Australian actress Margot Robbie has made headlines again this past week following a recent look at the January 28 Los Angeles premiere of her latest project, Wuthering Heights.
The film—starring Robbie alongside the creature of Frankenstein Jacob Elordi—is an adaptation of English author Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel of the same name.
Wuthering Heights’ Pitfalls
While the novel historically gained critical acclaim for its themes of lust and revenge, the 2026 film’s adaptation has been met with far less favor.
Not only was the costume department hit with backlash for its lackluster historical accuracy, but both stars received judgment for their performances in the film. This is ahead of the widespread theatrical release, set for February 13 in anticipation of Valentine’s Day.
Robbie wore a custom black and red Schiaparelli couture gown with the “Taj Mahal necklace” on loan from the Elizabeth Taylor estate. The chain, designed by Cartier, features a nearly 400-year-old heart-shaped diamond as a charm, set with jade and custom gold.
The Story of the “Taj Mahal Diamond”
Once the necklace hit the internet, a video of a relative of the necklace’s creator blew up on X and Instagram. An Indian woman named Sultana Begum is interviewed for the upcoming documentary Lost Queen. Begum is the great-granddaughter-in-law of the last Mughal Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, but is living in extreme poverty in the West Bengal city of Howrah.
Lost Queen focuses on Begum’s attempts to reclaim her ancestral land, the Red Fort. The Red Fort is a UNESCO World Heritage site as former residence for Mughal emperors. It was through this interview that social media users learned of the jewel’s rightful owner.
The “Taj Mahal” Diamond was a gift to Taylor by her then-husband Richard Burton for her 40th birthday in 1972. This legendary diamond values into millions of dollars.
An inscription written in Parsi (a Persian dialect) is on the jewel, translating to “Love is Everlasting,” along with the name Nur Jahan. Jahan was the first woman to receive the jewel as a gift from her husband, Mughal Emperor Shah Jahangir. The inscription included a year: 1037 A.H. (After Hijra) in the Islamic calendar, which corresponds to 1627 A.D.
The jewels went to their son, Shah Jahan, who gave them to his own wife, Mumtaz Mahal. When she passed away in 1631, Jahan commissioned the Taj Mahal mausoleum as a tribute. The monument then inspired the diamond’s name.
Gemologist Rosemarie Kenmore, the assistant to the President of Cartier and wife of Robert Kenmore, purchased the jewel. Cartier later acquired it.
Cartier then sold it to Burton, and the rest is history.
Backlash Comes Swiftly
Once Robbie appeared at the LA premiere, fans from around the world were quick to notice the large jewel. She mentioned several times that she was wearing the necklace thanks to Elizabeth Taylor, who owned it. This is when trouble started.
The tweets concerning Robbie’s look grew so large that the Wuthering Heights Film’s Instagram posts were flooded with comments. Users berate Robbie for wearing a stolen necklace and demand the jewel be returned to the family of the original owner.
This called into question the ethics of celebrities purchasing or leasing controversial clothing or accessories for promotional purposes.
Has This Happened Before?
Something similar happened to Beyoncé and Jay-Z in 2021. The famous couple were the newest faces for Tiffany & Co., with the 35-time Grammy winner wearing the famed Yellow Diamond Necklace.
Once promotional images of the 2021 campaign went public, fans pointed out the controversial history behind the diamonds.
The 128-carat Yellow Diamond Necklace gained notoriety when Audrey Hepburn wore it in a promotional shoot for the 1961 romantic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
The jewels were first discovered at the Kimberely Diamond Mines in 1877. Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Lewis Tiffany acquired the gemstones a year later.
The Yellow Diamond necklace appeared only a handful of times, with Beyoncé becoming the first Black woman to wear it. The premise of the Tiffany & Co. campaign was to redefine the past and bring a newer meaning to the diamond and the company.
Users attribute the origins of the stone to its role as a symbol of British colonization in Africa. This brought comments that the necklace is laden with ‘blood diamonds.’
Blood diamonds are mined and sold in areas of conflict or warfare. In these areas, outside forces (in this case, the British Empire) are in control, rather than the country’s internationally recognized government. The profits from these gems then fund military actions.
Celebrity appearances for promotions or public events in culturally important items have always led to scrutiny.
Robbie’s latest stunt at the Wuthering Heights premiere is not the first and won’t be the last. This shows how exhausted the superficial approach is that many stars have to profit from their latest public appearance.
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