Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have faced a great deal of criticism after they decided
to step down as senior members of the royal family, and move to California.
Following their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired in March 2021, the Duke
and Duchess of Sussex have received a lot of mixed feedback.
While many people have shown support for the couple, others can't believe that they spoke
so openly about private issues involving the royal family.
Despite the criticism, Harry has continued speaking out about his personal experience.
Meghan has received extra criticism from several high-profile people in the media industry,
including Piers Morgan and Megyn Kelly.
Following the Oprah interview, Kelly took to Twitter to share her opinion on the couple,
and wrote,
"[Meghan and Harry] pretend that no royal has had it worse in the press than they have.
Give me a break.
Have you ever seen such privileged people wallowing in their own (perceived) victimhood
like this?"
"But nowhere in there did I hear any acknowledgement of the enormous privilege they have."
Meanwhile, Morgan went so far as to accuse Meghan of lying.
He stated on Australia's "60 Minutes,"
"I don't believe a word she says."
"You're not allowed to disbelieve a liar like Meghan Markle.
I'm sorry to call her that but she tells lies."
Although it has been four months since the couple's interview with Oprah aired, Meghan
has been put on blast yet again.
Former model Leilani Dowding apparently isn't a huge fan of the Duchess of Sussex.
In an interview with the Express, Dowding discussed Meghan's interview with Oprah, and
said,
"I just think it's so millennial-like, it's so unroyal, it's not classy, you don't go
and slate your family or someone's family, publicly.
I just think there's zero class and if she had any class she would deal with her family
matters, as family matters."
Dowding's criticism of Meghan didn't stop there.
In fact, she even compared the duchess to the late Princess Diana, saying,
"I feel like they're both trying to come across as the poor common person, and [their claims]
'we've been cut off, we have these struggles' — I feel like she's trying to emulate Diana,
who was the People's Princess.
But Diana was a humble person and people naturally gravitated to her."
Dowding continued,
"Well, this whole fake [pretense] of wisdom, like, 'We have problems too, we got cut off,'
I think it's so fake and so phoney, so it just makes it seem like it's this reality
show.
That's not what being a royal or any kind of an aristocrat is, is it?"
Dowding may be the most recent person to speak out about Meghan Markle, but others have shared
similar opinions.
For example, former "Real Housewives of New York" star Bethenny Frankel took to Twitter
before Meghan and Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey aired to share her opinion, writing,
"Cry me a river [...] the plight of being a game show host, fairly unknown actress,
to suffering in a palace, [with] tiaras [and] seven-figure weddings for TWO WHOLE YEARS
to being a household name [with] Oprah on speed dial, fetching [seven million] for interviews,
hundreds of millions in media deals."
One of the reasons Harry and Meghan wanted to leave the UK was because they wanted to
live their lives more privately.
However, Frankel slammed this idea, too, saying,
"This isn't the way to generate less press [and] cannot be filed under the guise of wanting
privacy to prevent a repeat of previous events."
Frankel would later apologize, tweeting,
"Emotional distress & racism must feel suffocating & powerless.
I’m a polarizing, unfiltered (often to a fault) flawed person [...] When I heard of
the interview, during a pandemic, it felt like a surprising choice.
I’m sorry if it hurt or offended you."
Harry and Meghan's popularity has dropped drastically in the United Kingdom, according
to Forbes, and some people reportedly feel strongly that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex
have a lot of work to do when it comes to rebuilding their reputation.
As for addressing the criticism they've faced, royal expert Jonathan Sacerdoti told Express,
"This is something that they will want to think about when forming their new reputation
internationally [...] these conversations should take place behind closed doors, in
private, between family members [...] the two sides would do well to keep that undercover
and to try and make peace amongst themselves without involving the world's press."
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