On the evening of March 3, Sarah Everard was walking home from a friend’s house. She was walking from Clapham to Brixton in London. Everard was wearing a brightly-colored jacket and a mask. She walked along a route in full view of people and CCTV cameras. She had her phone with her. She was still murdered. The police found her body last week, and two people have already been arrested and charged with her murder. One of those people is Wayne Couzens, “an elite officer with London Metropolitan Police’s diplomatic protection command.” She was murdered by a cop. I don’t have words for how gutted I am for Sarah’s family and friends.
Everard’s disappearance and murder started a national conversation in Britain, and a conversation globally. The conversations are about how women modify their behavior so they won’t be assaulted, harmed or murdered, while men just declare “not all men” and do nothing as other men prey on women. It’s a conversation about violence against women, men who abuse their power, men who hurt women and, clearly, how every police department in the world needs to cleanse their police forces of men who murder, rape and assault people. Nerves are raw in the UK especially as Everard’s disappearance and murder became a massive story.
Against this backdrop, the Duchess of Cambridge thought she would do a lil’ photo-op at Clapham Common bandstand, where people have been leaving flowers at a makeshift memorial for Sarah for days. This happened Saturday afternoon.
The Duchess of Cambridge has paid her respects to Sarah Everard at Clapham Common bandstand pic.twitter.com/fOCDsV8SuR
— Thomas Newton (@SkyTNewton) March 13, 2021
Kensington Palace obviously confirmed that Kate had laid flowers at the memorial, and that Kate “wanted to pay her respects to the family and to Sarah…She remembers what [it] was like to walk around London at night before she was married.”
I mean… obvious photo-op is obvious. If it had just been a respectful photo posted to the Kensington Royal social media, I think maybe it would have landed better, PR-wise? But the fact that Kensington Palace’s communication team sent Kate out, informed the press so they could set up the videographer, then Kate’s bodyguards stood back so that everyone could get a clean shot of MASKLESS Kate in the crowd… it reads like Kate is using a murder victim to fix her own terrible PR. And why did KP think this would land better if they staged it like this? It really is a clownshow over there. Plus, it reads as false and a staged photo-op because it’s so inauthentic to Kate. Kate, who couldn’t even be bothered to wear black at the BAFTAs for #MeToo. Kate, who has literally never mentioned women’s rights, girls’ rights, sexual violence or domestic violence. Guess she was finally keen.
Oh, and shortly after Keen Kate’s keen photo-op, the cops moved in and got violent with the people (mostly women) at the makeshift memorial.
so kate middleton was allowed her photo op but when protesters go in to actually grieve the police attack and disappear them? ACAB always
— bimini bon bangers (@FindusPancake) March 13, 2021
So The Police hung back tonight, just long enough for the Duchess to get her "Secret" photo op, then they moved in to slam girls heads to the ground.
— Mikey Walsh (@thatbloodyMikey) March 13, 2021
Police officers form a cordon as well-wishers turn on their phone torches as they gather where a planned vigil in honor of Sarah Everard was canceled due to Covid-19 restrictions.
📷 Justin Tallis / AFP Photo pic.twitter.com/d08RxgHtfL
— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 13, 2021
When the front page should be about Sarah Everard but these papers manage to make it about Kate Middleton . pic.twitter.com/fIlUk0tN2k
— sudanesebridal (@sudanesebridal) March 13, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
That woman is a national fucking embarrassment.
Up vote x10000000
Walking around London “before she was married”? WOW. On so many levels.
Beyond ridiculous.
The paparazzi photos of Waity Katie and her sisters stumbling out of clubs determined this to be a lie.
I also cringed at this line, as if being married were the determining factor. No girl, it’s your security detail. Thank them every day. They are the same reason you’re walking around without a mask. That and your vaccine.
Coupled with the Granny Diana cards mentioned in other comments below…I’m baffled by how bad they are at this.
Yeah news flash. Married women still walk around alone at night and still have to be cautious.
Ah, good. That was my reaction, too. “Let me make this all about me.” It’s positively obscene.
I’m not suggesting a staged photo op at the memorial of a woman murdered isn’t disgusting because it is, but Kate got RPO’s after she was married so I think that’s just in reference to the fact that she’s now afforded round the clock security.
I mean, as explained by Meghan, yeah, they pretty much quit walking around like normal people after marriage. Crass of her to center herself, but she’s not wrong.
That “before she was married” crap pissed me the F off! So women need to be married in order to no longer worry about getting killed by a cop for walking down the street?! That wss a total dog whistle to their backward woman-hating royalist supporters.
This was an obvious photo op but to be fair, she clearly meant that she now has security. I don’t think she was trying to make it about her. She was just saying she knows how it feels, which is what many other women are also saying.
Kate had RPO protection prior to the engagement so she is lying when she claims otherwise. It was kept hidden at first but has since been confirmed.
That line gave me the cringiest of cringes.
So true. It’s disgusting and despicable to even CONSIDER utilizing a murder victim for a PR stunt. It’s desperate to actually do it.
I was going to say the whole BRF just keeps getting worse and worse. Ugh. Tone-deaf grifters.
It’s time they hired an American. Actually, NO I want them to continue to drop the ball.
One thing we excel at is revamping a MFer. Said something racist, misogynistic, homophobic, killed someone while driving intoxicated? Give us a week, we got you! I’m not saying this as some big flex. Just stating the obvious.
How does one drive around wearing a mask then show up to a crowed vigil maskLESS. How? She is so good at cosplaying Princess Di and Duchess Meghan. Yet so bad at actually copying DOING the WORK. 😑
They had the audacity to compare this horseshite w/ Princess Di embracement of those with HIV&AIDS…What the actual duck is going on.
They really need to hire crisis management experts. This is not a good look.
Well, it appeals to her fan base
In this case this PR trick seemed to piss even her fans off. There is some real backlash to using a vigil for a murder victim as a way to improve their PR
Why did she go out without a mask, when she normally wears one, even driving? It seems that the Sky News camera crew were there. If Meghan had pulled a stunt like this it would have been deemed stage managed, she would be have been crucified and called a narcissist. Double standards all the way.
Not a word of criticism in the press. Although headlines slyly pointed out her lack of mask and the fact that she remembers walking the streets at night.
I’m just so mad that these fools once again insert themselves into this narrative and hijack it altogether. Was Kate dancing on Sarah’s grave really necessary? Can’t these people think, even for once? Kate Midfleton is a f-ckin bully, no number of photo ops will erase or change that FACT. Once again copying Meghan when Meg laid flowers on Uinene Mrwetyana grave. These fools are so never creative.
meanwhile the cops claimed they “had” to corral the women at the vigil (who had been social distancing) because of safety concerns due to COVID
The fact that she went and tipped off the press to make sure they could record her being there and she refused to wear a mask in a crowd of women (who because of their younger ages are likely not vaccinated yet) to make it easier for her to be recognized and get “credit” for this is despicable. The fact that the cops moved in to bash the MASKED real mourners around for violating covid restrictions when they completely ignored an UNMASKED Kate breathing all over a crowd of people makes it 100x worse. This is just insanely bad PR all around.
They most definitely need better crisis management, someone just made them post mother’s days cards that the kids wrote to “Granny Diana”. Could it be anymore obvious!?!?
I just saw that “Granny Diana” stuff. So manipulative – those kids never even met her. Nor did Kate. And it’s Mother’s Day (in the UK) so why wasn’t it William making the cards?
This is how it’s going to be now. The kids wheeled out as a human shield from time to time.
I don’t know. I am not going to hate on the card. My husband lost his brother. My kids don’t remember him. They have made cards for their Uncle. We talk about him a lot. It’s nice for my husband and good for the kids honor. I am not going to hate on that. Both Harry and William lost their mother in such a horrible way. She should have worn a mask though, she was looking for some good press and it would have actually almost worked if she wore a mask. I will say I am in Ontario, and I never see anyone wearing masks outside. And we have very strict rules. Haven’t been to many gatherings though because it is winter. In the warmer months…outdoor masks were not really a thing.
Saw that, too. Things are getting weird & desperate.
Cms
I’ll hate on a card that seems like it was a private family thing and got released strategically to the sympathetic tabs. Any sweetness there was was knowingly exploited because they got called out for racism and exploiting a young woman’s death for their own gain and COVID restriction violations.
It’s not so much that they did “Granny Diana” cards, but that it was publicised that makes me cynical.
They wrote cards every year but only this year, days after a really bad PR crisis for them are they publicly released. It’s gross.
Kate being in a crowd was actually against a court order because a UK judge was unwilling to permit the large gathering hence the arrests of the women after her stunt was over. So she should be fined for breaking the law. But only the peasants get arrested and fine, not the hypocritical Princess.
Thanks for this! I just saw the cards and cringed at what an obvious PR grab this is. The messages were clearly written by the parents and seem unbelievably manipulative to me. Yikes. Just when you think they couldn’t get any worse, they do.
oh my god… they’re really shameless.
@CMS, I live outside of Chicago and have had to go into the city for a few reasons over the last several months and almost everyone I see outside has a mask on. It’s so interesting to see given that where I live, not too far away, people act like it’s the biggest inconvenience and constantly have them under their noses and definitely don’t wear them outside. It makes me feel a lot better when I go there though.
Nics that is a real reach. The planned vigil wasn’t allowed to go ahead in the evening, Kate walked by in the day, laid flowers and moved on.
The Cambridge’s have been slammed for this Granny Diana stunt even by their usual supporters. The comments in Times of London are almost entirely critical. It is so obvious that the children were told to do this. No child under ten would have the guile and cunning to hatch up such a plan at this time.
The people who advise them are shockingly incompetent , these last two stunts show this, and many are now using this as an insight on seeing how the Palace shenanigans have made Meghan and Harry’s lives a living hell.
I have no hate about the Granny Diana cards. I think that honouring their father’s mother is quite nice.
My dad died when my daughter was quite young, and she has very few memories of him. Still, we honour Papa on his birthday and she is involved.
Royals need to lead by example, although I’m glad Kate tried to honor Sarah. She needs to wear a mask while out in public, especially IN A CROWD, where social distancing is difficult. Doesn’t matter what’s done in other countries, especially those where COVID is still a huge problem (e.g., most countries).
Being royal won’t save you, as Wills already knows.
Why do we have rules? To keep us safe AND to keep us from infecting others. It’s science. Here are easy, sensible rules for U.S. visitors coming to London (if only that could be me):
*Wear a mask over your nose and mouth when in public settings.
*Avoid crowds and stay at least 6 feet/2 meters (about 2 arm lengths) from anyone who did not travel with you. It’s important to do this everywhere—both indoors and outdoors.
This is the thing. Wearing a mask is the smart thing to do, whether or not it’s the law. And if we are going to start quoting “the law” then it was illegal for Kate to even be at that gathering. So people need to pick a lane here.
The way reporters were ready to pretend that this was spontaneous was ridiculous. One Sky reporter claimed that her colleague just happened to be there “off duty” ready to film maskless Kate in the crowd.
They are shameless.
So shameless and I’m glad that Twitter etc is calling them all out on it.
Twitter is dragging her but at this point I wonder if KP cares? Im really curious if they see this as a “win” because she’s getting so many headlines that aren’t as skeptical as SM. Discerning people are def side-eying but I really wonder if KP thinks this is a win.
Considering the women who were there got arrested and tackled by the police after Kate left and that the news headlines were of Kate and not the police brutality, this is blowing up in a way that does not make Kate look good at all.
Her PR stunt looks even more obvious and shallow at this point.
Even those headlines are bad for Kate bc the focus is on her, not the victim, and not the women who were later attacked by the police. A lot of the newspapers changed their front pages, I think due to the backlash.
Agree. It’s so very shallow and don’t know why but I’m always so amazed at the choices made by KP. They show themselves over and over and still I get shocked each time.
@becks-ok am really glad to hear some papers changed their front pages in response
And I thought she couldn’t do anything for BLM because it was way too political to say that black people are people, but she can come out in person, and have a whole ass video made,when a police officer kills a white woman? She can go against covid restrictions by gathering in a crowd AND not wearing a mask to draw attention to this police brutality but can’t even post a BLM hashtag on social media.
Exactly, Amy Too.
I think plan was for this visit to come out through multiple phone images and videos on social media when everyone said, “OMG the princess is here!!” A planted cameraman would not have stood out so much then, but the big reaction didn’t happen because it’s a memorial for a murder victim, FFS, and people had more important things on their minds. Most of the mourners didn’t even glance in her direction or move to get out of her way, which I doubt was the plan, since she wasn’t wearing a mask (classy) and had a prepared statement ready to go.
She’s a pretty unnoticeable person. No one would have noticed without the convenient camera team. And that’s why she wasn’t wearing a mask, so the shots would get her face.
She looks pretty uncomfortable mingling with the normals.
@Tabithad- I believe 100% that’s why she didn’t wear the mask, so she would be recognized. Which means this was all PR.
Definitely PR – and I don’t think she wanted to be there at all. She couldn’t get away fast enough, by the looks of it.
I think she was disappointed at the lack of reaction. There are several people in the video who have professional camera equipment, but the only images I’ve seen of her visit are from the one guy who was obviously expecting her.
You can even see her disguised female protection team moving back and looking towards the camera to ensure that a good shot of her is taken.
It’s all from the same playbook as her trips to the supermarket and the Flybe stunt. Get someone to film you with a sh*t camera to make it look like a member of the public, get all your staff out of the shot so you look like your alone, make sure people can see your face, cos any kind of coverup wouldn’t work with someone so basic looking no one will notice you, then leak to the press and sit back whilst your heaped with praise for being so normal.
Most celebrities who are out and about running errands so want to be noticed so they will either wear a cap, hat or sunglasses. Kate never does when she wants to be seen.
I have no problem with her wanting to pay tribute to Sarah, either through a social post or even an official visit. But this pr stunt was staged to make it look like Kate went down there all by herself because she’s so humble and nice, that’s it, nothing to do with paying her respects to Sarah.
@ Tabithad
Here’s the thing. She could have worn the mask and STILL got noticed. Camera crew were there for HER. They would have caught a glimpse of her exhausted eyes and pointed out “oh hey that’s Kate!” Same results with a pinch of tact.
Going maskless to a crowded area and breaking quarantine for a thinly veiled photo op is contemptible. Of course this family would leverage a dead woman for PR.
And then for the vigil to be shut down due to covid restrictions – AFTER they let the Maskless Duchess breathe her rarified air all over the great unwashed masses. Hypocrisy, thy name is Cambridge.
THIS, because in a car RIGHT after being seen for the first time, she was wearing a mask. They are so obvious, yet the sheep blindly follow.
Just like the Mother’s Day cards to the very dead “Granny Diana” were somehow published.
Not only were they using Diana for PR but also their kids who’ve never even met Diana. Their PR is so obvious and disgusting. I’m glad they’re being dragged for both stunts. Sarah and her family and friends should be livid.
That is so disturbing. Diana is dead, so there is nowhere to send a card to her. I feel bad for the Cambridge children, assigned to such a macabre task. And, as everybody pointed out, she isn’t their mother, anyway. That would be Kate.
Quarantine?
The annoying Kate stans on Twitter who accuse Meghan of doing photo ops if any news of her comes out think that this was just casual Kate who just happened to not be wearing her mask and got accidentally videoed by a newsman who just happened to be there.
🤬…. I am getting attack left and right by Kate’s fan for pointing the obvious of PR move. 😂🤣 it was no random guy please it was a professional journalist taking those videos it was clear.
And just happened to be in London instead of in Norfolk.
Her being in London is the most obvious part.
Hey Americans, schools in England reopened again on March 08th (George & Charlotte attend PS in Battersea, London).
They’ve been in London all week as they did that event on Thursday where Willileaks made those comments about the Oprah interview. Plus the kids are now back at school.
Clearly they are going to be in London for some time yet – gotta get out there and do more PR damage control.
They were in Norfolk the last time the schools were reopened so them being in London likely means they got vaccinated. Which is why Kate felt safe walking in a large crowed without a mask.
This, Nic919. They’ve been known not to put their kids back in school, even after government regulations told them to. Charlotte was supposed to be back in school in April/May last year and they still didn’t return to London. Kate did that PR stunt with the bookshop right as London was being shut down, then off to Norfolk for nearly a year.
Did you conveniently forget that they were at an outdoor event two days ago wearing masks? But she couldn’t be bothered when she was in an uncontrolled sea of people?
@MyNameIsPearl I know Americans are easy targets to bash, but the person who made that comment is British, I believe. So calm down before insulting an entire country for their ignorance, as perceived by you.
@Lorelei How was that an insult? More like information.
I got into it over twitter with several people who kept insisting that she didn’t need to wear a mask because it was outside. In a crowd of people.
Apparently those folks didn’t happen to notice that EVERYONE else was wearing a mask, which means Kate should have been, too.
Not wearing a mask in a crowded area during a pandemic in one of the cities with the highest incidents of covid seems like a big deal to me. MAGAs who don’t wear masks get criticized so why should this be minimized just for her. Plus the gathering was illegal. The chief of police confirmed it. We can challenge the validity of that order, but the same people who criticized gatherings for BLM are saying this is ok. And at least most BLM people had masks on. She did not.
This really REALLY made me mad. Poor Sarah has had her life violently taken from her and Kate used it for a pr photo op. This poor girl has been exploited enough without useless Kate using her death to gain positive attention from it. It’s seriously low, so f*cking low. But then again what do you expect from Kate and KP. Kate didn’t give AF when Meghan was pregnant and suicidal and happily spread lies about her. Nor did she give AF about the nurse who committed suicide or the old lady who was left critical after her security ran them over.
Sorry kate it’s too late to pretend your a caring person now. Also I’m glad she was getting dragged on twitter for this. People are starting to see through her.
She fits in great with that family doesn’t she? I don’t think any of them except Harry has ever done anything that wasn’t 99% selfish.
And apparently there was a dead body found not far from KP in September. No offering condolences for the family, nothing to indicate that she or Prince William gave a damn about it.
https://observer.com/2020/09/womans-body-dead-found-kensington-palace-lake-prince-william-kate-middleton/
Which family would they give condolences to when her name was never made public, possibly on request form the woman’s relatives but even that is speculation?
Kate has never supported her gender. She has always made her life choices in a way that supports the establishment and patriarchy. And this is more of the same.
I am glad that she’s being criticized, especially by the wider UK public. She deserves all of it.
Besides she should have been fined for not wearing a mask in a large crowd like that where the gathering itself was against a court order and she took no precautions to social distance properly.
Out of curiosity for people who don’t live in UK is she really getting criticism, are people not really buying this or it just on Twitter that is more aware of how clear this photo op this was….
She and William are getting called out big time. It is all so silly and pathetic. Trying to horn in on a murder victim’s memorial is bad…really really bad. But then, follow it up by making the kids do Diana cards. Is Louis running the PR ops?
Kate at this point is the monkey that dances when KP politely requests.
That KP chose a young woman’s vigil. That the police attacked the crowd after she left. That Kate and KP remain SILENT about this! It all just stacks up to no one from that family caring about the woman. Just the PR.
Exactly, Kate does what she is told to do.
But she might roar and bite back one day…let’s see.
Good point. If she truly cared about the issue of violence toward women, there should have been a follow-up statement made about what happened after she left. That was brutal.
Beyond that, the implication is that once married, women are safe. Especially if they marry into a family with a protective security force at their beck and call. This is beyond retrograde, it’s victim blaming. Like if she werent some unmarried shrew, she’d be alive. Plenty of married women are murdered: marital status doesn’t confer safety. She can fuck all the way off for this blatant PR attempt. The royals take ages to show up at disasters or any public vigil and are silent on protest movements. The length these losers are willing to go to try and make themselves look good and relevant is sickening.
Someone also made a good point asking if Kate will now show up to all future vigils because just going to one and then ignoring the rest will confirm the hypocrisy of attending this one.
Most women who are murdered are murdered by a male romantic partner – husband or boyfriend. So being married doesn’t make you safer, just the opposite.
@lola exactly so. Married women are most at risk of violence since women are most often victimized by their spouse, partner or an acquaintance. My understanding of this murder was that the cop had met her before and was stalking her. So it wasn’t random at all.
I took it as meaning after Kate was married, she had professional security. It was poorly worded though.
That comment of “I remember what it’s like to walk around London” like wtf? She’s trying to sound relatable but comes across completely tone deaf. She’s one of a handful of people on this planet who is given round the clock security, no one relates to that, so her saying that she ‘remembers walking the streets’. I seriously can’t deal, she’s showing her privilege there, cos most people still have to walk the streets every single day by themselves, they don’t get protection paid for by the tax payer.
@February-Picses, that’s a good point, and it honestly set my teeth on edge too. “I remember what it’s like to walk around London,” just highlights the fact that she is so privileged, she doesn’t do that anymore. It just makes her more unrelatable to the people she’s supposed to represent, and it’s the result of the people in charge just trying too fucking hard and it backfiring on them yet again, because they just can’t do this job properly at all.
Nothing surprising. Done nothing for women except photo ops. Good job deferential Middleton blood.
Rest in peace Sarah.
Pathetic, I even saw some newspaper comparing this to Diana shaking hands with AIDS patients lmao
The telegraph (aka torygraph) is also the same paper that had an article saying Kate wore pink for anti bullying. They are clearly acting as PR for the royals here and it looks pathetic.
Kate will never be Diana. No matter how many times they say it. She is a cypher by choice and enables the patriarchy. She does nothing to help others unless it is to garner PR.
Well she also wore pink when she attended a 9/11 memorial. Nope she just does whatever she feels like.
She also wore pink at Archie’s christening. I hate that I know this kind of thing. I blame the pandemic.
No no this was authentic Kate without a mask in a crowd but she wears one in the car, she has true sympathy for the family and this is not PR.
I understand being deeply horrified by the circumstances of this case and wanted to do something. I understand that everyone has cell phones and anonymity would be impossible. But good grief, wear a mask to reduce the glare of this looking like a photo op and prepare a statement that says the Duchess wants the focus to remain on Sarah and not on Kate’s visit to the vigil. The Duchess sends her sympathy to Sarah’s family and then stop with the self-indulgent walk down memory lane about the Waity Katie years.
Had she worn a mask, people wouldn’t have recognized her. Which is counter productive right.
Omfg! Wear a mask!
Am truly disgusted by this – she used the murder of a woman by a COP as a shameless PR stunt to do damage control is just too disgusting to verbalise.
Of course the police waited till she had her PR stunt and of course its a ok for her to flout COVID rules by ignoring social distancing and not wearing a mask – of course how else would people see her.
Also, top CEO did NOT want to be there – the footage of her approaching the band stand showed that she was literally marching along, and from the other footage at the band stand it seemed she was only there for a few months before marching off again. Her body language screamed ‘I do not want to be here’.
She is being dragged on SM for this and rightly so.
As Kaiser says this woman has never ever shown any interested in women’s rights – i guess she hasn’t need to until being accused of bullying a bi-racial woman.
Also, UK twitter is all over how when Meghan did this in S.A. she was dragged by the press for it but when Kate does it (at an event that was deemed illegal by the police) …………..
The Royal family is truly shameless. This is disgustingly opportunistic. And do they expect people to believe Kate, who never looked at a woman except as a threat or someone to step on actually cares about women? Hahahahahahaha.
Between this and the “granny Diana” post on KP’s twitter today, I am aghast.
The Cambridges and Middletons are the very definition of opportunistic – never forget that.
One of the many things about this that gets me is, this is a one off. She will never, ever again take part in a vigil or do anything remotely associated with the violence toward women issue. This is not her. She does not care.
She and the Rota rats made it all about bitch Katie Keen. She is disgusting as is PWT. I have said before I have been suicidal and lost my younger brother to suicide. After the Oprah interview I truly have no use for the Horrorbridges and their keenness
DI, imagine a big hug from me, an auntie described as a real life girl teddy bear by her nephew. I just want pull that pain out of you. I so relate to being triggered by this slag.
I am so disgusted by Kate right now. I have had two family members murdered. When the press gets it wrong, it makes the worst days of your life so much harder. It wasn’t big news here in California, but what was reported hurt so much for its nonchalance. This poor family. Gawd!
That some have tried to paint Meghan’s suicide threats as looking for attention when the tabloids know she sought help is so disgusting. No one should ever dismiss suicide threats and thoughts when someone else makes them.
And for that family to do nothing is just plain evil. Especially what William and Kate are doing to her. A lot of bad karma is coming their way.
It’s beyond my comprehension whether these people are simply too arrogant to take good advice, too clueless to understand they need to seek good advice or too shameless to try to spin any situation for their benefit. No option is good. Poor Sarah…
It is a combination of all three. With a whole bunch of entitlement added to the mix.
And now it’s Kate’s face and action plastered all over the front page and not the actual news of what the police did to the protesters after she left. Disgusting.
I know – Top CEO and her team will be congratulating themselves on this PR win but the police arrest 78 women last night, many were violently treated but thats ok, Top CEO got her PR stunt in.
The police kettled the women in and then started arresting them – IT WAS A PEACEFUL EVENT. Shame on the police and the gov.
Good grief, that’s horrific! I’ve just been to the shop and there was not a single word about that on any of the newspaper front pages – it was just picture after picture of Kate in an old green jacket.
Kate’s PR stunt is another epic fail. Tone deaf.
And the police attacking women peacefully holding an anti-violence against women vigil is insane. But the fact that police attacked them when Sarah Everard was KILLED BY A POLICE OFFICER is horrific. FFS. What a national embarrassment.
What if that was the point? What if KP is working WITH the police to suppress the story of what they’re doing by distracting everyone with what Kate’s doing? That would be extra sinister but for some reason, I absolutely believe it.
This whole thing makes me so angry and sad. To think that as a woman I have to take so many effing precautions to walk alone at night, that I have to think which route is the most well lighted, with more cctv, which of my keys is the pointiest, where can I run in case I’m followed. It’s not fair to have to think about these things and then have a #notallmencampaign thrown at your face. Sarah took all precautions and she is dead, and to have Kate Middleton use her death as a PR stunt is beyond disgraceful and disgusting. She should be ashamed of herself.
Up until this brutal murder was hijacked by Top CEO, it had been a ‘Me Too’ type movement for women to share their fears of walking home alone and stories of men being aggressive and harassing them; verbally and physically. It will be interesting to see if KP puts out a ‘violent and casual misogyny is bad’ message of support for women or if it was just a half-assed PR stunt. Won’t be holding my breath though.
I would’ve really liked a supportive and cathartic comment section here on Celebitchy but that only happens when the Duchess involved isn’t disingenuous and trying to gain positive press coverage.
I think most of the female Celebitches here will have experienced negative behaviour and actions from some men who feel they are entitled to our bodies and our interaction.
Space Geek: from my own life, the harassment starts early, in grade school, about 3rd-4th grade, & never stops. First it’s the boys in school or in the neighborhood, then it’s men, starting about 6th-7th grade. It never stops. We need more protests like this, not fewer. And we don’t need cops beating us up for peacefully protesting. THAT was the biggest story, tabloids to the contrary. I knew the UK was a bad place for women, but I didn’t realize how bad.
Ditto to everything you’ve just said. I am just FED UP with violence against women. Of always having to live in fear of being raped, assaulted or murdered for just daring to live my life.
Educate your fkn boys to respect and value women. We are not your porn, we are not your toy, we are not your maids, we do not owe you anything.
EFF Kate for using this as a publicity stunt.
Also, could we have Sarah’s photo in the header instead of wiglet?
I hate that she is taking attention from the victim of this horrific crime.
Pretty sickened by this PR stunt.
Way to take a tragedy and make it all about you Kate. These people are the worst.
Also – I said this on Twitter but – this just looks like Kate can’t sympathize with anyone except a young white woman in London. She couldn’t wear black for Me Too, she couldn’t speak out for BLM – this is something that is personal for her so she will do the bare minimum.
Of course to a certain extent that’s true for everyone – some things hit home more than others. But Kate has been so obviously missing from any kind of social “movement” like this (I don’t like using that term but can’t think of a better one) for the past 10 years that it’s so obvious and pathetic.
I’ve seen people on twitter saying that it’s personal as Clapham Common is near where she used to live – it is not. Its approx. 3 miles from Chelsea and would take an hr to walk there and about 30 to 40 mins on a bus. Battersea Park is much closer.
I was wondering how far this memorial was from KP. There is a longshot video online of Kate walking to the memorial site with one other person but she obviously was dropped off and picked up by her team somewhere.
Kate is well over a decade from not having security to protect her at all times (the same security they didn’t want to give to a biracial woman) and she has done literally nothing on this issue. Kate has a platform to help women but she has never bothered because she truly does not give a fuck about anyone but herself. Her entire life has been to elevate herself. It is meaningless and a cynical gesture. It won’t convince anyone new at this point anyway. Only the sycophants like this.
She had Met Police security while she was dating William, the royals lied about it but it came out later.
And she’ll never do anything like this again.
This woman makes me sick. To use a murder for your own PR is beyond disgusting.
She wore a mask at her engagement with Will. Outside and even in the car with him. She wanted to be seen. She knows she is getting dragged for making Meghan cry and wants to show how she “cares” for other women. I am glad she is getting dragged for this. No amount of bot buying is going to turn her reputation around. She will always be known as a bully and mean girl.
So take this with a pinch of salt because at the end of the day it’s just hearsay but I had to go into work on Friday afternoon to drop off a leaving gift for a colleague, and got chatting to said colleague, and she started to talk about all the royal stories of late, and according to her William is 100% the one who spoke about the colour of future baby Sussex. Her uncle is in the RAF and knows William, and according to him, allegedly William is an overprivileged priced prick, who has well kept alleged racists tendencies, and the apple has not fallen far from the tree but not necessarily with same benign racism but a more nasty variety, who would never got anywhere in life nor the military if not for who his family is unlike his brother who is well respected amongst the military and probably would’ve progressed highly in the ranks if he’d stayed or was born norm Harry from the town of Windsor, instead of Prince Harry of Windsor.
I have seen someone on Twitter mention that his mate worked with William at the search and rescue at the RAF in 2009 and he said that William was the “most unapologetically brazen racist” he has ever encountered.
They way my colleague spoke, her Uncle had nothing but contempt for William. All the PR stunts make sense…keep the truth from slowly trickling out. The UK press is awful, unfortunately we have a right wing dominated written press, and public broadcaster which is now managed by Tory friends of the prime minister, so holding truth to power is far from their objective of keeping the establishment in place and the profits flowing one way. So I doubt if the truth will ever out
So William probably didn’t say, Slow down with this girl, but something about her race.
Whoah! Now it’s all coming out.
I had heard that William was politically right wing and probably supported Brexit.
Wow I didn’t think I could dislike Willie even more than I did. I always knew he looked down on people of colour but just thought that he generally looked down on everyone. The fact that he’s so openly and aggressively racist is just disgusting. It seems like this sort of behaviour is normal in his circles. I just don’t understand how people can be proud of their bigotry like that. The thing about Willie is he’s never actually achieved anything other than being born and being white and he knows it.
I have no doubt, it was Willy. This is so him.
Oh I believe it all too. I mean remember the carry out guy comments he made. And that was in public for a story to make he look good. Like Harry and Meghan told us though, the invisible contract will never be broken. I scratch you back you scratch mine. There is too much money and power at stack so there is no way that symbiotic relationship is going to stop anytime soon. What needs to happen is people need to stop believing everything that they read from these rags and stop paying attention to the royals altogether. To Brits though that is part of their culture so, not so easy.
It’s been eye opening to witness the incestuous relationship between the Royal Family and the tabloid press/royal rota. Such a toxic relationship that’s united in its hatred and desire to destroy the Sussexes.
Morning all , apologies l know this is off topic,
been a week since Megan and Harrys interview , but sorry l have to say l never ever predicated that the British Media, ie Sun, DM could get so dirty and so incredibly low, , all weekend l.got alerts ie backyard wedding Trump hating on Megan, flowers sent to Diana After George’s ‘Maria’s cards , its vile and disgusting! Don’t get me started on de other two uneducated people, Kate , your shameful have you no decency left in you …..
Sounds like the things people say about his uncle too. I can completely believe that William and Andrew are the same type of entitled arseholes. Nature or nurture? 🤔
https://twitter.com/danwootton/status/1371067570028183556?s=20
Wtf is this trying to use their own daughter as a distraction.
These shitty parents, using the spare to cover for her father.
OMG! What the ACTUAL??? Papa is missing you??? Also, who wrote that? That isn’t a child’s handwriting, obv.
She must be a child prodigy! A 5 year old writing in near cursive. 🙄
Ok yeah, how old is Charlotte? Is she five? I have a five year old and I’m proud they can spell their entire name right now in upper and lower case letters! Unless she is seriously in advanced classes and has been getting personal tutors I cannot believe this is a typical five year old writing in this neat cursive. Same with George, I also have a son close to his age and when he tries he can have good handwriting but they aren’t even close to learning cursive in school yet. I guess all children at this elite private school are this far ahead of everyone else?
Wow, I guess they’re way advanced in Britain….my daughter, along with all other school-aged kids in the US, didn’t learn cursive till 3rd grade — when she was 8/9 years old. And Charlotte is 5? K then.
I’ve been waiting for a stunt like this after the Sussex’s announced they were having a girl – what about George and Louis???
Yes! You guys called some stunt involving reminding everyone of Diana’s first granddaughter. I sure feel for those children, all three of them.
George “wrote” a card to Diana as well.
This is pretty brazen and desperate stunting.
Wow! Unbelievable, I cannot believe that they did this.
We knew that they would wheel the kids out to get positive publicity, but so soon?
OMG!
That is so pathetic and desperate. It’s screaming “remember Diana!! Kate is just like Diana!! No one can ever attack william because DIANA!!!!”
KP is really losing it. Wow.
Yes, a really pathetic move, using the kids and posting it on social media, they are really courting trouble.
They are using all of the kids. There are letters and cards from all of them to Granny Diana because dad (Will) misses you so much. If this were Harry and Meghan posting about Diana they would have been overloaded with hateful comments about using Diana’s name, but if William misses his mother it’s acceptable. So effectively they are using the kids and Di for distraction.
This truly shows how much hold the press has over William. Yes this is cute and adorable but let’s be honest, if this was 2014, William would have never let this be released to the public because at the time, him and Kate were very much for privacy for their kids.
Dan Wooten went to Very Much Not Racist William and reminded him that they have the goods on him and what would he be offering them not to release it this weekend?
Until will and Kate struck that deal with the press to o crease access to their children in exchange for positive PR. After the press started going at them they used the kids as a bargaining chip.
@Harper, what you say could be true. The media have a stranglehold over the RF who have entered into a very toxic symbiotic relationship with these media rats.
Ok, this is totally random. Even Kate’s PR stunt was less clumsy and somewhat understandable from a timing standpoint. This one is not only shameless but also weird.
‘Granny diana’ is trending on twitter and the comments aren’t kind. One person commented that this was a 2nd day in a row they they have exploited a dead woman for their own PR. It’s so true. They really have no shame whatsoever.
The RR’s are really trying to sell the kids cards as incredible. Becky English even tweeted that she was crying reading them. A lot of people are seeing this for what it is and calling them out. I bet the RR’s are sweating. They have to sell these two as amazing and wonderful and people are not buying it anymore.
Looks like William threatening Charles again. Don’t you dare out ME as the racist royal, I’ll just throw mummy’s death back in your face.
As someone who had to write cards to dead people….yeah this is icky. I never understood (at that age) why the adults made me write cards to dead people. It certainly had nothing to do with me.
Horrifying response – “I remember what it was like to walk around London before I was married” manages to not only victim blame Sarah for walking in a public space, and not, you know, the perpetrator of the crime against her, but also assumes that being married somehow makes you “safe” (!) from these kinds of crimes. That’s just not true, and it’s dangerous to feed that narrative.
If the duchess wants credit for being keen on feminism, she can start by leaving the pretty flowers at home and contributing to an organization that supports survivors of violence and/or use her platform to amplify those who actually have something useful to say.
I took that statement to mean ‘before I married into the RF and got tax payer funded round the clock personal protection’. Totally tone deaf – it could have been worded so much differently, they should have just left it at ‘I remember what it was like to walk around London’ or at least added something about walking around London alone at night.
Maybe, and it’s possible she was trying to avoid saying “before I had bodyguards”, as that would hardly be seen as empathetic, but it strikes a chord with me because I hear it a lot: “Thank God I’m not out going out to the clubs anymore…Nobody will bug me with a ring on my finger, I’m taken!… Nah, I’m a middle-aged woman in sweatpants, no one is going to bother me.”
This is also what I hear again and again when women talk about their experiences being harassed or assaulted – usually the first thing they say has to do with establishing what they were doing/wearing at the time, because deep down there is still a belief that as women we can both invite and prevent violence by what we wear or say.
And, this particular case also demonstrates that police protection isn’t a guarantee of women’s safety, either, from the looks of it.
Kate had police protection while she was dating William, which was hidden from the public for years. She wasn’t walking around London alone – she was taking cabs and had police protection.
Wow – I did not know that. I knew she always took cabs as she was always papped falling drunk into them, she also had a car and drove everywhere. The only time she used public transport was for PR stunts.
It’s not like she was poor and had to walk anyway. Surely her parents could afford to pay for a car.
@DU – I was just seeing on Twitter that she has RPOs as early on as 2008. 2008!!! Three years before she married William! But they couldn’t afford security for Archie.
They gave Kate police protection when she was still William’s girlfriend but didn’t want to give Meghan police protection even when she married Harry. Wow!
I recall when that arose but yes she definitely had RPO protection prior to the engagement.
Equality
Kate used her royal association to get steep discounts on expensive cars and clothes. Her family was still thrifty then, sharing clothes, buying and returning. There’s no rule Kate couldn’t break.
She is clearly trying to copy Meghan.
Obvious pr stunt. There just happened to be an off-duty reporter there at the exact moment Kate showed up, sans masks but wearing big blue. Okay. Sure. Disgusting behavior. I don’t know which pr genius, Carole or William, thought this was a good idea but fire yourself. Shame on everyone involved in using Sarah to make Kate look like she gives a damn about other women.
Lol @ “fire yourself”. There needs to be a massive layoff at KP.
If the videos weren’t posted by journalists and she had worn a mask like everybody else I’d believe it was authentic. This is just like when William greeted well wishers outside KP on Diana’s birthday and the only person who captured the moments including him walking from KP was a Daily Mail photographer. Plus all papers made sure to put Kate on the front page instead of the police attacks on the mourners. It’s like KP had an agreement with the papers to put her on the front page.
And the thing is if she had worn a mask she would still be recognized…due to the very silly, very tiny, too small floral mask that everyone knows at this point.
IDK. Even with the silly little mask she is bland and unnoticeable. Her sister Pip has been parading around London, pregnant and without a mask, trying to get papped too.
This is so gross. It makes my stomach churn that people at KP are seeing those headlines and thinking they did a great job. A young woman is dead. Dozens of others were harassed and unfairly treated by police. A photo after the fact would’ve been enough, you know? But the obvious staging of it all is just disturbing. The privilege of getting to do this, not wear a mask (so you can be recognized in the video), and not be unfairly targeted by police is just tough to swallow.
I keep seeing people (some bots) on Twitter arguing that now Kate is being bullied for it. This is not bullying. If Meg did this exact thing, I’d feel almost exactly the same. The only difference is how and why the palace is so desperate for the good headlines, and are using a murder victim for it.
RIP Sarah.
Kate is the bully who hijacked the vigil of a murder victim for PR. She is truly despicable.
100%
Gross. The British royals shouldn’t surprise me anymore with their shenanigans but I still underestimate their sociopathic, narcissistic tendencies.
Kate who has ignored the murders of other women before, especially if they looked a little bit less like her…
Not just Kate, the British media is also guilty of not reporting on a lot of women who’ve been a victim of the same horrific crime. Too many non blonde, attractive and middle class women have been murdered but they don’t get this coverage. The media chooses a perfect victim and if you deviate from that narrative you never existed. How is this acceptable???
If a black woman had been murdered it would never make the front page.
I’ve only been following this on NPR but since there has been such a kerfuffle, I can only assume that the murdered woman is white. So it’s less “OMG, a cop killed a woman”, it’s most “OMG, a cop killed a white woman”.
And Kate is gross for going to this photo op.
I’m sorry but she should have worn a mask. Please don’t go “the rules are different in the UK!1!1!!1!1”. I know what those rules are, I live there. But as someone who gets paid millions of pounds a year to be an ambassador for the country (that’s what we’re told the royals are good for, along with tourism and national pride), Kate should be going above and beyond and setting an example.
The rules people saying she didn’t need to wear a mask should also realize that there was a court order that forbid the large gathering, so really Kate should have been fined for breaking quarantine and attending.
That thing yesterday was so obviously staged.
When has Kate ever advocated for women and victims of abuse?
She herself took actions in the abuse of her SIL.
Not very related but today Kensington posted handmade cards by the children with messages to Diana lol Something in the lines of “we love you grandma Diana and daddy misses you”
And you know what I am not surprised! The saddest thing is that I am not surprised…
These two are so low. So low.
This is really transparent and repulsive.
Were they sitting around the breakfast table talking about ways to get good PR and came up with leveraging a ‘hot topic’ murdered woman for their own benefit?
Beyond that, she has gotten SO MUCH HEAT for not wearing masks over the last year but shows up to something that has been deemed illegal because of Covid…without a mask. And the only person without a mask at that. She had to have known that would draw attention away from her “good deed”. So why? To be more ‘seen’?
Just disgusting all around.
She didn’t wear a mask to ensure that she was recognized!
In ten years Kate has not shown a single ounce of concern for women’s causes. She didn’t even wear black at the Baftas for Me Too and Times Up. The reason given was that it was “political”. Well if that was political then this is too.
And of course she’s maskless, even though she was out this week with her husband and I’m a car with mask on. She had to be sure she was spotted and that the press got their shots for the front page.
I’m furious. Sarah did everything women are taught to do when they’re out and she was still killed and still people are refusing to listen to women’s fear. And the police chose to get violent last night at a peaceful vigil held for a woman murdered by one of their own.
And instead this morning all of the front pages are about Kate pretending to give a shit for five minutes. Half of them aren’t even showing Sarah’s picture, just Kate’s.
This whole thing would be disgusting even without the palace trying to muscle in to desperately try and repair their image, but that’s just the icing on the cake.
I could not agree more. I started out this week laughing at how inept they are, but this chilled me to the bone. It is psychotic.
Everything about this is disgusting.
We should see Sarah’s face and be saying her name. EVERYWHERE.
Their PR is just so inept! I don’t understand!
Reading up in her story made me sick to my stomach. Ladies, we really have to start arming ourselves because we’re still not given the luxury of just being left alone while trying to make it home in 2021. The fact that she was likely murdered by a cop and they’ve been arresting protesters…..sickening. I’m gonna leave the Kate commentary to the British celebitchies but I just wanted to comment and say I stand with you here in the states! If you’re going to protest, please stay safe and vigilant!
The cop was special services (he also served in the armed forces) – diplomatic protection who just 3 weeks ago was reported for exposing himself in a take away. His wife/partner was also arrested.
Sarah had to be identified by dental records – I shudder to think what he did to her.
God, this reminds me of the horrific murders of Leslie Mahaffy and Kristen French by Paul Bernardo and his wife Karla Homolka (they also managed to kill her sister when they drugged and raped her) many years ago in Toronto. Perfectly innocent looking young couple, newlyweds, but Bernardo had a long history of rape and attempted rape but the police bungled the investigation.
Apparently Couzens was found unconscious in his jail cell with head injuries the second night he was in jail and had to be taken to hospital. I wonder if someone got to him or he tried to off himself? And I wonder if the police have anything else on him besides the alleged indecent exposure incident? I think the police force dropped the ball on doing an intense background check on him and I bet more stuff comes out on him and his wife as the days pass. They will have a lot to answer for if this is the case.
I fear that he’s killed before. I don’t think someone just kills a stranger out of the blue at 48 years old.
@Coco – I read that his back yard is being dug up. I dread what they might find.
I bought a small canister of mace from the army base on the coast back in ’92. It has traveled thousands of miles with me, whenever I walk alone or even when walking my dog. It sits in my housecoat pocket at night, which is hung on my bedpost. It has since become illegal, but I’m keeping it. I also have a large can of Raid(tm) behind the front door, in the bathroom and in the kitchen. It is effective at blinding an assailant without killing them, the idea being you need the chance to run away. You’re not going to stand there saturating someone, you just need a second to run or call 911. You might also kill them if they inhale too much. I also have a lighter in the bathroom. You can turn your Raid into a blowtorch if you feel it’s necessary, just make sure you shut the lighter off, before the spray. I have lived alone for years and yes, I am done playing with my safety. Nobody else gives a damn about it, its up to me.
The Raid I have shoots a 30 foot stream which gives you some distance from your attacker, hopefully. Familiarize yourself with the spray button. Some aren’t just point and spray, they have locks. Stay safe ladies and get yourself some cans of insecticide. If anyone asks, you’re afraid of spiders. In fact, it’s probably better not to let anyone know why unless you can really trust them.
*Currently have my son living with me for a year, so not alone at the moment.
@LadyD, thank you for this PSA. I will soon be living on my own and it’s unfortunate that we have to share this kind of info, but I’m grateful for it.
A year or so ago, I was teaching my teenage daughter about parking under street lamps, making sure to check the back seat before getting in the auto, etc. She was … angry that she had to be cognizant of these things when her brother didn’t. It hadn’t even *ever* occurred to me to be angry about the situation. It’s just the way it always has been.
Glad for the movement. It shouldn’t have to be this way. Until then, we share tips..
Mace and pepper spray both expire in about 3-4 yrs. I would not trust that can of mace anymore.
Thank you J&A’s Mom. I had no idea it expired.
https://www.divasfordefense.com/blogs/self-defense-articles-educational-material/household-items-you-can-use-for-self-defense
Thanks for the tips @lady D. When I moved to college i had my own apartment and i used to keep knives near my bedside so i could sleep at night (it was over 10 years ago and mace was not that easily available in my country).
Lady D: mace may be illegal where you live, but you can always get bear spray in any sporting goods store.
If I can say one more thing, it’s do not hesitate. Decide on a course of action and follow through. The cop I spoke to could not stress hard enough, “do not hesitate” If you hesitate they have time to stab you, grab you, knock you down, etc. Don’t give them a chance because they will take it, it’s what they are looking for. The officer also said fight like your life depends on it if they try to get you in a vehicle because it probably will. If they do get you in a car, transferring you out, or to another vehicle will be your only/best chance to escape. Again, do not hesitate, she who hesitates is lost. Seriously, the cop told me three times in a two minute conversation, do not hesitate. Take care of yourself.
The link that @equality provided has amazing information on protecting yourself at home. Using a cutting board as a knife shield is brilliant.
S808 it is indeed sickening but in the UK and we’re not allowed to arm ourselves. Aside from mace, any weapon we carry would most likely be used against us. I’ve spent the last few days reading various news articles from all different sources and their comment sections. It’s most definitely not ALL men who perpetrate misogyny against women but all I’m reading is either articles with closed comment sections or people commenting “but men”…
This is all very much like the post-Oprah interview discourse: people don’t want to be confronted with their prejudices and end up using equality as a weapon to beat anyone who points it out, with. I’m not perfect but I will consistently challenge any views I have whether they are subconscious or not. Why are others not good or smart enough to do the same??
Why can’t we all just get along? 😥
Space Geek, we’re not but make sure you have stuff at home to defend yourself with (all my knives are out in the open, they are attached to a magnetic bar in the kitchen). For walks, carry some sort of spray, any will do if sprayed in the eyes.
When I am alone at home because my husband is off for work, I go to the front door with a knife in one of my hands kept behind my back. If I were to disappear when my husband is not there, nobody would even be aware until several hours are passed.
This reminds me of the dumb influencers using the BLM protests as a backdrop to create content. Kate the Great is essentially just Kendall Jenner in the Pepsi commercial.
Yes that’s a perfect analogy, over privileged idiots wanting the asthestics(so) of activism with out any of the work /understanding
We all remember when she wouldn’t wear black to the baftas because abuse against women is a “political issue” so with all due respect she can get stuffed with this nonsense
I’m not going to blame Kate for the cop’s abhorrent behavior (letting her pass while crushing women), but jesus the comment about how she recalls walking in London alone & not wearing a mask…yikes. How hard would it have been to say “this was a horrible act of violence, we must do more to make women safer” (which in itself is a very mild statement, as I’m not even mentioning gender based violence, cops, or cultural misogyny). And not wearing a mask..smdh.
And this is coming from someone who isn’t a Kate fan but before Meg’s interview found her to be mostly meh (before, I always thought Wills as being behind everything, including the white woman tears story)…but this itself just comes across as awful to me.
I honestly don’t understand how the royals still poll so high in the UK (I saw the recent poll of their popularity) while Meg and Harry poll so low. Interestingly, in the US the BRF is polling pretty low and Meghan and Harry’s popularity rating are fairly high.
The YouGov polls, which I have a membership to, are by invitation. They know your basic demographics before they even invite you to one. The other polls are done by tabloids and so are answered by their readership and not by the general public. Any poll can be skewed to the bias of those looking for certain results. How many polls predicting political things turn out to be accurate? Also on some poll sites I have gotten credit for doing the same poll more than once.
They think this is a good way to “relate” to the masses.
I can’t even with this woman, or her even worse advisors.
This criticism is ridiculous. Sarah’s murder has gotten international headlines. Kate was very unassuming- literally noone around seemed to recognize her. You can barely see her face in the picture. She was literally wearing a camouflage colour and blended in with the crowd. Her appearance brought even more attention to this young woman’s death internationally. I live in Canada. Do you have to criticize everything she does?
I mostly agree with you, Sarah, but I can’t get over her not wearing a mask, and I guess that makes me suspect — she would have blended in a lot better if she was wearing one, hmm? Not wearing it leaves no room for doubt as to who she was. But hopefully her appearance at least might point out the hypocrisy of the other women being so man-handled and she…was not even going to be close to that happening to her.
IMHO, it is highly opportunistic and in exceptionally bad taste to trot her out with her huge team of plainclothes security (if only all women had that privilege). Conflating all the RF drama with an absolutely horrific murder is a mind-blowingly idiotic PR move. Also, does seem a bit odd that she wasn’t wearing a mask to a potential super-spreader event (loads of adults, although she’s most prob vaccinated) but chose to do so at the school soiree.
If Kate cared about women besides women as mothers, I would see this as genuine. But she doesn’t. Even IF she decided now was the time to care, she could have worn a mask. Even IF she decided she didn’t need the mask after all of her recent events wearing one, she could have said something about the police violence against women at THIS VERY MEMORIAL.
No, she’s silent. So, she doesn’t care about Sarah, violence against women, police violence against women. It’s just such an empty gesture that, in the end, is a PR opportunity to make the person or brand look good and feel better without actually having an effect on the issue at hand. If she follows up with a statement on the continued (police) violence against women in the UK, I’ll eat my words.
+ 1, Lemons.
The criticism of Kate and this latest stunt is absolutely justified. Kate doesn’t care about other women, period. Now she trots out, with her security team and photographer, to pose and make a PR spectacle out of this event. She was there to be papped, not as a personal experience, but to try to distract people from her abusive, racist treatment of Meghan.
She is trying to be be more edgy and copy Meghan.
If Meghan had done this she would have been castigated and told that she was getting too political because the police had actually said no to the gathering.
For me it isn’t so much that Kate did anything but the bias in the media concerning Meghan doing the same type of thing.
Why don’t Kate AND her tool of a husband AND the Queen put up a very visible message of condolence and sympathy on the KP website? Why doesn’t Kate take on some patronages that deal specifically with violence against women – counselling for rape victims/self-defense training/more women’s shelters – I could go on and on. A carefully orchestrated, maskless pap walk surrounded by security is simply selfish. Put your (massive amount of) money where your mouth is Kate.
@Sarah. Nah. This deserves criticism. She literally made sure there was an “off duty” cameraman from Sky News right where she was standing, and she made sure her RPOs stayed out of the shot. Speaking of, her RPOs will ask people to delete photos or videos of the royals if they are unauthorized. The fact that these pics are on the front pages tells me the photos are completely approved by KP.
This is a PR stunt, pure and simple, and shame on Kate for doing it.
Some people absolutely criticize everything she does, yes. Honestly I didn’t expect this to be criticized. Is it dangerous to others to go mask free when vaccinated? If yes then I get that bit of criticism. The “she’s trying to be like Meghan but Meghan was criticized” stuff… meh. Yeah Meghan was a Guinée pig but her ideas were her own, well received by many, and now Kate has a few more moves open because Meghan tested the waters. Like feminism causes, wider pants.. if the end result is good I don’t see why it’s so infuriating? Since 1. Meghan was never forced to go against The grain, those were her own ideas… and, 2. It ended well for Meghan. That Kate can never do any things Meghan did first is seriously a bit much
“It ended well for Meghan.”
Are we talking about the same Meghan who got so much hate for breathing, she became suicidal and had to leave the country and her -in-laws because of how bad it got? Are we talking about the same Meghan who’s every project was criticised by the media? Are we talking about the same Meghan who was criticised for wearing pants as it was “breaking protocol”?
Sure she’s happy and successful now but let’s not act like she was “successful” in the BRF for it and the press all praised her.
She deserves to be criticized for most of what she does and all that she doesn’t. She pays the barest amount of lip service to her patronages, some have had to shut down under her watch. In her long tenure as girlfriend of and wife to a pompous racist prick, she has deliberately door-matted herself because she’s too lazy and disinterested in doing anything other than take advantage of the luxe tax-payer funded lifestyle she now enjoys. Instead of working to improve the lot of so many disadvantaged subjects, she faffs around with an occasional Zoom call or visit; she does nothing concrete. Kate can’t come close to accomplishing what Meghan did and continues to do.
Kate is the same age as Meghan and also has a university degree. Why is she getting a pass for suddenly deciding that she cares about violence against a white woman when she had a very public platform since 2011 and did literally nothing on this issue. She is the future Queen consort so why must Meghan be the one to test the waters? And of course she let Meghan get attacked in the media for being a vocal feminist and helped the tabloids perpetuate the false narrative of Meghan being an angry black woman. How is it ok that she is only now, days after an interview which showed how she sabotaged Meghan in the public by refusing to correct a false story, making a public show of caring about women’s issues.
Kate let Meghan be canon fodder for media attacks, to the point where Meghan had suicidal thoughts, but now that Meghan has left the country it’s ok for Kate to pretend to be a feminist? No you can’t pretend to be a feminist or ally when you throw your own sister in law to the tabloid wolves for your own benefit.
No, Sarah, the police’s response to this vigil brought them international attention, not Kate’s show appearance.
And KatianaD: ‘it ended well for Meghan’??? It very nearly ended, far too early and far from well.
Sarah and KatianaD, I agree with the others. There’s one issue that isn’t talked about and I want answered. Did the police know that Kmart was going to be there and they decided not to (politely) ask people to disperse because they were waiting? Then they decided to arrest people instead of trying to get them to disperse? I have a really hard time with this one, because I think it’s true. So, we’re just supposed to think there’s nothing wrong with this PR piece. Really?
What I mean is Meghan is happy and free now. Plus she’s more successful in her career than ever before. So if Kate wants to increase the variety of her causes /influence in the UK, I don’t see how that hurts anything. Violence against women is basically the biggest violence on earth, it should definitely become something Kate works against.
The headlines are “KATE THE PERFECT ANGEL DUCHESS.” Not the victim, not the vigil, not the police brutality. The whole thing is gross. The royals cheapened a tragedy for their ridiculous photo op.
For those comparing this to Meghan, yes I agree Meghan would’ve been criticized for the same but that’s not really the issue. Meghan, who has a history of supporting women and wmoen’s issues, wouldn’t have done something so transparently self-serving and clumsy. In South Africa, Meghan reached out to the victim’s family privately and went to the memorial by herself, then released a photo tribute on Instagram. The palace meanwhile offered no sympathy to the family or comments on the victim but centered KATE in the tragedy.
Which is it, Kate was unassuming and camouflaged, or she got international attention? Hmmm.
There’s just too much evidence of staging for this to have been just a “personal” visit. Not to mention this timely pivot to her caring about women’s issues not centered on motherhood.
I wonder if she feels good about stunts like this? I can believe she’s being directed by poor advisors, but I wonder also if she’s come to believe her own propaganda. I always thought it was dangerous to build her self image on being perfect.
I’m an American and will admit my ignorance whe it comes to the royals. My question is whether they offer anything to the UK? Like do they have any diplomatic or governmental powers? If not, what is their relevance? I don’t get it.
Disgusting. No other words for using a dead woman to score PR points. W&K are sinking themselves into the abyss.
I mean this completely non conspiratorial because I later saw photo of her from the front in that jacket that confirmed it was her, but when I watched this yesterday, it didn’t even look like her walk and was so weird that she was walking down that sidewalk with no security. Her hair was unrecognizable as was her outfit, she looked like literally anyone else.
I was seriously waiting to hear that the press had gotten it wrong, so I wasn’t so angry. Now I’m angry because this hit close to my heart and experience, and Kate has never shown a shred of care for women and violence against women.
Ummm….how long did it take Kate to show up at Grenfell?
This is an excellent point. Grenfell was in her neighbourhood as well and she did nothing for them.
City girl born and raised. Tricks of walking home safely at night second nature to me since before adolescence. One night as an adult was walking home from a club with my male partner who is over six feet tall. I was very aware of someone who’d been walking behind us for awhile and pulled my partner over to the side to let the guy walk ahead where I could get a good look at him. My partner who wasn’t even aware of the other person was baffled. That was the first moment I realized how different our experiences are. Men just don’t get it.
Oh for sure. To paraphrase Margaret Atwood — ‘mens’ biggest fear is that women will laugh at them — womens’ is that men will kill them’. I don’t know one man who has an innate fear of being alone walking at night. And yet just think of the thoughts that go through our heads just to *prepare* to do so, let alone while we’re actually walking, or in a cab by ourselves, etc.
I’m a small town girl living in the big smoke but experience has taught me to be aggressive from the get go – these ‘men’ do not expect it, they expect women to be polite which to them is a sign of ‘they want us to continue’.
I have adopted what my (London based) friends call ‘the Glasgow approach’ – I think many of you know I’m Scottish – which contains a few of the most famous words in the English language: ‘NO, F@CK OFF’. These ‘men’ will stand there dumfounded and shocked that they have been spoken to like that – while they are gathering their ‘wits’ I’m off in the other direction. I told my former kickboxing instructor this and she laughed and laughed, saying that it was a good way of disarming and confusing the ‘man’ long enough to get away as they are conditioned not to expect this from a woman.
FYI – none of my friends are being negative about Glasgow in any way, they love the city but they also know that Glaswegians, particularly the women, take no sh!t from anyone.
I always have a jacket on so I can carry a whistle, travel size hair spray can in my left pocket. My right hand as my car key between my fingers ready to stab. I’ve been know to screamed back off to guys when they come to close when I’m walking alone.
I have also deployed the ‘f**k off’ & the men are always so surprised, which makes me laugh as soon as I’m away.
I have lived in some of the grungier parts of Paris (even though the Champs-Elysée is also famously dangerous at night), and if I wasn’t planning on going home with friends, I always took my bike. The amount of times I felt SO much safer knowing that I could whizz past some potential stalkers…that bike probably saved me from some terrible experiences.
Even then…you never feel really safe.
Above and beyond walking alone at night, I get ‘paranoid’ driving. If I see the same car behind me for quite some time – night time or not, I start making random turns and circling around. It is always much worse at night. That unsafe feeling lingers with you in a way it doesn’t during the day. Back where I used to live, I’d drive past the police station (although I won’t be doing that anymore).
I went for a late night snack run once, and had 2 men approach my car in the drive through with a sob story (something something, out of money, out of town, etc). I bought them food, gave them a 10 for gas, and thought that would be the end of it. It wasn’t. They started saying they would just “follow me” home in their car so I could “give them more” – presumably money. I hit the freeway and gunned it to 90mph, went 4 exits past my house, and went through 3 neighborhoods to make sure I lost them before I went back home. Put the chain on my front door, shoved furniture in front of both the front door and my bedroom door. I still didn’t sleep that night.
Friend of a friend told us a story at a get together a few years ago. One of her friends went to the local game/entertainment place (it’s a place that has laser tag, arcades, and a few other things all in one building). Two guys who had been harassing her there followed her home – 20 miles away – broke into her house, raped and beat her. She was in the hospital for ages, and at one point it was uncertain if she would come out. I’ve never been back to that place.
I keep a stun gun and a small thing of mace in my purse, raid by my bed (and everyone knows I’m terrified of bugs so no one thinks twice), a fire extinguisher in a few key places (also shoots high pressure chemicals – particularly the ones for grease fires – a fair distance, for those of you who can’t have mace). The only thing I don’t do to protect myself, is I refuse to keep a real gun in the house because I’ve had suicidal ideation off and on for more than 30 years. I can’t trust myself with it. I haven’t walked around in the dark for years, not since I quit my night job. Back then, at the end of the night shift, we would all (a team of 7 women) stick around after we were done until everyone was done, and then walk out in a group. Everyone stayed in the parking lot until every women was safely in her own car. Then and only then would we leave. The men who left an hour before us never blinked an eye at going out one at a time.
Men don’t get it at all. The constant game you play in your mind if a male stranger smiles at you in a creepy way or says hello. Do you say hello back, in which case he’ll think you like him and won’t leave you alone, or do you ignore him, in which case you’ll get a load of abuse. It’s a subtle game all the time. I’ve had men follow me at night, to the point I’ve made the choice to step into the road to keep out of the dark and off the pavement in front of them. It’s a choice of pavement safety or road safety at that point. I would say women have a low level of alert going on at all times in situations where there are men who are strangers to them, and it doesn’t have to be outside or at night. How about a lift, when you’re the only one inside and a man gets in at the next floor etc. It’s a constant risk assessment running through your head. If I do this, how will he react. Where’s the exit if I have to run. Am I safe and seen here by other people but him.
A security expert who was talking about mall shootings said to always, always, always find two ways out of any room, store, business or building you’re in. Dentist, bank, restaurant, dry cleaner, school, work space, try to ID two ways out of there. Since then for my own safety, I’ve tried to find two ways out of every place I’m in. Just a habit, plus it helps keep you aware and aware keeps you alive.
Sincerely hope I’m not scaring anyone, I want all of you to be safe and these are things you can do for yourself when alone.
The fact that Kate knew that her planned photo-op would grab eyeballs and take attention away from the horrible murder and mutilation of Sarah Everard BUT still went ahead and did her posing for the paps is so egregious & horrifying! It tells you all you wanna know about Kate and the royals who don’t hesitate mounting on a dead-person’s body to gain visibility.
Shame on you Kate & shame on William because we all know that this little get-some-positive-exposure-at-the-expense-of-a-dead-girl plan was hatched between the two of you.
Pretty obvious PR move. Clearly Kate dressed in the dark as usual!
I keep thinking about Oprah’s interview and Meghan’s refusal to name the royal who made the color of Archie’s skin comment. Her answer was it would hurt “them”. Now lot at the PR tactics. William attending Kate’s school engagement to “protect” her from the press. William answereingbthe staged
RIP Sarah. ACAB. ABRFAB.
What does ABRFAB mean? (Sorry for the ignorance). I had to google the ACAB = All Cops Are Ba$*#rds. (Hides heads in shame).
BRF is British royal family so replace C with that.
Duh, I am so lame. Thanks Nic.
I’m glad she went out and show her support for the victim. This is what I expect from the BRF, and it’s how they should use their position. To shit on this is very problematic…people need to give raise when it’s due and chastise where it’s appropriate. It’s appropriate for Kate to show support and be out in public for this, if Meghan was still in Britain I would expect her to do the same.
Meghan would have been dragged by the UK press for showing up.
Should Kate show support for the victims of the police crackdown that happened mere hours after she left?
@aqarius64, I know Meghan would have be dragged for this. Two wrongs does not make a right. @tolly, Yes, I want kate to speak about the crackdown too. I’m disappointed at her silence on the crackdown. Now, we are right to criticize Kate for not addressing the crackdown.
A better way of showing respect would have been to post messages of condolence and sympathy to Sarah’s family and friends on the KP Instagram site from the whole effing family. Perhaps she could write an opinion piece for the newspapers on how the violence against women must be addressed not just in the UK but internationally and actually find some appropriate patronages she could support. A pap walk is simply self-serving and the lazy way out.
It wasn’t showing sympathy for the victim, it was using a woman’s death to try to clean up her own bad PR.
It isn’t ‘problematic’ to sh!t on this. It IS problematic to pretend it was anything more than a PR exercise.
We can’t asked for privilege women to show up then chastise them when they do because we disagree with them. As a woman I want Meghan and Kate to speak up on issues. It’s never too late for a woman to own her voice. I want to see more of Kate owing her voice, I like this baby step.
@Petra, I know you mean well, but what exactly is Kate using her voice for in this instance? A killer was caught. It’s a sensational and tragic news story, but what does Kate bring to the issue besides “visibility”? And does this issue need visibility or action? If Kate means well, we’ll see action on her part.
I took a simple issue and googled “Kate Middleton at women’s shelter.” No results linking Kate visiting a women’s shelter. Do the same thing for Camilla. There are hits and at the very least statements of support.
Please don’t praise rich white people for doing less than the bare minimum. At least Jeff Bezos gives money to his causes however self-serving that may be. Kate can’t even bring financial support.
@Lemons, This could be a start for her. Praise is a wrong to use…that’s my bad. Lets ride her if nothings else follows.
So was she incognito, or was she bringing attention to the issue? Because it can’t be both, and either way, it was a failure, because the only one who got attention was Kate.
If this has been Camilla, i would have still considered it PR, bc everything they do is PR to a certain extent, but Camilla has long been involved with organizations for rape survivors, and domestic violence shelters, etc. I read once that she visits a DV shelter on most of her tours and it’s usually not publicized.
So if this had been Camilla, with her history of being involved with orgs focused on reducing violence against women, it would have seemed much more authentic to me. Still PR, but not at all on the same level.
I’ll bite.
Assuming Kate is turning a new leaf and the goal was to highlight violence against women and police brutality, it’s still fair to criticize her for showing up in a completely inappropriate manner, and it’s still fair to point out the other ways she could have approached the topic with sensitivity.
For all that Kate may have had good intentions, intent does not equal impact. And what was the impact of this? Her drawing attention away from what should be a national discourse on violence against women and police brutality. And there is no way you can argue that she wasn’t aware the papers would cover her appearance; there’s no way you can argue she has no control over the fact that the media focused on her, rather than the event behind it. You cannot make these arguments after the years spent watching her and her family call paps, leak to the press, manipulate the headlines to further their own agenda. And especially now, after everything we’ve learned with respect to the machinations of the press? After everything we’ve heard about the “Invisible Contract” between the press and the royal family?
No. Kate does not get to just show up and expect a gold star for recognizing that violence against women exists. Being an ally is not about getting recognition for yourself and waiting to be rewarded to show how you’re a good person now who “understands” realities that others live through every single day of their lives. Being an ally is not about intent. Being an ally is about impact.
So if Kate has turned a new leaf, congratulations on her having intent. Now she has to take her lumps for causing a completely unproductive and derailing impact. If she’s truly looking to take this up as a new cause, we’ll see what she does next, and what the impact of it will be.
She went in a crowd without a mask and had a press release on standby once the sky news reporter had filmed her. It was massively irresponsible to attend a crowded event maskless, especially when women got arrested about an hour later for the very concern about a large crowd of maskless people spreading covid.
Why would she attend a huge event like that maskless but for wanting to be noticed? This was a shallow gesture with no evidence that she will do anything more because in her 39 years she has done nothing for women, in particular the last 10 where she had the platform to help but noticeably did nothing.
Kate hasn’t said anything on the issues. She simply went somewhere to get attention and look like she cared. This vigil was happening without her and was getting media attention without her. Glomming on to a popular cause for PR points isn’t caring about anything.
Once she sets up an initiative providing women with real assistance then we can reassess this act to have been more than empty PR. Until then we can rely on her decade of doing absolutely nothing for women.
ITA
I would agree if she was public about it. We all know Meghan would publicly post it on SussexRoyal condemning violence against women. Kp, however, would fake something and make it seem like K happened to be caught at the event and somehow immediately gave the press a cute lil headline about how she knows what it’s like to walk in London. It screams PR. If they just responded with “no comment” or “Kate just wanted to go and pay her respects given that she’s free” or something it would have made it believable.
The palace is centering Kate in this tragedy. I’ll be generous and not say it’s Kate who is centering herself. She did not release a statement of support for the victim or families or reach out to them. Her comments were that she remembered what it’s like to walk in London before she got a security detail. The headlines are all about how perfect Kate’s is, with clear photographs of her maskless face at an event that was “illegal” due to Covid. If this is activism and support for women, they can keep it.
That the only thing prepared was a statement about Kate remembering when she didn’t have 24/7 security 15 years ago and not condolences for the family is astoundingly stupid PR. You can’t pretend to care about the victim or the cause if you don’t even mention them and instead make it about yourself.
Of course the fact that Kate was there was reported in the big right wing newspapers. It was not however reported on the main TV news channel, the BBC.
RIP Sarah and all women who have been victimised by men, and indeed by other women.
I’m guessing her lady of bland whiteness will be making zero actual statement about police brutality and misconduct, or women’s safety- you know, one that isn’t only about Kate’s incredibly Barrie and narrow minded privileged white existence.
Sincerity and follow through – would it really be that hard for her?
Yes it would.
To continue my comment, William answering the staged reporter the royal family is not racist, Kate’s appearance at the memorial and letters to Diana by the Cambridge kids. Plus the queen missing Archie. My opinion: the queen found out Will and Kate made the comments about Archie’s skin color. A future head of state, potentially an elected head of the Commonwealth, and his consort saying this?! Bad optics all around.
The Queen has been pissed at the Lamebridges for a while. Remember how the Queen iced Katie Keen at the end of the Covid Choo Choo tour? And H and M both said they were talking the his grandparents and that relationship seems ok. Puts the Queen ignoring Katie in a whole different light. The Queen knows exactly what Keen did and said to her grandson and his lovely wife
Kate did not make the skin color comment. It was a man.
Also, the queen sure is keen to protect Andrew. She’s no more acceptable as a human being than any of the rest of them.
Meghan didn’t say it was a man.
Appalling, disgusting… It’s just difficult to have words for this. This woman is really an a**hole. And the nerve of being there without a f*** mask??! I really don’t understand. Do they live in a cave or what? And what is it with the British media that would have teared down Meghan for something even remotely similar. This is beyond sick.
Azi Ansari has a show on Netflix called Master of None. There is an episode called Ladies and Gentlemen that brilliantly illustrates the differences between men and women walking at night. He and his buddy walk to the theme of Dont Worry, Be Happy and take a short cut through a park at night. His friend , a black woman, nervously walks alone ,being stalked by a man she met in a bar, to the theme from Halloween.
Aziz Ansari who was accused of harassing and pressuring a woman into sex and then became the poster boy for Its Okay if a Man Does It and He Couldn’t Possibly Mean Rape? That Aziz Ansari? Fuck him.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think once the accuser actually came out with her story, it sounded like she went on a bad date and there were mixed signals, not sexual assault. For anyone who is interested:
https://www.npr.org/2018/01/16/578422491/the-fine-line-between-a-bad-date-and-sexual-assault-two-views-on-aziz-ansari?t=1615796569539
Kate and William are just bad. Fueled by their jealousy, they threw Harry and Meghan to the wolves with glee. And now all of this. This is fake caring. Everything about Kate is fake. Hair, teeth, accent, plastic surgery face and much more. She and William are liars. They should just shut up and be silent.
What happened to this young woman is absolutely horrific and your heart goes out to the family, and you can fully understand the real anger of those gathering. However, I don’t understand what KP thought this would achieve, other than a PR hijack of something that needed to be left alone. The London police were begging people not to gather, as a breach of covid regs and a pressure on themselves and their personal covid safety. So Kate comes along? She’s not wearing a mask. It’s not law in the UK to wear a mask in the outdoors, but others in the crowd are wearing them. This isn’t a normal open air occasion, there are 100s of people there. You have to ask why she wouldn’t wear a mask, given she has worn one before in open air environments, including a school carpark a couple of days ago. Did she want to be recognised and filmed? Her apparent need to be seen full face trumped the safety of those around her and that of her own security guards, who were dragged along. It’s possible she thinks she is safe to be around and safe to be in crowds because no doubt she’s had the vaccine. So the PR here is, there are people in this crowd desperate for their first jab because some of them are older than I am or have a LTC but it’s all OK because I’ve had mine already because…I’m a duchess. Can you imagine Meghan getting away with this???? The DM is calling her an angel. Just the day before most DM readers were denying that women felt in danger on the streets. It was all too feminist. But now Kate Middleton has sanctioned it, it’s all great. The thing is, Kate and William are riding high here since the interview. Their ratings are good. You could say she is capitalising on this, as well, in order to cement their position and distract opinion away from the accusations made by Harry and Meghan. Since she went to this vigil, there have been anti covid/social distancing gatherings in the UK today. Perhaps covid idiots feel justified by what Kate has done. If she can go against public guidance, so can we etc. Well done. Please tell me M&H are popular in the States. We don’t hear anything about it. I thought there would be a level of distaste at what Kate has done by going to this event, but I can’t find it here in the UK.
That’s really sad to hear that Kate and William are riding high after the interview.
I love in Ohio, USA; I don’t know anyone who is not team Meghan/Harry. Even President Biden weighed in with supportive words for Harry and Meghan.
“I thought there would be a level of distaste at what Kate has done by going to this event, but I can’t find it here in the UK.”
Oh there is. It’s not in the tabloids but plenty of people on Twitter called Kate out for this. A few people also said that if this gathering was unlawful, then Kate needs to be charged. And those tweets got likes in the 4-5 figure range.
Who or what are you following on Twitter? Would love to follow as well. Thanks 😃
@Basi I don’t follow anyone specific! I just use my Twitter to lurk lol. If you go on Twitter and search #KateMiddleton and see the top tweets, you’ll see the tweets I’m talking about. And a lot of these people aren’t even “royal watchers”.
I would totally link to some examples if that was allowed here.
They are sociopaths. And seriously, is Louis running their PR shop? Do they listen to anyone or is brilliant mind William coming up with this stuff. Gross
Are they seriously this tone deaf to show up without masks? (They being Kate and her people)
Her skin is so bad in the one picture.
I used to love Kate. As of late, I’ve come to think of her as the UK’s version of Melania Trump. (Gave her benefit of doubt. Perhaps a victim? Nope. Vile like her husband).
This is what the royals do. Use people’s pain, suffering and successes for their PR.
Kate’s PR and tabloid team told her go get photographed so they will have a shot to sell to the public.
The Meghan cosplay is truly gross. It’s straight up racist in fact. We all know what the reaction would have been had Meghan, the woman of color and life-long feminist/activist, gone out there. She would have been ripped to shreds. And yet this white woman, a woman who’s never spoken up for feminist issues or spoken out against police brutality, a woman with no history of challenging the system in any any way, is praised for this stunt. And all it is is a stunt. Kate us and always has been a,racist and sexist patriarchal princess. She’s a goddess on those tradwife platforms for a reason. This idiot completely highjacked a vigil for a murdered woman to get herself some good cheap PR and she succeeded. Her dusty ass is the cover story on almost all the national UK papers. It’s disgusting.
I can honestly say I actually am disgusted by Kate. She has actively weapon used her whiteness and submissiveness over the last four years and it’s vile. She is a truly awful person. I don’t even think that monster Melanie Trump leaned into racism as hard as Kate has. She and Baldy deserve each other.
geez
Bingo!
Although, I disagree with the Melania thing. She leaned hard as a birther. Enough said.
The worst, most infuriating part is that she succeeded. FUcking hell. The idiotic British media fell for this shit hook line and sinker and it was totally not questioned at any quarter whatsoever.
Britain deserves their monarchy, and every penny they waste on their shit.
Obvious PR stunt is obvious.
This is as poorly done as the we’re not racist let’s drag a black gal around while we declare so. They are completely out of touch with reality.
So once again Katie Keen makes something significant and important all about her and manages to do absolutely nothing while seemingly paying lip service to whatever cause blips on her radar. At least people are starting to voice out loud the open secret that Kate is truly incompetent at the basics of her position. I hate to say this about anyone, especially a woman during Women’s History Month, but she truly is a waste of space. In 10 years of marriage, in addition to 10 years of being the girlfriend, what has she accomplished aside from birthing three children and being a b*tch to her SIL, who only wanted to fulfill her responsibilities as a duchess and have a life with the man she loved?
I find Kate absolutely loathsome. I also think she was sent on this mission and was thus thrown under the bus by her husband or other royals. They MUST have known this would look bad, so they wanted her to look bad. And so they can continue to abuse the women/married-ins.
Don’t get me wrong. Kate deserves every bit of venom directed at her. There were likely aspects of the assignment under her control, like mask wearing. She is both complicit and controlled.
There’s been such a history of KP PR missteps along with the positive tabloid covers that all says this was not a sabotage towards Kate to deflect from the BRF. This was just another stunt like FlyBy and Tatler that went South because of Kate herself and her sycophantic PR staff.
I’ve tried to defend Kate before. Her actions here and lack of action after are reprehensible.
I wasn’t defending her–and I think you’re right.
The necklace kate is wearing look similar to the one meghan wore in her interview
Triple dangles.
So now she cares about gender violence, no visit nor statement or concern expressed when a woman’s body was found outside Kensington Palace grounds. Oh and maskless and no security around her for the world to see she’s just a normal citizen visiting a memorial. Girl please.
If I didn’t know any better, I would think there are courtiers in The Firm who are set on destroying the RF….Who in the hell ever thought, sending any member of the RF to a public vigil in the midst of this pandemic madness (not to mention their PR nightmare….) WOW.
Christ, this is truly awful. Here’s hoping there’s a real backlash coming.
For some reason, this hit me hard today – not Kate’s flower offering, but so many of you in the comments telling your own stories about the things we do to try to be safe in a world that is not built for us.
I always thought it was sad and humiliating to constantly be anxious about what I wore, anxious not to make eye contact too long and wearing giant headphones when I go out in the belief that it will discourage any unwanted chat ups. Always checking exits warily with my keys gripped between my knuckles in my pocket. Not that any of these things would make any difference if the person who wishes to harm you is a cop, my god.
Lately I have been less sad and more furious. I look at my daughter and I feel wave after wave of anger and helplessness. It enrages me to think about her someday worrying about footsteps behind her, or how to modulate her tone just right to reject a colleague’s advances – firm, so as not to be accused of being a tease, funny because by god you cannot afford to leave this job and you have to work with this jackass, but also softening the blow to his ego in case he decides to just kill you.
If Kate had to release a statement, this would have been an opportunity to start that kind of conversation: married now or not, Kate and her sister must have experienced these same fears, why not name them? Imagine what it would mean for her to use her platform to talk about it, and how it’s unacceptable for her daughter (and future niece) to grow up this way. But that would involve upsetting a status quo that she benefits from, and I’m not holding my breath.
We (women) spend so much time and energy doing the “right” things, to survive, and trying to change a system that simply doesn’t value our lives. It’s the same system, of course, that keeps the monarchy and other such institutions afloat, and also the reason I think that we can’t expect radical change from them. We’ll have to do it ourselves.
RIP Sarah. I’m sorry this dehydrated turnip is using your horrible death for PR. You deserved so much better.
Why is the police violence against peaceful protesters not being reported on? This is awful.
Because the tabs got fed this story and they run with it. Between getting fed headlines by their deals with the BRF they might report on the police violence.
A movement was born in Argentina some 5 years ago and expanded to Latin American and some European countries.
It’s called Ni Una Menos (Not One Less) which demands justice for women victim of gender violence, domestic abuse and gender/sex crimes. The name stands for those whose lives were taken from them and states the movement won’t stop until ALL women, cis and trans, are able to live freely without fear.
RIP Sarah and it’s devastating the statistics are growing. I’m sorry she now joins the group of women killed at the hands of violent men who are protected by the patriarchal system.
This is a Human Rights issue and a global movement. And I am devastated at the lack of sense and empathy displayed by The Duchess of Cambridge and the Palaces. It is insulting and performative and thus lacking of meaningful impact. Kate is disappointing.
Many years ago I had someone stalking me at my workplace. I’d been working part time a couple of nights a week at a local bar to make extra money and one of the owners took a shine to me. I had to push him off of me a few times and finally quit the job because he was creeping me out so badly. A week after I quit I walked out of my office one day and he was outside the building. He tried to talk to me but I just brushed him off and ran for the subway. I made sure he didn’t follow me home but was terrified as he knew both my work and home addresses because I’d been an employee. The security in my apartment building was sufficient but I still got night terrors so I too started putting furniture against my front door just in case he managed to talk his way into the building. For weeks he’d hover around the front door of my office building at 5:00PM so I had a male colleague accompany me out the back door. It finally stopped but it scared the daylights out of me.
I might add I’ve been sexually harassed by male bosses in the workplace, and nearly raped twice. This is what we have to go through. Kate doesn’t have the slightest clue as the child of privilege and wife of royalty, and if she thinks she’s helping by showing up with flowers she’s sadly wrong. Flowers and a photo op don’t cut it.
So many of us commenting here have had horrible, frightening experiences thinking “this is it, I’m going to be raped, maybe killed”. I won’t climb the 8 flights of stairs in my condo building for exercise like Mr. Jaded does because I knew a young woman many years ago who was followed into her building, where she normally took the stairs, and was raped in the stairwell.
What Katie Keen needs to do is get keen about supporting rape crisis centers, promoting organizations that deal with trauma counselling, shelters for woman and children escaping abusive husbands/fathers, highlight the horrors that so many women go through on a daily basis.
It just makes me so fucking angry that she can’t seem to understand how much she could help highlight this issue. The people who pay for her entitled and rich lifestyle deserve better.
I’m so sorry that happened to you Jaded.
I’ve been followed before on the way home from an outing with friends but nothing to the extent of what you and other posters have experienced. To this day, I carry around pepper spray and a sharp pocket knife when I venture anywhere after sundown.
The Cambridge Stans are busy with the Kate overpraise and put downs of Harry and Meghan. The letters to granny were so painfully obvious PR ploys. It would be better if they did not try for Damage Control. Maybe Will can arrange a commercial jet photo op or a photo “in the garden” with the children.
The pampered princess always had money for cabs and private transport. She did not walk the streets of London alone at night – there are hundreds of photos out there showing her riding around in taxis, looking the worse for wear, after clubbing with her pals.
I am shocked and disgusted that she turned a vigil into a pr stunt for herself. Organizing a videographer, prancing around maskless for the press she notified.
Instead of the focus being on Sarah Everard, Kate made the vigil all about her. Has she no shame at all.
NIC919 I am British and have not heard this. Goodness knows where you heard it. The cop had been done for indecent exposure twice just four days previously. He was crazed and out to get any woman.
I don’t know what you are trying to imply but at no point did I try to justify what the cop did. Murder is murder regardless if it is random or not and he was a police officer so clearly a failure of the system to check for psychological issues.
Kate appears to be obsessed with being seen as perfect. When she failed, to speak out and correct a misleading tabloid story, about Meghan making her cry. It showed her to be shallow and self-centered. Meghan was pregnant and having suicidal thoughts, why being pillared in the tabloid press, over a lie, that Kate stayed silent about.
Kate has never spoken up for any woman, outside of her immediate family. Even now, after the truth was revealed by Meghan. Kate still has not said, one word publicly, to offer support for her distressed sister in law. This appearance by her at this memorial, was clearly an awful PR stunt. If Kate wants to be believed, she needs to publicly own up, to the pain she caused, her sister in law. Otherwise, she will be viewed as a inauthentic advocate for mental health.
This is 100% self-serving. Zero empathy is put forth. Click. Bait.
Kate looks early stages pregnant here
If she’d stayed at the vigil to protect the other women there with her press and security, she could have done some good. I don’t blame her for not realizing the cops would assault the women at the vigil, but I do blame her for not realizing that it would be better if she stayed. Even from a cold, calculating pr perspective. Heartless and brainless.
To such an egregious grotesque publicity stunt, can the Cambridge is go even lower this week or is this the pits?? They almost drove a pregnant woman to suicide so I guess we’ll have to see.
Sarah Everard is dead. She was kidnapped and murdered. A story about Kate is terrible. A woman walked home and was killed . Forget Kate Middleton and remember Sarah.
Not a royal story, and in the worst taste.
Is there anything she won’t do for good publicity. She hijacked this memorial to make it all about herself. If it gets attention on a national scale she’s all over it, it’s all about her, would she care at all if this didn’t receive the press it did. She’s got sympathy for herself walking sometimes in the nighttime but none for Meghan. This looks all around insensitive and anti-women.
Pretty sure it was a pr stunt and from what I have read it is going to be one of many.(read about the Mother’s Day cards)
Sadly the hate keeps coming.. after the interview if you can not see that they are not in control of their lives.
Meghan and Harry seem much more believable after all the pr moves and lack of any resolution.. (Meghan is still being vilified.. her third pregnancy with this media nightmare, she deserves better).
That said why is all the hate the news? Kate isn’t the villain, the faceless Firm behind her is.
Sadly that took away from a beautiful life cut to short in a world that does not value women, but can not survive with out us.
Maybe the lesson in this is we are stronger together, do not let the media distract from the real issue.