The ex-wife of Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth has returned a prestigious royal honor in a bizarre show of defiance over the UK’s “appeasement” of President Trump during his state visit.
Livia Giuggioli, who was awarded the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2019 for her contributions to the fashion industry, tore up her certificate and stated that she was returning the medal to the UK government in a dramatic Instagram rant on Wednesday.
The 56-year-old activist said she came to the decision after Trump — who she said is displaying his “poisonous rhetoric” at the UN General Assembly — was welcomed with open arms during his state visit to the UK last week.
“I have been reflecting on his visit to the UK last week and I am afraid I can’t reconcile the way he was appeased and honoured and, again, legitimized,” Giuggioli wrote in the caption.
Despite the eco-fashion designer saying she stands against the “British Empire and remnants of that toxic system,” she said she only accepted the award on behalf of “garment worker activists” and the respect she had for King Charles — when he was Prince of Wales — for his “decades battling on behalf of social and environmental justice.”
However, that respect changed after the monarch hosted President Trump.
The Italian national chastised King Charles for his “frightening and cowardly display of appeasing someone who stands for the obliteration of the natural world and the most vulnerable people on earth.”
“Because I can’t reconcile those two positions, I have shredded my honor and I am returning it to sender,” Giuggioli wrote.
Giuggioli claimed that her show of defiance by returning her MBE and ripping up her honor “certificate” was because she believed “it’s only by taking a stand that we can make our feelings known.”
She also wrote a letter that she planned to send with her award, signed off as “Livia Giuggioli (Firth).”
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is considered one of the UK’s most prestigious honors, established by King George V in 1917 to recognize exceptional community service, grassroots work, or significant local achievements.
The commander in chief was honored with all the trappings of royal tradition — a ceremonial procession, a state banquet, and a warmly worded address from the monarch — during his historic two-day state visit to the UK.
Giuggioli met her ex-husband, Colin Firth — who won Best Actor for The King’s Speech at the Academy Awards — in 1996 while working as a production assistant on the BBC’s “Nostromo.”
The two tied the knot the following year and went on to have two children, Luca, 24, and Matteo, 22.
However, their marriage came to an abrupt end after she admitted to having an affair with Italian journalist Marco Brancaccia during a temporary separation from the two-time BAFTA Awards-winning actor in 2015-2016.
While she filed charges against Brancaccia, claiming he was a “childhood friend turned stalker” who started harassing her via phone calls and messages, the two later reached a private settlement — preventing details of their affair from being revealed.
