Meghan and Harry’s Oprah interview: How the world reacted, newspaper front pages
Hillary Clinton has called Meghan Markle’s historic interview “heart-wrenching” and condemned the press for what she says were attacks on the Duchess.
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Hillary Clinton has called Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey “heartbreaking,” and slammed the British press for going after “young woman who was just trying to live her life.”
Speaking to the Washington Post following the bombshell interview, the US Secretary of State and one-time presidential nominee said she found the interview “so heart-wrenching to watch”.
“The fact she did not get more support that the reaction was, you know, ‘let’s just paper it over and pretend it didn’t happen or it will go away, just keep your head down’ — well, this young woman was not going to keep her head down,” Ms Clinton said.
”You know, this is 2021 and she wanted to live her life, she wanted to be fully engaged and she had every right to hope for that.”
WHITE HOUSE WEIGHS IN
The White House has weighed in on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell tell-all interview, praising the Duchess of Sussex for speaking out about her mental health struggles.
“For anyone to come forward and speak about their own struggles with mental health and tell their own personal story, that takes courage,” Jen Psaki, President Biden’s press secretary said during a daily press briefing on Monday.
“That is certainly something the president believes, and he has talked about the importance of investing in a lot of these areas that they are committed to in the future.”
During the two-hour-long interview, Meghan Markle revealed that during her pregnancy her mental health had deteriorated to the point where she had begun having suicidal thoughts. Both she and Prince Harry claimed that when they turned to the royal family to seek help, adequate support was not offered or provided.
Despite the praise, Ms Psaki said that neither President Biden nor the White House would further comment on the interview, which has sent shockwaves across the world and rocked the British royal family.
“We have a strong and abiding relationship with the British people and a special partnership with the government of the United Kingdom on a range of issues, and that will continue,” Ms Psaki said.
KELLY SLAMS ‘SHOCKING’ REVELATIONS
Meanwhile, US anchor Megyn Kelly has hit out at Markle, tweeting, “Have you ever seen such privileged people wallowing in their own (perceived) victimhood like this?”
Kelly, who was fired from NBC in 2018 after defending blackface on air, also appeared on Good Morning Britain to discuss the interview with Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid and continued the attack, saying, “This is not the fault of the royal family. She became a royal, she married a prince, the press is going to cover you.
Kelly also called Markle’s mental health battles “shocking” and appeared to imply Markle should have learned to be tougher when it came to battling the racism and press intrusion she said she faced.
“Even in my much lower station in life as a news anchor the press is brutal. You get punched in the face rhetorically all the time and it’s awful and it’s a fact of life you have to learn to deal with,” Kelly said, adding, “it shouldn’t drive you to that kind of depression, those kind of self-lamentations.
Kelly continued, “and the fact that she became suicidal over the fact that the press became nasty, she was stuck in a castle and there might have been a racist in the royal family is truly shocking.”
ROYALS LEFT REELING
The world has been left reeling after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry did their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, leaving royal watchers, the press, celebrities and readers divided.
The explosive interview, in which Markle claimed she was suicidal when pregnant and that the royals refused to make son Archie a prince because they were worried how “dark” his skin would be, could trigger “the start of a PR war”, a public relations expert has said.
PR consultant Mark Borkowski said his initial reaction to the interview was that it was “pretty damaging to the royal family”.
Mr Borkowski told the PA news agency: “Some of the accusations and some of the deeply personal insights into living inside a royal household will be judged, particularly by an American audience who are watching on prime time as pretty shocking.
“He (Harry) was very direct about the fact that he felt that his father (Charles, the Prince of Wales) had not given him the support, and he wanted to try and rebuild a relationship, the fact that he was close to his brother (William, the Duke of Cambridge), but obviously there was some distance between them.
“It certainly is their opportunity to give their side of the story, it’s depending on what is the counter view of that – we’ve already seen bullying accusations, this could be the start of a PR war.
“Or it could be a moment for everybody to draw a line in the sand and start talking and trying to heal some wounds here, because the wounds are very deep.”
The interview also revealed how Meghan felt suicidal while working as a senior member of the royal family.
Mr Borkowski said: “There’s a lot of losers in this.”
BBC News royal correspondent Jonny Dymond called the interview “devastating” and described the revelations as a “body blow” to the royal family.
“It’s not at all clear if and how the palace will respond,” Dymond wrote on BBCNews.com.
“Many of the revelations are so personal that getting any reaction seems unlikely. The Queen has made clear repeatedly the affection in which the couple are still held. As for the newspapers that the couple so despise – will they change their tune? It is not in their nature.”
Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan blasted Prince Harry as “shameful”, calling the interview a “two-hour trashathon”.
“I expect all this vile destructive self-serving nonsense from Meghan Markle – but for Harry to let her take down his family and the monarchy like this is shameful,” he tweeted.
“Harry wants America and the rest of the world to hate his own family, hate the monarchy and hate his country.
In a 3am special edition, London’s The Sun featured a dramatic front page leading with Meghan’s claims of feeling suicidal as well as the revelation that she and Harry are expecting a baby girl.
The Daily Mirror focused on the “immense sadness” of Prince Charles and Prince William.
The Daily Mail led on the royal family racism allegations that have stunned with world, with the quote ‘How dark will baby’s skin be’, while the Metro paper ran with the headline ‘Annus Harrybilis’.
CELEBRITY SUPPORT FOR HARRY AND MEGHAN
As the world’s media reacted to the jaw-dropping revelations in the Sussexes’ sit-down with the talk-show guru, Markle’s A-list best friend Serena Williams rallied around the Duchess.
“Meghan Markle, my selfless friend, lives her life – and leads by example – with empathy and compassion. She teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble. Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced,” Williams wrote.
“I know first hand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of colour to minimise us, to break us down and demonise us,” Williams said.
Among those showing support for the couple was the niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris, Meena Harris.
Prior to the interview airing, she tweeted: “Happy Meghan Markle appreciation day.”
After it had finished she said: “Her Majesty The Queen Oprah.”
Bernice King, the youngest child of the late civil rights activist Martin Luther King, tweeted: “Royalty is not a shield from the devastation and despair of racism.
“I’m grateful that Meghan Markle is still here.”
“Meghan’s strength will certainly redefine family everywhere,” US Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, who spoke at Joe Biden’s inauguration, wrote on Twitter.
“Think of the women who will be inspired to stand up for their lives, the partners who will be kinder and more courageous than the kin they were born into,” she said.
On Instagram Jada Pinkett Smith joked that the Queen would be the next guest on her show Red Table Talk.
US TV show host Andy Cohen tweeted: “Fully on the Sussex’s side here & so happy they made the break! Need more info about William – sounds really bad. Also – we need the return of the big Oprah interview.”
Comedian Sarah Silverman suggested: “Harry should take Meghan’s last name.”
Red carpet correspondent Nina Parker said: “You know why Black women believe Meghan? Because we know exactly what micro aggressions look like. And how they slowly drive you insane.”
Kennedy family member Maria Shriver said: “It’s true what Meghan Markle told @Oprah, we don’t know what goes on in people’s lives behind closed doors. That’s something we can all remember.”
Author and critic Roxane Gay wrote on Twitter:
“I gotta say, I did not previously think highly of the royal family but they are so much worse than I assumed! This is all grotesque. Racism is a hell of a drug, that’s for sure.
… It’s also very, very clear that ‘the firm’ drastically underestimated Meghan Markle, to their own detriment. And Harry was definitely not going to let them do to Meghan what they did to Diana and that’s good.”
Legendary tennis champion Billie Jean King said: “Among the revelations from the Meghan and Harry interview is Meghan’s struggle with mental health. Her honesty will hopefully lead to more acceptance and more help for those who need it.”
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