Margot Robbie has faced accusations of 'whitewashing' after wearing a diamond necklace with a disputed provenance to the Los Angeles premiere of the controversial film adaptation of Wuthering Heights. The 35-year-old actress wore the £5.7 million piece, lent by Cartier and famously owned by Elizabeth Taylor, alongside a custom Schiaparelli gown.
Robbie described the necklace as 'Elizabeth Taylor's Taj Mahal diamond', but critics argue the jewel was taken from India. The Mughal emperor Jahangir originally gifted it to his wife Nur Jahan in the 17th century, and it later passed to Shah Jahan, who gave it to his wife Mumtaz, for whom the Taj Mahal was built. Richard Burton purchased it for Taylor's 40th birthday in 1972.
Social media users expressed outrage, with one writing: 'The movie already whitewashes a South Asian character, then they have the lead actress show up wearing stolen Indian jewellery to the premiere.' Another noted that the necklace's appearance 'reopened discussion about Western celebrities wearing heritage items taken from India.'
The controversy adds to backlash against director Emerald Fennell's modern adaptation, including criticism of casting Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, described by Emily Brontë as a 'little lascar'—a term for Indian sailors. Fennell's choice of contemporary costumes has also been deemed 'inappropriate'.
