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Kate Middleton might as well have worn a freshly skinned animal fur on the BAFTAs red carpet, for all the outrage she’s unintentionally caused.
As has been the trend at entertainment industry award shows across the pond, the British film industry’s night of nights saw A-listers in attendance don black frocks in support of the Times Up and #metoo movements.
The Duchess of Cambridge wore a stunning dark green gown instead. And, as it has a tendency to do, social media went into immediate meltdown.
People were disappointed and upset. They considered it a snub of the cause that’s dominated headlines for months now.
Some even suggested she didn’t care about victims of sexual abuse and harassment.
Alright. Let’s just stop and take a breath for a minute, can we?
Senior members of the Royal Family are, by deliberate design, impartial and non-political figures. It’s enshrined in long-standing convention that one is not too overt in their actions, good cause or not.
The younger Royals have made big strides in modernising this stance in recent years, fronting campaigns for mental illness and even speaking candidly about their own struggles.
But progress is a gradual thing.
Secondly, Kate and Prince William aren’t part of the entertainment industry and were invited to the BAFTAs as honoured guests. To participate in the red carpet statement might’ve been seen by some as an intrusion.
Thirdly, if Kate had thrown on a black dress, she would’ve undoubtedly copped criticism from certain sides for that gesture. Damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t.
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Damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t.
You don’t need to wave some sort of metaphorical banner to be part of a movement. Support comes in many forms, and who knows what the Duchess has done on this particular issue?
Plus, it’s a dress. What impact does her wearing dark green really have on the issue? If anything, bagging her out has simply taken the focus away from the actual conversation we should be continuing to have.
And let’s face it. Strong-arming people to get behind something rarely, if ever, succeeds.
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