UK lawmaker accuses Harry of ‘blowing up his family’
The relationship between the British press and the Sussexes was tumultuous from the start, and the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey has reignited a heated debate about the media’s handling of race.
Tennis star Serena Williams empathised with her friend Meghan in a post on Twitter, saying she knew “first hand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of color to minimize us, to break us down and demonize us. We must recognize our obligation to decry malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism.”
But British media personalities and commentators hit back on Monday morning, accusing the pair of disrespecting the monarchy
“This is not necessarily just about color, it is about character and anyone like me who is White, privileged and well educated is not able to say anything without it being viewed as racist,” royal biographer Anna Pasternak told the BBC, before falsely stating that White people were a minority in the UK. “We are a White minority now a days and we are silenced from speaking our truth because then it’s immediately labelled as racist.”
Television personality Piers Morgan said on Twitter that the Winfrey interview “was just another reminder that anyone who criticises Meghan Markle is automatically deemed a racist bully.”
He brought up bullying allegations made against Meghan in the British media, which cited unnamed royal aides days before the Winfrey interview aired Sunday. “When she bullies her female staff or spray-guns her husband’s family on global TV, it’s a cry for help from a poor victim,” Morgan added.
CNN polling in 2020 revealed a stark disconnect between how White and Black people in Britain perceive racism in the UK press.
The poll found that Black Britons are three times more likely than White ones to say Black celebrities were treated worse than White counterparts by the British media — a frequent topic of debate around Meghan, who is mixed race.
Half (50%) of White people said Black celebrities were treated no better or worse by the media than White ones, while only one in five (21%) Black people said that. Roughly half (48%) of Black people said Black celebrities were treated worse than their White counterparts, compared to only 16% of White people, CNN’s poll found.
In 2019, a BBC radio broadcaster was fired after posting a racist tweet about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s new baby. The tweet included a black and white photo of a man and woman holding hands with a chimpanzee in a suit and a top hat, with the caption, “Royal baby leaves hospital.”
During her interview with Winfrey, Meghan discussed the different standards applied to her and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge. Winfrey contrasted media coverage of Meghan and Kate eating avocados during their pregnancies. For Kate, it was said to be helping with morning sickness. However, for Meghan, avocados became a fruit linked to water shortages and “environmental devastation.”
