On Sunday night, Meghan Markle made accusations of racism and heartlessness against the British royal family in an interview with Oprah Winfrey on CBS News. She said her life with the royal family left her suicidal. Independent journalist Megyn Kelly ripped Markle’s performance as “totally un-self-aware” and out of touch with most people who would love to live in a castle.
“I just didn’t want to be alive anymore, and that was a very clear and real and frightening constant thought,” Markle told Oprah. “I went to the institution, and I said that I needed to go somewhere to get help… and I was told that I couldn’t, that it wouldn’t be good for the institution.”
“In those months when I was pregnant [with son Archie]… we had, in tandem, the conversation of he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title, and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” Markle said.
Despite leveling these accusations, Markle told Oprah, “I wasn’t planning on saying anything shocking. I’m just telling you what happened.”
Megyn Kelly wasn’t buying it. She called out Meghan Markle’s extreme disingenuousness.
“What I saw tonight was somebody who is totally un-self-aware, I mean completely unaware of how she sounded. ‘I wasn’t planning on saying anything shocking, except for my husband’s racist family almost drove me to suicidal thoughts while I was pregnant with my baby. And, by the way, I had no idea what the internet said about Harry.’ — Nobody believes that,” Kelly said.
The journalist continued to paraphrase Meghan Markle. “‘And I thought meeting the queen was just going to be like meeting a celebrity in Los Angeles, like meeting a Kris Jenner.’ — Nobody believes that. Then she goes on to say like, ‘I don’t believe in any of the grandeur.’ There’s an article already up in the New York Post here in the states, saying, ‘This is the person who had [George] Clooney and Oprah at her wedding, even though she didn’t even know them, and then covered herself in blood diamonds from the Saudi prince,’ so spare us that you’re not into any of the grandeur,” Kelly added.
Megyn Kelly also mocked Markle for complaining about her struggles while living in a castle with the most famous royal family in the world.
“And then while she’s spinning this tale about how tough she had it, in the castle, how lonely she was, in the castle, she’s painting herself in sort of these adorations, like, ‘It was incredibly courageous of me to come forward about my depression, and I just love saving things.’ It was just peppered with these compliments of herself while she was making these complaints that will be totally unrelatable to 99 percent of the people out there,” Kelly concluded.
‘She’s painting herself in adorations while she was making complaints that will be totally unreliable to 99% of people.’
US broadcaster @megynkelly says Meghan’s Oprah interview was full of contradictions and she was ‘completely unaware’ of how she sounded in the interview. pic.twitter.com/qJZB6xsz4W
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 8, 2021
Meghan Markel’s Dad on #Megxit: She’s ‘Turning Royal Family Into Walmart With a Crown’
Kelly also noted that Markle and her husband pretended that “no royal has had it worse in the press than they have,” ostensibly because of racism. “Give me a break. Have you ever seen such privileged people wallowing in their own (perceived) victimhood like this?”
In which M & H 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? https://t.co/TTIiLhw9uD
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) March 8, 2021
While it is likely Meghan Markle faced a new kind of loneliness with the British royal family, her decision to act like a victim rings false on many levels. Megyn Kelly is correct — living an opulent life in a castle hardly seems like a form of oppression to most people. Furthermore, neither Meghan Markle nor her husband was willing to name names regarding the central accusation in the interview — that the royal family harbored racism and did not care for her needs. This accusation needs support, in part because claims of a “toxic environment” can be extremely subjective, and Markle may have wrongly interpreted some things as racist.
If Markle did seek psychological help as she claimed, it remains unclear whether or not she told the royal family she was having suicidal thoughts — if that was even true at the time.
Meghan Markle made serious accusations against the British royal family, and she presented herself as this noble victim while doing so. Yet Markle herself married a member of the royal family and she must have known that would make her life more difficult. Much of this interview feels shallow because Markle made explosive victimhood claims without backing them up with concrete evidence while she is clearly still living in the lap of luxury. She and Harry may no longer be a part of the royal family, but it seems they are not exactly living a life of poverty — and they remain international celebrities able to win an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Ultimately, it seems Markle is milking her claim to victimhood due to the color of her skin. Racism is heinous, and it would truly be horrific for the royal family to mistreat her for this reason, but Markle’s claims are far from proven, and they seem rather convenient for her public image.
As Thomas Markle, Meghan’s father, said, his daughter “got every girl’s dream. Every girl wanted to become a princess and she got that and now she’s tossing that away. … It’s kind of embarrassing to me.”
The jury on Markle’s claims is very much out, but Megyn Kelly rightly explained why many people will be skeptical of Meghan Markle’s claims. Victimhood often becomes a tool for public acclaim, selling books, and going on television with international stars like Oprah. The wealthy, well-connected, and popular Meghan Markle doesn’t exactly fit the profile of a true victim.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member