I figured that, especially given the now-global interest, CBS would cut another teaser or release a full clip of Oprah’s interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. I thought they might release it for Friday’s evening news on CBS or something like that. But no – they authorized a clip for CBS This Morning, a show of which Gayle King is co-anchor. That’s not a coincidence! The clip isn’t some gasp-inducing revelation, it’s mostly just Meghan talking about how she and Oprah spoke on the phone a few months before her wedding, and how “comm” people were in the room with her, monitoring her as she spoke to Oprah.
While I’m sure casual royal-watchers won’t find anything odd, weird, or even that notable here, Meghan is evoking what it was really like for her from the word go. Just the idea that Kensington Palace’s communications staff didn’t TRUST her to speak to Oprah alone and turn down the interview request is really something. And I expect Meghan to speak at length about that kind of stuff throughout the interview – how she felt as a woman who had led an independent life, going where she wanted to go and speaking to whomever she wanted, to being infantilized and surrounded – enveloped – in that oppressive all-white space where people were always watching and judging and leaking against her.
Here’s the segment CBS This Morning ran before the clip. Across all of the morning shows, on CBS’s competing networks and on cable news, there’s tons of coverage and free publicity for CBS’s exclusive. The Windsors f–ked it all up with their dumbf–k clown show.
Here’s Omid Scobie on Good Morning Britain this morning:
Screencaps courtesy of CBS.
I work from home and always have MSNBC or CNN on in the background for noise. I was shocked at how major channels were carrying this story yesterday and were not at all accepting the BRF’s narrative. Also got a nytimes update push notification about the interview this morning. The royal family done messed up. America is NOT on their side and they look really stupid internationally. This is a maelstrom of their own making and we all knew this is how this week was going to go. They are so stupid.
This story is going on loops even through the LOCAL news channels here in So. Cal. And when the anchors do the little “aside” banter, it is *always* supportive sounding of H&M.
I really do think that the HMS Petty has hit The Iceberg, and is tilting, descent has begun, and there may be only ONE lifejacket aboard, if that.
Harry took that life jacket with him when he fled the country.
I am here for all the metaphors!
The RF are spectacularly stupid in their stupidity. I remember saying that their worst mistake will be over smearing. Their insistence on self sabotage and trying to throw everything at a couple that has nothing to lose will be their undoing.
@Elizabeth Regina — I thought about your post on how you cannot cover someone entirely with dirt as it becomes too obvious; it is best to just cover their back with a bit of dirt as it is more effective. I am not using exactly your words but I remember that post as they were going overboard with smears and leaks, etc….
Indeed they overplayed their hands; yes it works with the racists and those who already dislike H&M, but mostly Meghan. Unfortunately for them, the rest of the world is going to start rooting for someone you try to bury under way too many lies as the narratives start contradicting themselves…….this is exactly what we are seeing today!
I’ve known this from the beginning — that America is not on their side. And it’s not even that Americans are so informed of the situation. It’s that Americans will simply not see whatever Meghan has supposedly done as wrong. This is the cultural difference, here. Americans will not see “Meghan making someone cry,” or “Meghan telling others it isn’t her job to coddle them” as some sort of crime deserving of this outrage in the press. Americans will see Meghan as some sort of dignitary performing her job advancing various causes. They will not recognize all of these additional institutional forces tied to “the Firm.” Those forces just don’t exist to the same extent in the United States. Even if Americans did recognize them, they wouldn’t see those forces as legitimate. American culture simply doesn’t have this sort of explicit adherence to “this is how it has always been.” You’re dealing with a culture that values innovation and responsiveness, not intransigence.
These are fundamental differences, here. For example, the claim is that Meghan made people cry because she didn’t follow obsolete protocols. The British response: OUTRAGE. The American response: so? Essentially, the claim is that Meghan didn’t know her place. The British response: OUTRAGE. Again, the American response: so? (or rather, who are you to tell me my place?)
You can see these cultural dynamics play out in corporate structures, too. Any country with a more rigid class system will have these hierarchies wherein employees basically serve at the whim of the boss. Not so in American companies. What matters most to American employees (many studies have shown) is respect. They expect respect from their bosses. That doesn’t play out in a lot of other countries, but it absolutely colours the American perception of this dynamic between “the boss” and “the underling” (BRF and Meghan, in this case). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been burnt by a British system for taking the American approach of directly approaching the boss rather than going through 22 layers of hierarchy first. Working for a British institution is like working for the military, whereas the American ethos values the boss who works alongside the worker and communicates directly. I could go on and on forever about this. We share a language but my God, we only share a culture in the broadest historical sense.
Thank you for your uptake on the cultural business differences. It was very informative and incisive. As an American, it would be suffocating to find oneself enveloped in that type of hierarchical system and would be toxic to mental health.
@GRNIEWNIE this is so, so true. Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Never let me go” is the book I think of that touches on this. No spoilers but I remember after the Keira Knightley movie came out being amazed at how “beautiful” the English reviews found the protagonists’ sense of duty and country while US viewers were like WTAF is going on with these people😀
Americans are also smart enough to realize that Meghan has added value where she’s been present. Her charities? Poppin’. Her patronages? Poppin’. Her business deals? Poppin’, just bought a new house in an expensive zip code, and paid off the renovations to my English summer cottage that my princess cousin-in-law is using at the moment, thank you.
Lainey talks about showing your work and Meghan has shown hers (with Harry, of course!). We cannot understand the added value of William and Kate, and honestly, Charles and Camilla’s work is not popular enough to immediately see its value either. Fiesta and Edward had to shutter their own foundation because they weren’t bringing in any money.
@Nick haha, EXACTLY! It’s those differences in reaction that make you sit down and try to sort out what’s going on. Sense of duty? Lololol. Like at best, that plays out as a sense of loyalty to an IDEAL in the US. We might feel we have an office to uphold, at most. I don’t think it ever plays well for someone to stand up in front of an American audience and blather on about duty, hahaha.
Agree 100% Angie, and it’s not just America. I saw a list of countries who bought the rights to show this interview and it is amazing. Of course the usual suspects are on it…France and Australia for instance. But places like the Sub Sahara and lord of commonwealth countries. This has turned into and international nightmare and it couldn’t hamper to a nicer group of jerks.
I whooped with joy when I found out that the interview is being broadcast in Denmark as well. It didn’t expect that at all.
The royal family are going to get canceled. If Meghan and Harry really lay it out there, who’s going to really want to be associated with them. Because the thing is, it’s not just going to end with the interview. There will be tons of commentary from social media, talk shows, newspapers, magazines, blogs, comedians, etc. The conversation is not just going to stop when the interview ends. And America is not Britain. The rest of the world is not Britain. There’s no reverence for that family outside of that island. This idea that the queen is God and never to be spoken ill of does not translate to the rest of the world. Unlike Diana’s interview, this isn’t a British production so they have no say or control over any of it. The British establishment have no pull or clout here. So basically, it’s really going to be open season on their brand and reputation in a way that we honestly have never ever seen. As I said the other day, I really do think this is going be The Crown backlash on steroids.
I f’ing hope so. I hope GB realizes how dumb and corrupt their Royal Ass ‘family’ looks to the rest of us. And these anchors… I can’t. Switching up the questions as Omid politely addresses them… trying to stick that ‘angry’ label on the Sussexes… they can f’ off!
The more I look at those clips about Meghan’s tell-all interview, the more I wish she had waited until after she gave birth. Why is so much stress always inflicted upon her during her most vulnerable time ? After Catherine’s Karen tears, there comes another instance of white tears. Despicable SMEAR CAMPAIGN.
my question is – if it was like this awful from the beginning, what did harry, or what did the rest of the family (william etc) promise that convinced her it would work out? william and the rest of the staff must have lied through their teeth, because she clearly wouldn’t have signed on if it was going to that harsh forever?
To be completely honest. I think everybody was granted a certain amount of freedom EXCEPT meghan. I believe royal life is hugely constrained. That being said im also pretty sure that kate or any other is probably fully allowed to speak to a reporter without the communication team in the room. Remember that their communication team took the no comment stance with meghan each time but if wayward stories of the others come out they have comments to spare?
Katie-bums would be too afraid to speak to a reporter by herself.
She probably need someone handing notes and dates to her.
Kate IMO is given freedom because she’s been in the fold for over a decade and longer if you count the decade of dating. She’s proven she won’t bite the hand that feeds. That’s why she has freedom. And if she ever exercised that freedom she would be scrutinized internally by the firm.
The firm has also infantized her As they attempt to do with all women married in so they become reliant. And if you cross them, they attack mercilessly.
@ennie, you said exactly what I was thinking. Meghan is a strong, independent woman who is used to doing things herself. She sets a high standard, as she should, and lives up to it. Juxtapose her with Kate, who has been coddled her whole life. Kate was probably relieved when the Comm Office wanted to speak for her; she wanted to live in her palace and laze around and not work. This is the fundamental difference between the two women, and since the Comm Office had so much success with controlling the Kate narrative, they likely expected the same from Meghan.
Kate will tell you what she thinks once William has informed her.
I’m sure they did lie to her. Remember Diana said that the family was nice to her when she was just a fiancée, but after the wedding all bets were off. I think the family threw out the ever-pervasive “protocol” excuse for moments like this and Meghan figured that it wouldn’t get much worse than that.
They must have known about Diana’s interview with Bashir but they didn’t mount a campaign against her before it aired. Diana was known to be difficult with staff, especially nannies and she had made a stream of allegations against Charles and other members of ‘the firm’, including the Queen. Yet there was nothing like the orchestrated campaign against Meghan.
I think even Harry thought that when it got really bad the palace would defend her. So then the trade off is “well they police what you and your friends say but they will protect you”. Remember how he talked so optimistically in 2017 of them being the “family she never had”. There is NO WAY he thought palace aides would be able to brief against her while she was pregnant. They even let up on Diana and Fergie when they were pregnant(and multiple RRs admitted this before Meghan came on the scene).
I think once it became clear that KP and CH were after them they were given offices at BP but once they realized that wasn’t enough and she was still unprotected Harry started planning the exit.
So i just did a google search to remind myself of when H had said the RF was “the family [M] never had.” It was in Dec. 2017….BEFORE they were married.
So it all lines up neatly with what Diana said (as @Beach Dreams pointed upthread): “…the family was nice to her when she was just a fiancée, but after the wedding all bets were off.” Clearly, the gloves hadnt come off as yet.
The “family” were all being “nice” to M and H&M thought all would be well.
The marriage was MAY 2018 and by October 2019 H&M filed their lawsuits; launched sussexroyal.co.uk where they uploaded their letter of intent to sue (its closed now); and went off, ostensibly for an extended Thanksgiving holiday in Canada, from which they only returned to complete their obligations as Snr working royals before peacing out.
Harry was probably the darling of the household at the time. He was loved by all and he likely thought the same would be extended to his wife as she is so sweet. Unfortunately, he miscalculated the campaign they would wage against her. It’s probably why he has a better understanding of unconscious bias today.
I really hope Oprah brings their engagement interview up. Did they really mean the family was supportive then? or was that just BS?
How stupid are the BRF’s comms people? When Oprah Winfrey calls you say yes. You don’t hesitate, you don’t think about it, you don’t mull it over. You say yes. Do you think these dumb dumbs have any idea of how huge this could have been in the best possible way?
They didn’t want it to be big. The family is a band of conniving competitors and Meghan was supposed to understand that even as a 36 year old professional she was suppose to act scared and innocent and peer through her curtains of hair and let the Palace do the speaking for her.
Its posts like this that make a LIKE button IMPERATIVE!!! :-))
Replying to @Carmen-Jam-Rock:
I read your comment as “and make liking buttons IMPERATIVE”–so Meg could be more like her sis-in-law, Kate Keenbuttons.
Ah, but Oprah Winfrey called Meghan, the black duchess. Now would they have said no if she had called Will/Kate? I’m sure they would’ve bent over backwards to accommodate that. And we would’ve had Keen and Peen Preen Show. Which would’ve been lauded all over UK as the second coming of Jesus.
@Summerlover Yup. So much this.
The problem is Oprah called the wrong Duchess in their eyes. Sadly mumbles just hasn’t got the range, vocabulary or intellect to hold a decent conversation with anyone talk less of the international media.
The Danish RF actually declined Oprah’s request to interview CP Mary when Obama visited Denmark years ago. Oprah was interviewed on Danish television that she was very interested in doing an interview with Mary but that the DRF declined.
Apparently Oprah tried to interview Diana years ago, Diana had tea with her in KP but wasnt interested in an interview. She did an interview with Sarah Ferguson though, and I think a series on apple tv with Harry.
Sarah Ferguson also did an interview with Diane Sawyer and Barbra Walters IIRC.
The Danish royals only do television interviews in relation to documentaries that they participate in – or if the Queen gives a live press conference. When they do personal interviews they use the print media.
Let’s be clear about European Royalty, they are all racist as fk.
Oprah is a black woman and thus not good enough to interview their precious asses.
I think nobody in this family would be allowed to talk to Oprah. They probably think it is beneath them.
If Harry and William could interview with Matt Lauer why oh why couldn’t Meghan speak to Oprah? And we’re not even adding in Fergie’s interviews, Andrew, Charles, or Diana’s. Seems everyone can have a voice but Meghan.
And, that interview with Scobie. The reporters were right to say that Kate had the right to express her displeasure, but then they take it a step to far and insinuate (as if it is fact) that she was forced to retract by the Sussexes! Where’s their proof? You know one of the tabloids is going to run with that unsubstantiated comment….3-2-1….”Meghan forces Kate to retract comment.” Also, shouldn’t a good reporter, in bringing up the HR thing, also bring up the fact that nothing was done at the time, that one of the two was fired for cause? And why is an internal HR matter being leaked at all? No hard questions there. Loved the reporter when she said, ‘speaking to the press is not the way the Royals get their message out’ ….no they underhandedly leak everything to people who should be ashamed to refer to themselves as reporters. And the way the reporter used Meghan’s comment to Oprah about the Firm…implying that she made the comment AFTER all the outrageous allegations were dumped to the public this week when they know — just as we do — Meghan’s comment to Oprah was recorded several weeks before any of this BS hit the fan. Finally, I’ve never heard anybody reference the QUEEN as the Firm. It is used to differentiate the family of Royals and the Queen as a separate entity from the institutional workings of the monarchy (the job, as Prince Phillip calls it as I think it was he that coined the phrase) and yet, the reporter banged on about how Meghan should have said something about …’by the way, when I just said the Firm, I didn’t mean the Queen, I meant all the unprofessional racists that work for her.’ Just bash, bash, bash….and sloppy reporting with a definite biased agenda. And finally, as someone pointed out here yesterday, every single mention of Meghan’s quote about the Firm leaves out the word IF. Meghan said “….IF the Firm….” is involved.
Say what you will, Barbara Walters, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Gayle, and Oprah would have introduced these points. This was ITV just joining in the bash Meghan camp.
And —- if you’re reading this Scobie —- excellent job of standing firm and actually stating some good points. Well done you.
Ugh, those two reporters irritated me to no end. I think Omid held his ground and very calmly and succinctly got his points across.
In hindsight, I think it’s actually good she didn’t do that Oprah interview then, because no one had any idea what would happen and how badly it all turned out. Even when she was a working actress interview requests would go through her agents or PR team so not bothered about there being a comms team there. However, what sucks was that it was leaked in some form and it was framed as her wanting attention. How many interview requests were turned down, but they leak this one? Based on the clip I don’t think she minded turning down the interview at the time, butt had the perception she was being handled and monitored and didn’t like it.
Lord. Yeah. They did mess up.
Well no wonder the media was screaming about a potential Oprah interview back then—even claiming it would be with Doria and opening her up to abuse and smears.
Leaking from the very beginning.
Exactly!
oooh good point!
Exactly; they knew about it; they leaked it……….how can a “firm” have so many leaks? and no one is fired over the leaks? those leaks ARE approved
Exactly.
The various palaces tried to infantilise Meghan, just as they infantilise Kate. And she just wasn’t standing for it. Monitoring her telephone conversations, indeed!
Exhausted is happy to be infantilized and have everything done for her otherwise she would upset control freak, Incandescent.
There is nothing shocking about this point. It was known that she wouldn’t be able to talk with Oprah, as other royals would not be allowed to either. It is known that royal life constricts individual opinions and voices when you enter this family or if you grew up in it. This must have been told to her. It is one of the points you have to accept for the life of luxury. What is showing, and what we know, that as a strong woman who had a life of her own, she discovered it was too hard for her to give up the freedoms and choices she had before she entered this restricted lifestyle.
I don’t think it was “too hard for her”, I think she only *found* it strangling when she was treated like sh!t by the RRs and constantly targeted on a daily basis in EVERY medium of the British press.
Now, granted, all of them get crap written about them, but NONE OF THEM had the vitriol and racist misogynoir (obviously) that was aimed at Meghan on a daily basis. *They (*cough Kate cough*) would get Palace denials about Botox and extensions!! And NO ONE would speak out for H&M.
Honestly, I’m just surprised they lasted THIS long. I wish this would be a REAL lid-blower. My thoughts: the lid WILL blow…AFTER Old Petty Brenda and Creeper Phil are gone. I don’t know if Harry will wait for his Dad to pass, the way things are going now.
Wow this was the first time I’ve watched GMB and … do the anchors f*cking hear themselves? Especially like the part where Omid mentions Andrew and the anchors are like “moving on, moving on, shut up Omid we’re talking about the egregious crimes of Meghan ‘Black American Divorcee’ Markle here.”
GMB is an absolute cesspool. It’s worse than the BBC because the BBC isn’t quite so tacky.
Whew it seemed like Omid was literally on trial in that GMB “interview” and he wasn’t even on with the true bully P of shit Morgan
➕💯. I really admired Scobie getting in some valid reporting with those two talking heads shouting and talking over him.
Yes! Especially the female anchor, all she was trying to do was goad Omid into losing his cool it seemed. And I rolled my eyes so hard as they scrambled to scoot the mention of Prince Andrew under the rug.
Yeah…just wow. That was Fox News level of crazy talk. I have sympathy for my British peeps if that’s what gets broadcasted across British channels.
I watched it and was so disgusted by those two! They’re vile and unprofessional. How can anyone stomach watching this stuff?
I get your valid point. However, I would not surrender my freedom of choice to dumbasses like the dumbass advisors that work at Kensington Palace
Im pretty sure she wasnt told by palace staff that her own staff and members of her new “family” would be able to spread negative fake shit to the press about her and then use the fact that she couldnt defend herself against her. The major issue here isnt just that she couldn’t speak for herself: it’s the fact that they used the fact that she couldn’t defend herself to abuse and smear her for years, including while she was pregnant. This mind you is why the Dailymail published her father’s letter in a way to misrepresent her even though they knew it was illegal. The palace assured them she couldnt fight back and when she tried the Queen’s lawyers tried to stop her and then palace aides literally aided the Daily Mail’s defence.
They abused this woman for years with no recourse so i am so not here for people victim blaming when she is finally in a place to speak for herself. They’ve been able to talk shit for years; well now they’re going to have to take it too.
Thank you Chelsea, that people still try and get away with pushing the “well, you asked for it” defense in this day and age is astounding. And I am so sick of the “life of luxury” reason given to excuse putting up with anything thrown your way.
And it’s not like Meghan, herself, ordered that “lap of luxury” lifestyle. She’s not the one personally deciding how much money to take from taxpayers, she didn’t build the places, she didn’t order the personal chefs and maids and butlers and layers and layers of personal assistants. She didn’t demand the chauffeurs and the cars, she didn’t demand and decide that she would have a huge multi million pound wedding and parade around in a carriage. This was all set up before she got there and is standard for the family. She chose Harry, he happened to come with all this luxury, but it’s not like she set out to marry luxury because that’s what was so important to her. They forced this lifestyle on her and then slap her in the face for living within the lifestyle and use it as an excuse for why they’re allowed to smear her. How come we’re not allowed to smear every other member of the royal family since they also live in the “lap of luxury,” and by choice, and apparently that’s a valid trade off for hateful press?
@sterckviking, I see what you’re saying but at the same time, but if you are going to be restricted m you’d think you’d be supported and guided in your new role. If this truly was a transitional time to adjust to a new structure and new restrictions, how is having the press attack her constantly with no defense part of the agreement. How is having staffers leak and mock her to magazines helpful? It seemed to actually ramp up, not settle down, and why was that? This is the first time they’re actually speaking in depth, and we have more idea what they’ll say.
The fact that Oprah was a witness to the palace refusing to allow her a simple call without their presence is going to make it even harder for most sane people to believe that she was somehow in a position of power to bully these same aides. Id love to see Jason’s dumbass try to push back on this. Oprah will filet him.
EXCELLENT POINT!
So I’m curious from the UK and commonwealth commentators-how is this all playing over there? Even in the CBS the British reporter is trying to make the arguement that the palace should get their say?
All the UK media I’ve seen is negative but I know tabloid Britain isn’t real people
I was on the UK subreddit earlier today. Commentary seemed to be overwhelmingly anti the BRF. Mocking the focus on anti H and M narratives while Andrew the nonce is protected.
I think the public are fairly evenly split. The problem is that the government and the media are overwhelmingly right wing, and with that inevitably comes sexism, racism, xenophobia, nationalism, and royalism.
From what I’ve seen in the UK, those who are passionately pro royal family are frothing at the mouth. The indifferents and those who are passive royalists either are finding it an enjoyable piece of scandalous entertainment to be consumed, lightly mocking both sides for having such a public family bust up.
Meanwhile the republicans are annoyed that the royals are taking up so much of the public debate and whilst under other circumstances they’d be sympathetic to Meghan and Harry, they’re never going to go out of their way to defend/big up people who call themselves dukes and duchesses and live in a massive mansion.
I’m glad that Oprah clarifies here that SHE pursued Meghan, not the other way around, so people can forget that lie right off the bat that Meghan sought this out.
This interview is going to be HEAVY.
It still won’t satisfy some people. They love the narrative fo an all doing, puppet master that is Meghan.
This is just another example of their fear of the new black royal…Fear of what a black woman would say and how she needed to be controlled and kept ‘in her place’. This year old article highlights just a little of the racism she encountered. How different would this whole situation be if only the monarchy would have condemned this type of ‘journalism’? Could’a had a bad b*tch.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/opinion/sunday/meghan-markle-prince-harry.html
Excellent OpEd, ListenNLearn. I missed that one at the time. Thanks for the link.
Ugh, the GMB interview with Omid was cringe-worthy. So biased! Omid was trying to maintain some semblance of sanity and logic, but the hosts were definitely pushing their own anti-Sussex agenda. Disgusting.
YES!
It was really hard to watch. My take is that it’s only gonna get uglier…
It’s already getting uglier.
I just saw someone’s post of a headline from The Express:
“Prince Harry and Meghan Markle warned ‘look at history’ over ‘car crash’ royal interviews”
That to me, reads as a threat to Meghan, and also mocking/attempting to reactivate Harry’s past trauma over his mother’s death. Honestly, how is that not a form of terrorism, what they’re doing to this couple? The media badgered them to pay back monies and leave, and they left. Yet it’s still not enough, they now want to hound her to her grave for the crime of not being white and compliant enough.
I feel like Meghan would have been fine with this IF her team actually felt supportive.
Like, okay, you’re coddling me, it’s a bit much, but I know that if Oprah tries some -ish or the Rota is saying lies, you’re going to back me up in the press and put a stop to it.
But no, they were suffocating and let the media abuse her while they protected the heir and his wife.
If she felt they were there in the room for HER best interests, to help her out and make sure she felt supported at her new job, it probably wouldn’t be so grating, but she knew they were there for the FIRM’s best interests, because they didn’t trust her to not embarrass herself or the firm by going on a big juicy gossip fest with Oprah. To constantly have your intelligence and your allegiance and loyalty questioned at every single turn by people who are convinced that you’re an interloper acting in bad faith who should have never gotten into the inner sanctum in the first place must really hurt.
I’ve just read that The Mail will have to print an apology to Meghan this Sunday. Another win!! Hopefully the allegations of bullying will be the next case for her legal team.
I’m sensing a pattern here. The firm from the beginning didn’t know what to make of Meghan. They are used to dealing with women who are easily manipulated. Diana, barely legal from a broken family. Sarah, broken family with an eating disorder. Sophie, dull. Kate, dull, lazy and ambitious. Meghan, famous, successful and rich in her own right. What do you do with some like that? Specially when Harry was determined to marry her. Harry probably told his people to make it good and worthwhile for her, but they really didn’t understand what was good for Meghan or want to make it good for her.
Yeah. I was thinking how different she was compared to some of the other woman that have come into the family. By the time she met Harry she was in her mid 30s. She had a life before she met him. She’s been married divorced. She’s been in acting and PR. I think she probably has a pretty good sense of what she wants and how she wants things done. And I can see where that would cause friction.
This one is easy: the Men-in-Grey didnt see the married-in FEMALES as autonomous human beings. As far as the Men-in-Grey are concerned, these females were there IN SERVICE to their husbands who, in turn, were in service to the monarch.
The Men-in-Grey therefore had a cookie-cutter template for how these women should be and should be treated. Whatever life they might have had before and BTW, they shouldnt have had one [sniff!] was to be treated as if it didnt exist….made null and void.
But they were waaaaaaaaaaay out of their league when M entered the picture and they not only applied the cookie-cutter template, but ALSO, put on their klan hoods and cloaks, a la their cousins in america.
Very good Carmen-JamRock. Those little grey men even think the Monarch answers to them and their rules of historical protocol. I think history shows that and the Crown (film) got that early history right. Phillip was right when he tried to sweep them all away. He fought some hard battles, and —- for the most part —- lost that war because the Queen kowtowed to her mother, and to the memory of her father. The Queen Mother wanted Elizabeth’s reign to be a continuation of her husband’s reign and so they stuck themselves in outdated, stodgy, protocols that just don’t work almost 80 years later. Like dinosaur fossils in amber.
Have only watched the first few minutes of the UK piece with Omid, but very interesting they brought up the Twitter post from Kate Robertson. I saw it linked by him, with the comment, “I guess not everybody will be watching the interview”, read the responses to it. Expected it to be covered here, but it was taken down fairly quickly.
Robertson is a founder of One Young World, an organization Meghan has worked with (there’s clips online of the two embracing on stage at an event). Robertson’s public tweet was surprisingly snide and ill-advised for someone in her position; she said the Sussexes should keep their battle private, what a wonderful symbol TQ was for all her service. And then, she herself retweeted something by someone who was complementing a remark by – Piers Morgan.
People just on Omid’s feed were angry, lots of discussion about no longer donating to the organization. Robertson’s tweet/page was pulled, she issued a brief generic apology for overall poor judgement. Because of the comments about no longer donating to the organization, I wondered if Meghan had asked Omid to take down his post. Probably should go back and listen to the rest of what the reporters said to Omid, but I’m sure One Young World isn’t happy about having it highlighted, especially if it’s being used as a part of the slinging match between the Sussexes and RF.
The fact that people think they can praise the Queen and be seen as royal lovers and protectors of the family by attacking the Queen’s own grandson, granddaughter in law, and great grand child(ren) rather shows that people know that the leaks and the smear campaign are wanted, coming from, and sanctioned by the Palace and the family itself. These people who try to suck up to the monarchy and the Queen, who want to work with the royal family and be supported by them, think that the way to earn that mutual respect and support is by attacking Harry and Meghan. It seems very obvious that even the “friends” and defenders of the monarchy as being all that is good, know that the monarchy is very happy to see two of its members smeared and abused.
I watched most of it and dang. The two news hosts are so angry, attacking and interrupting Omid, who is very well spoken.
I thought Omid held up his own pretty well, considering he was swimming with sharks there. They didn’t do any damage and only showed their bias.
I work in PR and can say it is very common for the “comms” people to be in the room when someone is on the phone with media. People have this familiarity with Oprah like she’s their friend but she is the media. I would hope the comms people would be in the room when she was speaking to the media. Meghan downplays it in this clip but it was in response to an official request for an interview and not just her talking to her galpal about a personal matter.
So it is also then common for those same people to go leak to the tabloid trash press with a negative spin?
Sorry, that’s not the job of the Communication teams I am familiar with!
Exactly! It may be standard to have someone from the comms team there, but I hardly think it’s standard for that someone to turn around and leak the info to a tabloid.
I never said their leaking was commonplace. Of course it isn’t. That’s unprofessional. I don’t want people to think,however, that it is unusual for PR team to be present during a call with the media. That is what is commonplace.
But do the PR team over rule their clients? Who works for whom? The point of the story wasn’t the coms team being there, it was the fact that they told her she couldn’t talk to Oprah period. But then they leak like a sieve or just tell outright lies to the press.
Winner winner chicken dinner!!
“Today, it was confirmed that the Mail on Sunday has been ordered to publish a front-page apology to Meghan after her victory. The statement must also run on MailOnline for a week with a link to the court’s full ruling on Meghan’s win. The same edition of the newspaper will have to state on page three that the High Court gave judgment for the Duchess on her claim for copyright infringement. It will also have to include the following statement: “The court found that Associated Newspapers infringed her copyright by publishing extracts of her handwritten letter to her father in The Mail On Sunday and in MailOnline.”
Lol, perfect
BRF doesnt not understand how PR works – trying to get Meghan cancelled by leaking out all sorts of dumb sh*t. they have no idea ho wit works, so amateurish. they are their own worst enemy. I really hope Oprah will be interviweing William and Kate and charles and camilla. see how that goes
Oh me either. I am taping it so I can rewatch it for things I might have missed. The entire world will be watching and the Royals look like jackasses. Everything they did this week provides her allegations about them trying to destroy her.
To me it sounds like from the get go the Royal Family was afraid of her popularity and tried to make her leave. It seems that the KP staff tired to make her life as oppressive as possible.
Man that GMB clip makes Fox News look fair and balanced. They have quite the axe to grind with Meghan. Noticed they called Harry “Prince Harry” and Meghan just Meghan.
Whew… she seems….. over all this drama. Calm and resolved, obviously hurt, but also like – “I have had enough and I am going to tell everyone all the shit you out me through, professionally and matter of fact-ly.” Good for her.
Who is that bitch in pink. My blood boiled. My New Yorker came out and I want to drag that witch. Even if it’s on Twitter
Those GMB anchors are so completely biased and sycophantic to Elizabeth. It’s like no matter what Meghan has suffered, how dare her speak out about it and hurt Elizabeth. I love Omid saying that anyone thinking they know what Elizabeth is feeling is ridiculous. I have to say, he really held his own against these obviously biased so called journalist. Then there was the part about who the Sussexes were speaking to, which brings to mind again how much the Brits tends to think they are the center of the universe. The Sussexes are living in America, speaking to an American journalist, on American television being broadcast around the world. They have support around the world, they’ve said they are interested in supporting charities around the world like WCK, which they’ve already partnered with to build a kitchen in another country and plans to build more. Obviously then, the Sussexes are speaking to the global world, not just Britain and if Britain feels some kind of way about that, that’s Britain’s problem.
I’m totally annoyed that the GMB hosts keep saying that it was the Sussexes who somehow forced Robertson to delete her tweet. Of course later they note that after the tweet was amplified, Robertson got a shit ton of flack – totally ignoring that the blowback may have been the reason Robertson deleted the tweet (though, as someone who’s run a NPO and been on the board of a NPO, I would not be surprised if Roberston’s superiors or the board at her charity demanded she delete the tweet because it reflects very poorly on that charity)
That made me so mad. How could they make that claim without proof.
Chris Ship has been retweeting friends of Meghan’s who are defending her and also clips from American media. He’s up to something. As I said the other day, I think he’s trying to cover his tracks and look fair now because I think he’s gotten some inside info that this is going to be bad for the royals.
What was Chris Ship’s coverage like before? Was he really nasty about her and he’s covering up for himself specifically or just trying to get ahead of turning tide?
Chris Ship is one of the more deceptive members of the royal rota. He’s not blatantly hateful towards Meghan like Jobson, Tominey, or Palmer, but he still has a clear bias against her. He likes to straddle the fence and pretend to be neutral, but he will present stories about the Sussexes in a subtly shady way and play dumb when called out. He’ll claim that he’s just doing his job when highlighting every negative Meghan story but clam up when asked why he doesn’t do more reporting on Andrew. Since he works for ITV, the network that’ll be airing the interview in the UK, I think he’s probably trying to appear more balanced for international eyes. Chris probably wants to get some guest segments on the American shows. People have been complaining on Twitter about GMA and the Today Show continuously inviting Jobson and Tominey to speak. Maybe he thinks he can nab one of their spots.
He’s one of the royal rota haters who likes to pass himself off as sane and reasonable. He’s not. He’s just better at shade, often slandering HM in the form of a question and then letting the mugxits fill the comments with hatred. So for him to actually even be presenting another side, at alone tweets that slam the royal family, is very very interesting.
Thanks! I’ve been trying to get a read on him. It’s like he’s trying to be neutral but then will repeat one of those sycophantic phrases about privacy! Or having cake and eating it too!
I think Oprah realizes this is the most important interview she’ll ever give so can’t F it up or leave a lot of loose ends. This will be part of the historical record and can’t be undone. I’m sure every clip was reviewed by legal on both Oprah and Sussexes side and fact checked. These are partial clips and are released to respond to the current news cycle. I certainly want a more complete answer to this question of why they’re doing this now.
It’s annoying when people bring up privacy and how the Sussexes are not being private. I mean, the level of entitlement. It’s their life, if they want to share any part of it while keeping the rest under wraps, then it’s their privacy. The GMB host is obviously not pro Sussex.
But also, no one ever points out how the British press wanted to mine their privacy and treat their lives as all access because they were funded by the Sovereign Grant, therefore taxpayers. This is a distinction that is never called out. The demands on the private life, on the private lives of those associated with them, and how their private life would be weaponized. No one else in the royal family was treated this way, not even close. This isn’t the same as celebrity paparazzi snaps or behind the scenes dish. This was a totally different beast, and using their private life to make up lies out of every little thing. Their life is very private now compared to what it was before. A few zoom calls or a pap shot at a steak house is no where close to what it was in the UK. Sharing news of a pregnancy is their choice. It would be weird if they didn’t say anything there and then show up with a baby out of nowhere in a few months. The main reason they left press harassment and the decision by other royals to basically cut them loose to deal with it alone.
I hope Meghan goes in on Piers Morgan
“The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you can alter, even by a millimeter, the way people look at reality, then you can change the world.” – James Baldwin
With all of this ham-fisted mud-slinging, the only way the Windsors could have given more juice to the Oprah interview was by taking out an ad themselves.