Was Kate’ s blacks ash a signal of support for Bafta equality protest?
THE Duchess of Cambridge risked a backlash last night as she broke ranks with actresses and chose not to wear black at the Bafta awards.
On a night when almost every star on the red carpet wore black – and many emphasised their campaigning credentials further still by arriving with an activist on their arm – pregnant Kate, 36, opted for a dark forest green gown by British designer Jenny Packham.
It followed weeks of speculation over whether she would wear black in a public show of support for Hollywood’s stance against sexual harassment.
Tradition dictates that the Royal Family avoids anything that could be construed as a political statement, but there had been speculation Kate could wear a patterned black gown to demonstrate she backed the Time’s Up movement, but also respected royal protocol.
Kensington Palace refused to comment on whether her black sash and bag were intended as a nod to the movement against gender inequality and sexual harassment, which has gained widespread support since the Harvey Weinstein sex scandal.
It was the most openly political night in Bafta history, with female nominees urged to follow the example of last month’s Golden Globes and wear allblack. While actress Florence Pugh wore an eye-catching ‘Time’s Up’ ring, others made a statement by bringing women activists as their guests. Gemma Arterton’s were Eileen Pullen and Gwen Davis, now in their eighties, who were involved in the equal pay protests at Ford’s Dagenham plant in 1968.
Andrea Riseborough’s guest was Phyll Opoku- Gyimah who co-founded UK Black Pride in 2005 to showcase black gay culture in Britain.
Angelina Jolie attended with Loung Ung, whose memoir formed the basis of her film First They Killed My Father about a girl who suffered the horrors of the killing fields in Cambodia.
A group of female protesters wearing ‘Time’s Up Theresa’ T- shirts invaded the red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall, chanting: ‘Sisters, united, we’ll never be defeated.’ The feminist group Sisters Uncut said it was behind the protest to call on Theresa May to halt cuts to domestic violence services.
Many male attendees wore ‘Time’s Up’ lapel badges and the event was hosted by Joanna Lumley – its first female host since 2001. Miss Lumley, 71, hailed the Time’s Up movement as a continuation of the ‘dogged determination’ of the suffragettes 100 years earlier.
Bafta did not request attendees to wear black but a letter circulated in advance from ‘ a collective of UK-based female film and television industry leaders’ said ‘we feel it is important to make a statement to show global solidarity’.
Best Actress winner Frances McDormand, who wore a red and black dress, said in her speech: ‘I have a little trouble with compliance, but I stand in full solidarity tonight with my sisters in black.’
‘I stand in full solidarity’