【London, UK】Here’s Why The Internet Is Divided Over Zendaya’s 3,000 Y.O. Earrings On The Odyssey Press Tour

Last week, the beloved actress graced London as part of the press tour for the highly anticipated film The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan.
While delivering another photo call look for the books — a white Jacquemus dress paired with a white headscarf — Zendaya notably wore a pair of gold statement earrings from Barron London, crafted from 1st-millennium BC ancient discs, per Harper’s Bazaar.
Zendaya for London’s photo call for The Odyssey. (Image source: Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images)
Digging deeper into the origin of these earrings, the Barron London website states they are from Glenn Spiro’s collection.
“A pair of Ziwiye gold medallion plaques, circa 1st millennium BC, Iran. Mounted by Glenn Spiro with diamonds in yellow gold,” the description reads.
The full description of the artefacts. (Image source: Barron London)
While Zendaya has received a lot of hype for this look, with TikToker and archaeologist Annelise Baer describing the pieces as “incredible”, another archaeologist has voiced concerns about how it was sourced and the ethics of parading it on the world stage.

Furthermore, Dr Z pointed out the “irony” of historic jewellery making an appearance at The Odyssey, claiming Nolan’s take on the Greek classic is “an absolute trainwreck of anachronistic language, armour, gender roles and pants”.

Fellow TikToker and archaeologist Dr Z (who posts under @dr.archaeology) responded directly to Baer’s video, admitting that she thinks Zendaya’s decision to wear the artefacts “is gross”. However, she urged fans not to “troll” Baer for her glowing opinions regarding the accessory.

Dr Z has since deleted this video from her TikTok. (Video Source: TikTok / @dr.archaeology)
Dr Z then went on to express how the origins of the earrings are quite murky, noting that the acquisition of the artefacts is “undisclosed”.

(Image source: TikTok / @dr.archaeology)

With that in mind, she argued that using real artefacts for an event like The Odyssey is about “class signalling”.

The earrings that sparked online buzz. (Image source: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images)
She then urged creators, like Baer, to “not hype this type of commodity fetishism” as it risks driving the “antiquities black market”, which would harm cultural groups and local people.

This isn’t the first time a star has been called out for wearing artefacts on the red carpet. Earlier this year, Australia’s Margot Robbie was embroiled in controversy for donning the historic Taj Mahal diamond necklace at the LA premiere of Wuthering Heights.
While the actress acknowledged the “romantic history” of the piece (worth approx. AUD$12 million BTW), the origins of how it was acquired by Cartier are quite murky.
You see, the beautiful jewel first belonged to the wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir, Nur Jahan. Following the emperor’s death, it was passed on to his son Shah Jahan, who then gifted it to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
Margot with the jewel. (Image source: Getty Images/Tommaso Boddi/)
From there, the movement of the piece and how it landed in Cartier’s collection is not known. However, historians speculate that it left India during Nadir Shah of Persia’s 1739 sack of Delhi, where his forces looted the Mughal treasury.
Timeless pieces, rich with history and culture, then entered collections across Europe and Russia through opaque and private sales. Years upon years later, the diamond ended up in Cartier’s hands.

Another celebrity who has come under scrutiny for wearing a historic piece is Kim Kardashian (which doesn’t come as a surprise). During the 2022 Met Gala, the reality TV star wore Marilyn Monroe’s iconic “Happy Birthday, Mr President” dress to tie in with the exhibition’s theme, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”.
Kardashian received a brutal amount of backlash for wearing the piece, with some even claiming that she damaged the dress. However, per