By Victoria Mckeown-
Brit Awards winner, Dua Lipa has called for the prime minister to give a pay rise to NHS workers after winning two major awards at the Brits – the UK’s first major in-person ceremony of the Covid era.
The British star’s call came as female artists dominated the winners of the Brit awards last night and quickly showed their support for the NHS and Gender Equality.
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A large section of the crowd were key workers and their guests from greater London, all of whom rose to applause following Lipa’s call for higher incomes.
Little Mix also called out sexism in the music industry after becoming the first all-female outfit to win best British group.
Jesy Nelson left the band earlier this year due to the effects being in a girl band had on her mental health – announcing “I find the constant pressure of being in a girl group and living up to expectations very hard.”
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Photo: Sky News
Dua Lipas success at the awards was a big plus for women because of her overall representation of equal rights for women as a whole in the industry and should be seen as call for gender equality across all professions. Unequal gender pay has been exposed over the years, with many organisations pledging to promote more equality among gender, especially at the higher levels of industry.
The film industry exemplifies the stain of gender inequality that has long called for greater steps for parity in wages between men and women of comparable levels of skills and career accomplishment.
Revelations last year that Amy Adams was paid half of her fellow male stars ($1.2m) was a grim reminder of persisting gender inequalities in the industry. Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper each received $2.5m for working the same amount of time – around 45 days filming.
Tennis Champion Venus Williams, an advocate for women’s rights recently told vogue magazine “I firmly believe that sport mirrors life and life mirrors sport,” Williams wrote. “The lack of equality and equal opportunities in tennis is a symptom of the obstacles women face around the world.
The other big winners on the night were J Hus, Harry Styles and Taylor Swift.
The test event at London’s O2 Arena took place with a 4,000-strong audience and no social distancing or face masks.
Rappers Headie One and AJ Tracey used their performance to call out the demonisation of drill music and criticised the government, while highlighting the work done by footballer and free school meals campaigner Marcus Rashford.
The 2021 Brits were very much a Lipa year though, as the singer won two of the three awards for which she was nominated.
This year, each of the Brit award trophies came in two parts and Dua dedicated hers to British nurse Dame Elizabeth Anionwu – who she noted has spent “a stellar nursing career fighting racial injustice” and “protecting front line workers”.
“She has also said that there’s a massive disparity between gratitude and respect for front line workers,” said the singer. “Because it’s very good to clap for them, but we need to pay them.
“So I think what we should do, is we should all give a massive, massive round of applause and give Boris a message that we all support a fair pay rise is for our front line.”
The audience was packed with key workers all of whom gave her a standing ovation.
Before her double win, Lipa performed a medley of hits from her catalogue.
It was a visual love letter to her home city of London, complete with Tube cellists and a union jack skirt which evoked memories of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell’s famous patriotic dress.
The night’s big winner also shared her delight at seeing more women on both the stage and the winners’ podium – several years after she called out the Brits for overlooking female artists.
In a sharp contrast with previous years, women won four of the five mixed categories on offer at the prestigious awards ceremony.
Male Dominance And Sexism
Little Mix dedicated their award to some of the great all-female bands who had been unfairly overlooked in previous years.
“It’s not easy, being a female in the UK pop industry,” said Leigh-Anne Pinnock while accepting their award.
“We’ve seen white male dominance, misogyny and sexism, and a lack of diversity.
“We’re proud that we’ve stuck together, surrounded ourselves with strong women and are now using our voices more than ever.”
“The fact that a girl band has never won this award really does speak volumes,” added band-mate Jade Thirlwall. “So this award isn’t just for us, it’s for The Spice Girls, Sugababes, All Saints, Girls Aloud.
“All of the incredible female bands – this one’s for you.”
Since the departure of Jesy Nelson, Little Mix are now a three-piece – Two of them – Pinnock and Perrie Edwards – have recently announced that they are pregnant.
Harry Styles was -in typically well-tailored fashion, sporting a brown and white check patterned suit, collected the best British single for his ubiquitous hit Watermelon Sugar.
Several performances were pre-recorded including Cold play’s show opener from a pontoon on the River Thames, and another from best international male The Weekend.
After being introduced by Jackie Weaver – of local council Zoom meeting fame – Chris Martin and co played their new single Higher Power with a little help from some holograms and pyrotechnics.
Sir Elton John later appeared live alongside Years & Years star Olly Alexander for a rendition of Pet Shop Boys track It’s a Sin, title track of the latter’s recent drama series.
Global Icon Award
Prior to the event, US pop star Taylor Swift – who best international group-winners Haim described as “the most incredible human being” – was announced as the first female winner of the global icon award.
Photo Credit: Sky News
Swift, who normally resides in Los Angeles, was there in person and also praised the “help and support we got from the NHS” over the past year.
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