Michelle Obama on Meghan Markle Facing Racism: It Wasn't a Surprise

published 16 March 2021

Michelle Obama said she wasn't surprised by Meghan Markle's experiences of racism from the royal family, speaking during an appearance on NBC's Today.
"Race isn’t a new construct in this world for people of color," Obama said. "So it wasn’t a complete surprise to hear her feelings."
"The thing that I hope for, and the thing I think about is that this first and foremost is a family, and I pray for forgiveness and healing for them, so that they can use this as a teachable moment for us all," she added.

Michelle Obama said it "wasn't a complete surprise" to hear that Meghan Markle faced racism within the royal family, speaking during an appearance on NBC's Today show. In Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex shared her experiences of racism from both the royal family and the media, the lack of support she received from the royals, and the severe toll it all took on her mental health.

Obama was asked by Jenna Bush Hager about the interview, in which Meghan shared the appalling detail that a member of the royal family had raised "concerns" about how dark her son Archie's skin would be. Obama replied, "Race isn't a new construct in this world for people of color, so it wasn't a complete surprise to hear her feelings and to have them articulated."

tacoma, washington march 24 michelle obama speaks with a local book group about her book "becoming" at the tacoma public library main branch on march 24, 2019 in tacoma, washington photo by jim bennettgetty images

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"The thing that I hope for, and the thing I think about is that this first and foremost is a family, and I pray for forgiveness and healing for them, so that they can use this as a teachable moment for us all," she added.

Obama, who the Duchess of Sussex interviewed for her guest-edited edition of British Vogue in 2019, shared similar thoughts during a recent interview with Access Hollywood. "My hope is that, when I think about what they’re going through, I think about the importance of family and I just pray that there is forgiveness and there is clarity and love and resolve at some point in time," she said. "Because there’s nothing more important than family."

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.