‘D-grade celebrity’: Karl Stefanovic rips into Meghan Markle

Karl Stefanovic has echoed Ita Buttrose’s scathing criticism of the Duchess of Sussex following her controversial magazine interview.

Today host Karl Stefanovic has issued a scathing take-down of Meghan Markle, just days after Ita Buttrose stunned viewers on Ten after describing the former actress as being “deliberately provocative”.

Stefanovic – who’s been outspoken with his criticism of the Duchess of Sussex in the past – slightly misquoted ABC chair Buttrose during a live cross to Nine reporter Tracy Vo in Manchester, where Prince Harry and his wife are due to attend a youth summit this week.

“Ita Buttrose said they’ve turned into D-grade celebrities. That’s about right, isn’t it?” he asked Vo.

“Well, we’ve been hearing locally here as well, guys, that some people say they’re not welcome here,” she responded.

“There’s a real divide in that support for Prince Harry and Meghan, so we’ll see how tomorrow pans out.”

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Stefanovic didn’t hold back during the live cross with reporter Tracy Vo.

The couple’s visit to the UK – where they will attend two charity events before heading to

Germany to mark the one-year countdown until the next Invictus Games – comes just days after Meghan sparked a media storm in an interview with The Cut magazine.

During the no-holds-barred conversation, Meghan claimed that her husband had “lost” his father Prince Charles amid the fallout of their move to the US.

Harry and Meghan are currently back in the UK. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Stefanovic’s criticism comes off the back of Buttrose’s blunt assessment of Meghan during an appearance on her former show Studio 10 last week where the topic of her controversial interview was raised.

“Good luck to her,” Buttrose told her former co-host Sarah Harris.

“I don’t want to be unkind, but she’s just a celebrity. There’s nothing wrong with being a celebrity, but she’s one of many – whereas once, she was a princess of the realm. [Now] she goes on about her business of being a celebrity.”

She pointed out that due to their diminishing royal status, the couple were on a mission to “stand out in the crowd” of other celebrities.

“They don’t have the royal family to fall back on [anymore],” Buttrose said.

“So they have to make every interview count. So, because of the other plans she’s got – you know, the books, the movies, whatever – she wants to make sure she stands out in a crowd. So she makes provocative statements.”

The couple lasted visited the UK in June. Picture: Matt Dunham/Pool/AFP

It follows a report in The Mirror that Prince Harry and Meghan rejected an invitation to stay at Prince Charles’ home during their stay in the UK this week.

According to the publication, Charles extended an offer to his estranged son and his wife, despite recent comments from the Duchess of Sussex that their relationship was “lost”.

“Harry said to me, ‘I lost my dad in this process,’” Meghan said in The Cut interview.

“It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that’s his decision.”

Despite the revelation, a palace source told The Mirror that Charles was still keen to extend an olive branch to the pair during their UK visit.

“He [Charles] hasn’t wavered, despite the attacks which seem to be coming with increased vigour,” the insider said.

“The Prince of Wales reiterated his invitation for Harry and Meghan, and the whole family if they wished, to come and stay with him this summer while he is at his home on the Balmoral estate. He [Charles] thought it might be a good opportunity for everyone to take stock and relax, but the invitation was declined, as it has been before. Nevertheless it remains.”