Yahoo News Janet Street-Porter Criticises Bafta Organisers And 'Luvvie' Attendees For Going Ahead With Awards
Janet Street-Porter has criticised Bafta organisers and “luvvie” attendees for going ahead with the ceremony while the war in Ukraine is on-going.
The annual film awards are due to take place in London on Sunday, hosted by Rebel Wilson.
The Loose Women panellist penned a scathing MailOnline column in which she called the “backslapping” and handing out of awards “grotesque”.
Janet suggested cancelling the event and “sending the money to disaster committees”.
She wrote: “It’s business as usual. The organisers clearly believe ‘we’ve got through covid, let’s carry on enjoying ourselves’.
“Wouldn’t we respect them more, if someone back at mission control had the guts to stand up and say - ‘let’s call the whole thing off until peace is restored in Ukraine. This backslapping and awarding is grotesque’. But it won’t happen.
“Has no one told the film industry that on the other side of Europe, that while their ceremonies are being televised around the world, millions of people are fighting for their lives, displaced from their homes, their farms, schools and places of work.”
She added: “Isn’t there a better, more respectful place to be than swigging champagne and pretending all is well in the glossy and somewhat shallow world of entertainment, when the nightly news shows us a very different reality?”
Lady Gaga and Benedict Cumberbatch are among the stars in the running to win a Bafta on Sunday.
Sci-fi epic Dune and Jane Campion’s western The Power Of The Dog lead the nominations for this year’s film awards, which will return in person this year after a largely virtual ceremony in 2021.
The ceremony will also feature a performance of a Bond theme song by Dame Shirley Bassey, who will celebrate 60 years of the spy film franchise.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.
