his opinion on the matter.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, some Instagram influencers have come under fire for cashing in on the TV series and having their pictures taken in the danger zone. Julia Baessler, who traveled to Chernobyl this year, took many images of herself at the site and posted them to her Instagram account. Wearing the correct protective gear, the model has since stated that she was there because her boyfriend, an engineer, was allowed access to the area. Baessler has since removed the images from her Instagram account.

While Baessler did actually visit Pripyat, a site within the Chernobyl disaster exclusion zone, another Instagram model, Veronika Rocheva, has since come under fire for not only posting provocative images of herself in various levels of undress, but by using a location that was not actually within the exclusion zone. It has since been discovered that while she tagged the images as being taken in Pripyat, as The Inquisitr points out, these images were taken far away from the Chernobyl exclusion zone, at a canteen in Siberia.

Besides followers citing that Rocheva’s images were fakes and not even taken near Chernobyl, they also criticized the model for taking semi-naked images of herself in what was supposed to be a danger zone. If these images were taken within the Chernobyl exclusion zone, the radiation could have been dangerous for her health.

In addition, critics are also questioning whether people should be taking advantage of the Chernobyl disaster in such a way. After all, many people lost their lives and many more were removed from their homes, never to return, as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

According to The Sun, the writer of HBO’s Chernobyl has now spoken out on Twitter to remind tourists that they should be respectful in the Chernobyl exclusion zone.

“It’s wonderful that #ChernobylHBO has inspired a wave of tourism to the Zone of Exclusion,” Mazin tweeted.

“But yes, I’ve seen the photos going around. If you visit, please remember that a terrible tragedy occurred there. Comport yourselves with respect for all who suffered and sacrificed.”

Many have since backed up Mazin’s stance on the matter. As yet, though, only time will tell if the inappropriate images from the Chernobyl exclusion zone will continue on social media, or whether people will heed the words of Craig Mazin and be more respectful of the disaster that occurred there in 1986.

The limited miniseries, Chernobyl, is currently airing on HBO.