Prince William's admission at the Bafta Awards that he had not watched the winning film Hamnet due to his current state of mind has broken the traditional political silence at such ceremonies, according to a columnist. The Prince, who is president of Bafta, said: 'I need to be in quite a calm state and I am not at the moment. I will save it.'
The comment has been interpreted as a rare personal moment in an otherwise anodyne event, with speculation linking his disquiet to recent royal family controversies, including the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The columnist noted that while William's remark did not explicitly address politics, it was a notable departure from the usual silence.
The article contrasts this with the Grammys earlier this month, where many celebrities made overt political statements in support of immigrants, such as Billie Eilish's 'nobody's illegal on stolen land' and Bad Bunny's anti-ICE comments. These would have been controversial in previous years but are now seen as unremarkable.
The piece also criticises the Olympic committee's rule 50.2, which bans political demonstrations, citing the case of Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was banned for displaying a 'No War in Ukraine' sign. The columnist argues that such rules belong to a simpler time and that awards ceremonies are becoming increasingly politicised.
