The royal family is causing a bit of controversy. Duchess Kate and husband Prince William turning heads at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards Sunday, February 18 — but not for all the right reasons.
Stars like Emma Roberts, Angelina Jolie and Margot Robbie wore black gowns to the BAFTAs to follow the dress code that began at the Golden Globes, making a statement in the Time’s Up movement. However, Kate, who’s pregnant with her third child, opted to wear a deep green Jenny Packham dress with emerald shaped earrings. She last wore the square cut earrings in December 2014 at St. Andrews 600th anniversary dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
While the royal family has always been expected to avoid sharing their political positions in public, she still received backlash on social media for her outfit choice.
“Disappointed in #KateMiddleton #DuchessofCambridge not wearing black to the #EEBAFTAs,” one Twitter user wrote. “It’s not a political thing. Its a woman thing! #TimesUp #StandTogether.”
Another added, “I know the Royals aren’t supposed to get involved with ‘protests’ or anything… but would it really have been THAT bad for Kate Middleton to wear black???”
One tweet that has over 2,000 likes read: “Quite a bummer to see that the Duchess of Cambridge didn’t wear black to the #BAFTAs and not a #TimesUp pin on either Cambridge. There is nothing political about standing up to sexual assault. This should’ve been an easy choice for them to make, and they failed.”
However, not everyone was slamming the duchess. Piers Morgan defended the mother of two, tweeting, “Duchess of Cambridge being abused by ‘feminists’ on Twitter for not wearing a black dress at tonight’s #BAFTAS. Apparently, she’s not allowed to exercise HER feminist right to wear whatever colour dress she chooses.”
Another woman defended her, tweeting that she made the right fashion choice: “She wore a dark color but not black. She didn’t wear red or hot pink. She blended without overtly making what could be perceived as a political statement.”
