- Meghan Markle and Prince Harry released an adorable video Wednesday to celebrate baby Archie's first birthday, in which Meghan reads to her son.
- Author Emily Giffin, in a series of posts on her Instagram story, said the Duchess was "phony" and "unmaternal," writing, "This is the Megan (sic) show."
- In a subsequent statement, Giffin apologized for the "negative impact" of her comments.
Ever since news broke that she was dating Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's every move has been scrutinized, dissected, and often vilified in the press and on social media. On Wednesday, to mark baby Archie's first birthday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a super cute video of Meghan reading to her son, in order to support Save the Children UK's coronavirus appeal. Author Emily Giffin was among those who weighed in.
Giffin has since made her social media private, but writer Kaitlin Menza tweeted screenshots of the author's Instagram stories, in which she said Meghan seemed "so unmaternal" in Archie's birthday video and called her "such a phony." Giffin went on to post a screenshot of the video, writing, "Happy birthday, Archie. Go away, Megan (sic)."
In a lengthy comment on an Instagram post, which she then shared on her story, Giffin went further. "Adorable child and book. But .... Holy "me first." This is the Megan (sic) show. Why didn't she film and let Harry read? And why didn't she take the moment at the end to say "he said daddy!" Because that would make it about Harry for a split second, God forbid... also, you want privacy for your child so you put out a video (by your authorized biographer) of him ... wearing no pants?! Ooookay...."
Many quickly condemned Giffin's posts, including royal correspondent Omid Scobie, who tweeted, "Imagine being this hateful and pathetic." Some social media users said Giffin's hatred of Meghan was grounded in racism, as many of the media attacks on her have evidently been.
In a now private Instagram post, Giffin responded to the criticism, apologizing for the "negative impact" of her comments. "I enjoy following celebrities and analyzing them with my readers. I post dozens of IG stories a day in a very honest, unfiltered way, as if I’m confiding directly with close friends. Further, I’m very interested in the British monarchy. I always have been," she wrote.
"To be clear, I absolutely loved that a biracial, American woman was marrying into the Royal Family. It seemed a wonderful, happy thing for everyone. I celebrated their wedding by hosting a gathering here at my home and posting many, many photos. Further, I was appalled by any signs of racism against her. Over recent months my feelings about BOTH Harry and Meghan changed. But I can say from the bottom of my heart that my criticism of Meghan has never had anything to do with her race."
"Further, I understood why she wanted to leave the monarchy and carve out her own path. I do, however, find fault with the way BOTH she and Harry handled things, and those feelings bled over in later posts, including the ones today," Giffin continued. "I can see how some of my posts may have felt mean-spirited, and could be construed as having racial undertones. It was not my intent, but I understand that intent and impact are two very different things. And I am truly sorry for that negative impact."
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