Margot Robbie faces ‘whitewashing’ backlash after wearing alleged 'stolen’ Taj Mahal diamond necklace at Wuthering Heights premiere

Margot Robbie stuns in a diamond necklace

• Margot Robbie wore Elizabeth Taylor's Taj Mahal diamond necklace at LA premiere
• Robbie and film criticized for alleged whitewashing, using looted artifact
• Wuthering Heights casting criticized for erasing heritage

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Actress Margot Robbie turned heads in an alleged "stolen" diamond necklace to the Los Angeles premiere of her upcoming film, Wuthering Heights, last week. However, the actress has been accused of "whitewashing.”

The 35-year-old Barbie star strutted around wearing the $8.8 million, approximately Rs 73 crore piece of jewellery from Cartier, along with a specially designed strapless lace dress by Schiaparelli.

Talking about the necklace at the red carpet, the actress gushed, “This is Elizabeth Taylor's necklace. The actual Elizabeth Taylor. It's the Taj Mahal diamond so it felt like it had a lot of romantic history and felt appropriate for tonight. It's a lot of diamonds tonight, we are bringing the Hollywood glam.”

There is a lot of disagreement about whether the necklace originated in India or Turkey, but everyone agrees that it cannot be attributed to Elizabeth Taylor.

In the seventeenth century, Jahangir, the Mughal emperor, gave it to his wife, Nur Jahan. After that, it was given to Shah Jahan, their son, who subsequently gave it to Mumtaz, his wife, in honour of whom the Taj Mahal was constructed.

Many claimed that the necklace was "stolen" from India rather than "taken" to the US, where Richard Burton bought it for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor's 40th birthday in 1972.

One fan resorted to social media to express how offended they are by Margot's remarks and wrote, “That white actor wearing an artifact stolen from india while promoting her whitewashed movie in which another white actor stole a role that was originally written for a person of indian heritage is too many levels of infuriating.”

that white actor wearing an artifact stolen from india while promoting her whitewashed movie in which another white actor stole a role that was originally written for a person of indian heritage is too many levels of infuriating

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— aurora 💿 (@lynchianbush) January 31, 2026

Another tweeted, "The chain from Noor Jahan to Elizabeth Taylor to Margot Robbie.

Wearing centuries old looted jewels to promote a film that whitewashes its lead character. Do they have any authentic heritage of their own, or does their story only survive by borrowing and erasing ours?"

The chain from Noor Jahan to Elizabeth Taylor to Margot Robbie. Wearing centuries old looted jewels to promote a film that whitewashes its lead character. Do they have any authentic heritage of their own, or does their story only survive by borrowing and erasing ours? pic.twitter.com/O4mGsczTmB — Cactusitiis🌵 (@Cactusiitis) February 2, 2026

Another social media user wrote, “this necklace was STOLEN from India. this isn’t cute or iconic, this is nasty and weird (much like the whitewashing of the movie itself). and yes it is that deep. fuck this."

this necklace was STOLEN from India. this isn’t cute or iconic, this is nasty and weird (much like the whitewashing of the movie itself). and yes it is that deep. fuck this. https://t.co/I0BIbWopFX

— Allegra G (@_allegrag) January 31, 2026

The casting of Australian actor Jacob Elordi as the "dark-skinned" Heathcliff has sparked a number of concerns surrounding Emerald Fennel's contemporary version of the cherished classic.

Margot plays the lead Cathy despite being 16 years older than Emily Brontë's character.

Also Read: Margot Robbie stuns at Wuthering Heights premiere in Elizabeth Taylor's iconic Taj Mahal diamond necklace worth over $8 million - See here

Emily Brontë referred to the romantic protagonist as a "little lascar," a word used in the 19th century to characterise seafarers from the Indian subcontinent. In other places, Fennel's decision to dress in contemporary attire for the adaptation has drawn criticism and been deemed "inappropriate."