{"id":934595,"date":"2026-10-20T05:46:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T05:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/934595\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T05:46:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T05:46:13","slug":"uk-singer-ellie-goulding-issues-lengthy-apology-after-criticism-for-wearing-jewels-from-controversial-wa-mine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/934595\/","title":{"rendered":"UK singer Ellie Goulding issues lengthy apology after criticism for wearing jewels from controversial WA mine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Singer Ellie Goulding has revealed that she is \u201cmortified\u201d after accidentally promoting pink diamonds from a controversial WA mine at a recent event.<\/p>\n

The Love Me Like You Do singer, who has recently received a MBE for her climate work, was captured at a Boodles event in London earlier in October donning a lavish diamond necklace and matching earrings.<\/p>\n

The set, which is believed to have sold for $1 million, was crafted from pink diamonds mined at the now-shuttered Argyle mine in WA\u2019s north.<\/p>\n

The mine had previously sparked controversy between Rio Tinto and traditional land owners, the latter of whom have expressed concerns over the impacts \u201ccontaminated\u201d mining chemicals will have on the East Kimberley land.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will not accept the level of risk that has been created by a mining company in an authorising environment from the government,\u201d traditional owners said in February.<\/p>\n

\"TheCamera IconThe Argyle diamond mine operated by the Rio Tinto Group in the East Kimberly region of Western Australia, Australia was shuttered in 2020. Credit: Carla Gottgens\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n

During the Boodles London event, Goulding had described the WA-made necklace to nearby press as \u201celegant and iconic\u201d \u2014 however, concerns were raised about \u2018double standards\u2019 given the star\u2019s previous outspokenness over indigenous land rights.<\/p>\n

In 2022, the Lights singer notably accused mining firms of \u201cdestroying\u201d ancestral lands in a speech to the UN \u2014 claims that mirror those from East Kimberley traditional owners.<\/p>\n

After questions were raised to Goulding over the WA accessories, the 39-year-old issued a statement about her regret over the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cProtecting the environment is a cause close to my heart,\u201d she told The Mirror<\/a> in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always strive to uphold those values \u2014 regretfully, in this instance, I fell short.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not aware of the concerns surrounding the Argyle mine and I am grateful it has been brought to my attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"EllieCamera IconEllie Goulding seen reaching for the necklace at the Boodles Old Bond Street Flagship Opening on October 8. Credit: Dave Benett\/Dave Benett\/Getty Images for Boodles<\/p>\n

The English songstress went on to tell her fans that they will \u201ccertainly\u201d not see her wearing any more jewellery from the defunct East Kimberley mine site.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Indigenous and local communities affected deserve better,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile I am mortified to have made this error in judgement, I am letting this moment serve as a reminder and an opportunity to continue to question the status quo, to learn, and to do better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gelganyem, an organisation representing traditional owners near the Argyle site, has welcomed her apology.<\/p>\n

\u201cGelganyem Chair Kia Dowell, a Gija woman, acknowledges Ellie Goulding\u2019s apology and welcomes her recognition that Indigenous and local communities deserve better,\u201d a statement attributed to the group read.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe hopes it helps the public and Rio Tinto shareholders understand what is at stake at Argyle and the standard Rio Tinto\u2019s mine closure must meet.\u201d<\/p>\n

In early October, it was announced that Boodles had acquired ownership of the Argyle Pink Diamonds brand and all remaining inventory from Rio Tinto.<\/p>\n

The East Kimberley mine had been the world\u2019s only known source of pink and red diamonds until it was closed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Singer Ellie Goulding has revealed that she is \u201cmortified\u201d after accidentally promoting pink diamonds from a controversial WA…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":934596,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,99,447,134,6827,44,45],"class_list":["post-934595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-mining","tag-news","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=934595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/934595\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/934596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=934595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=934595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=934595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}