Australian actress and film producer Cate Blanchett made heads turn at the 2024 Cannes Red Carpet on May 20, not just for her fashion statement but also for how it presumably consolidated her pre-established political stance on a pressing humanitarian issue.

The Oscar-winning star arrived at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival to attend the Monday premiere of The Apprentice, donning a black off-shoulder Jean Paul Gaultier dress by Haider Ackermann. The Internet instantly swarmed in to weigh in on her seeming political fashion statement, as netizens discussed the Colombian-French designer's certain colour-blocking of the dress.

She paired her eye-catching dress with a chain of pearls worn below the neckline. It marked her third collaboration with Louis Vuitton's Artistic Director Watches and Jewellery, Francesca Amfitheatrof.

Did Cate Blanchett make a pro-Palestinian statement on the Cannes red carpet?

The initially fashionable and minimalist choice appropriate for the red carpet later revealed the supposed layered subtext as Blanchett lifted her dress trail, exposing its inner green lining. Although fans continue to speculate if the back of her dress was white or a light shade of pink, many couldn't ignore how her dress' colours - black and green - when seen against the red carpet's backdrop, seemingly stood in solidarity with the Palestinian cause, reflecting the predominant colours of the sovereign state – currently the subject location of a warring conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas.

Although Cate hasn't officially addressed the issue of her attire choice for the red carpet event intentionally tying up with her pro-Palestinian stance, she's avidly vocalised her standpoint on the Israel-Hamas war.

As one of the actors involved with the Artists4Ceasefire, a collective of creatives advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza, she signed a letter addressed to US President Joe Biden, asking for “an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.”

In May 2016, she was announced as the Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The official UNHCR website underlines that as the bearer of the esteemed title, Blanchett supports wide-ranging issues, like “high-level advocacy to fundraising, to meeting refugees in countries across the globe” and works to “amplify refugee voices and ensure the human stories behind the figures are heard.”

In addition to seemingly championing the cause through fashion at Cannes, she also opened up about how taking on the role as the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador has “totally changed” her worldview. According to The Associated Press, Blanchett accepted that while some may think that she has a “white saviour complex,” her “interactions with refugees in the field” have “totally changed her perspective on the world.”

Another reason why many netizens upheld the sound belief that she deliberately picked that dress for the internationally famed event is that, in November 2023, she advocated for Gaza at the European Parliament. A month after Hamas struck southern Israel on October 7, followed by Israel's widespread bombing of Gaza, she urged the EU to call for a ceasefire and stop the targeting of the unarmed Palestinian population.

As the Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, she addressed the EU Parliament: “I am not Syrian. I am not Ukrainian. I’m not Yemeni. I’m not Afghani. I’m not from South Sudan. I’m not from Israel or Palestine. I’m not a politician. I’m not even a pundit. But I am a witness.” She added, “Over the past few weeks, we have all, in horror, been watching the continuing violence in Israel and Gaza. The conflict has claimed, and is still claiming, thousands of innocent lives.”

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