Amidst the horrors of the Los Angeles fires (which have since claimed 27 lives and could continue rendering the area uninhabitable for months), many have done what they could to step up for those in need. Two such folk are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose contributions have included funds for rebuilding efforts, hosting evacuees in their mansion, and spur-of-the-moment donut runs.
Of course, the primary law of the universe dictates that Markle apparently be lambasted if she ever so much as lifts a finger, and the “disaster tourist” accusations that have followed the couple since they arrived to help has now been compounded by a new, retrospective revelation.
In the wake of the fires, Markle notably pushed the release date of her incoming Netflix show With Love, Meghan so as to focus her efforts on those affected by the fires. This has now drawn comparison to the couple allowing their interview with Oprah to air (alongside their Netflix docuseries and the release of Harry’s memoir Split) despite the difficulties that the Royal Family were facing at that time (chiefly, the health struggles and deaths of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth II). As a royal source puts it to the Daily Mail:
Meghan seemingly didn’t think twice about going ahead with the Oprah interview, did she? Let’s not forget how deeply the interview with America’s chat show queen must have wounded the Royal Family. It’s not hard to see why some close to the Royal Family would treat Meghan’s concern for the feelings of others with profound scepticism.
Roughly translated, this reads as the following: The emotional livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people who just had their entire lives ripped away from them, are equivalent to those of one measly family whose very pride has been legislated to the point where they and many others believe their significance goes far beyond a cosmetic one. For not recognizing that, Meghan Markle is a conniving, unfeeling witch that you should hate.
Look, maybe that Oprah interview did do some marked emotional damage to members of the Royal Family, and maybe Meghan and Harry anticipated that. But just as well, maybe that interview served as a sort of catharsis that resulted in Meghan and Harry no longer holding onto emotional baggage that had always been the rest of the Royal Family’s to carry.
I don’t know either way; I didn’t watch the interview. But more importantly, I don’t understand nor have a stake in the interpersonal emotional dynamics of the Royal Family, because I am not a member of the Royal Family.
I do not need Meghan Markle to be a good person, and I do not need Meghan Markle to be a bad person. What’s undeniable, however, is that her efforts — regardless of what motivated those efforts — have provided some fraction of levity to the lives of people who are, in all likelihood, forever changed by what they’ve witnessed and left behind. And that, dear readers, is far more commendable than never shutting the hell up about her real or perceived character.
Published: Jan 17, 2025 10:38 am