Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace really underestimated the Duchess of Sussex at so many levels. They underestimated how great she would be in a royal role. They underestimated how badly they (the palaces) overplayed their hands, over and over. They underestimated how many friends Harry and Meghan had made over the years, and how those friends were perfectly happy to help them. They also underestimated the fact that Meghan was truly playing 3D chess, and that Meghan was creating paper trails and keeping receipts as soon as the sh-t went sideways.
So… Meghan’s friend of 17 years, Janina Gavankar, appeared remotely on today’s episode of This Morning in the UK. Janina rarely makes public comments about her friends, but I have to imagine that this appearance was likely authorized by the Sussexes. The whole interview is worth a watch because of what Janina isn’t saying and what she’s saying very carefully. But please watch the section starting at the seven-minute mark:
What leads into that conversation is pretty disgusting, actually, with the hosts suggesting that it was Meghan’s responsibility to seek help from her friends when she was struggling, as opposed to seeking help and support from the institution which was literally causing her to be so mentally unwell. But Janina handled it well. The quotes which are really important here are these:
On the palace’s statement: “After reading this short statement that came out from Buckingham Palace today, I felt two things. One side, I thought: I am so thankful that they are finally acknowledging the experience. But on the other side, I am well aware that the family and the staff were well aware of the extent of it, and though their recollections may vary, ours don’t, because we lived through it with them. There are many emails and texts to support that.”
On the claims that Meghan is a bully: “I have known her for 17 years and I have seen the way she regards the people around her and the people she works with, and I can say she is not a bully. But I can also say that I am personally glad people are doing their due diligence because I also know why someone had to leave, and it was for gross misconduct. The truth will come out, there are plenty of emails and texts about that.”
Y’all, our American girl put everything in writing. She knew the sh-t was going sideways and so she created a paper trail and an electronic trail. There are so many emails and texts and the palace has access to everything they’ve received from Meghan over the years. And if there’s any confusion, don’t worry, Meghan kept copies. Which she’ll drop at any moment the palace tries to f–k with her ever again.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
I keep telling people the best part of the whole interview was the many times H&M casually backed up their claims with “we sent letters, we sent an email, kate sent a note ” etc
Like , they didnt make it front and center , but they let it be known
They have the receipts
It was so casual but so pointed. “There are emails, there are letters, we can back up everything we are saying.”
There were layers and layers of casual but pointed.
1. You betrayed us – this point was made again and again but particularly strongly when Meghan said her biggest regret was believing them when they said they would protect her. It wasn’t just that they failed to do a good enough job of that, they did the exact opposite but lied to her to keep her in line.
2. We almost lost everything trying to protect you but those days are over. Our children are our number one priority, you put them in danger and we are going to do everything we have to do to protect them. By the way, we are also going to protect the Queen so don’t even dare try to use her as a shield.
3. You are still betraying us and you better effing stop or the little breadcrumbs we are dropping now will become a paved road of constant scandal for you. Your friends, the tabloids, may not bite (at first) but we’ve got the whole world at our disposal. And the paper trail to back up each and every thing we reveal.
I think the palace working with the Mail re Meghan’s lawsuit was the final straw because it made clear that they were never going to stop trying to destroy her.
Thank you KAISER. That was a delight to watch. I love the “gross conduct” statement and that Meghan has the receipts so let the games begin on a level playing field or The Firm needs to pack up and shut up. I think this is exactly why the Palace has launched a vague investigation into how complaints are handled and NOT an investigation into Meghan. They want the tabloids to keep insinuating it’s about Meghan and bullying, but they know if they go that route Meghan has receipts and an excellent team of lawyers to shut them down in a very public and legal way. And great comment, MICH.
I also think that one of the things no one is talking about, is that when you are suicidal, talking to your friends may be helpful, but professional help is required. Meghan was astute enough to know her suicide ideation was strong enough that she needed in-patient treatment. The Palace’s refusal to support her and protect her privacy to get that support is a very ugly and dangerous thing. The Palace did protect the privacy around Diana’s treatment until Diana chose to reveal it. This same protection and support to deal with Meghan’s suicide ideation was denied Meghan by the Palace. To try to get in-patient treatment without the support and protection of the Palace meant her seeking treatment would be all over the news and would very likely drag her even deeper into her extreme mental anguish. I think this is a very important thing to point out. When you’re dealing with that level pain, having your treatment gutter dragged and talked about by people all over the world could only be life threatening.
Meghan is back to running at 100% and the Palace should remember that. She’s smarter than the bunch of them put together.
It does put a satisfied smile on my face, hearing this said again and again… Meghan is one smart cookie. She had to be to be successful. And as a woman, you learn: ALWAYS “keep the receipts”.
I came here to say this. Any woman who has any career or existed in the world learns quickly, document that stuff and keep it safe. Maybe you won’t need it, but maybe you will. It’s saving my butt in my divorce right now so I can personally relate here.
Truly this. I explained to a friend yesterday that I get EVERYTHING in my workplace in writing because as a black woman, I know people will not believe me. I literally document everything i can if I am in a dispute with a colleague.(cc’ing my director, saving emails into a file, making sure i have multiple witnesses)
When I heard that interview, I was like, of course she was thinking on how to protect herself and her family.
I did the same at my job. I learned to keep receipts from the military…there was a saying “always cover YOUR a$$”. Now due to covid, I’ve lost my job and when I went in to clean out my desk i was laugh with my other ex colleagues on size of my paper trail. I worked there a little over 15 years so it was Hugh!
Make sure you email those emails to your private account or save them on a removable hard drive that you have. If they terminate you and immediately cut off your access to the system you may not be able to retrieve them.
I once was working in a toxic environment, and I used the company email to document every incident. I sent myself details in real-time. Because there were several of us, we used to cc each other. We also kept a document saved on our company’s network – which I periodically emailed to myself.
I got into an email exchange with one of the parties in which she cc’d the manager knowing they’d back her up. I casually mentioned an earlier incident with the date and time stamp and said I’ve been keeping a record “ever since I first reported your behaviour to X last year.”
Needless to say, the manager brought in HR, and after investigation, two people were suspended without pay for a month. The manager only reported it when they realized that we had proof he had known the entire time and did nothing. And because I didn’t initiate the formal complaint, they couldn’t hold anything against me.
This interview outed me to my co-workers.
I say Doria was behind this at the beginning. I don’t think Meghan ever worked in a bureaucracy before but Doria has. She knew you try to solve the situation by respecting the flowchart. She knew you document, document, document.
Or maybe it’s that Meghan grew up hearing Doria’s work stories. Either way, I say an experienced person gave Meghan some good advice.
@Sunny
I wrote something similar: as a latina woman I keep written proof.
It’s painful to see how even in a comment section many woc feel the need to protect themeself, it’s depressing.
I did that also in my government agency. When ever I sensed that an issue could bring me problems, I documented it, printed emails and other documentation to protect my back. It did wonders because in EEOC and Labor complaints most people who are lying and accusing others of racism, sexism, never have documents to prove their lies. My documents and notes protected me. My desk was also broken into but luckily I carried all my important papers in my briefcase which I always kept with me or under lock and key.
One of my lying accusers even complained I didn’t wear panties and would bend over and expose my privates. There are lots of evil people out there that don’t like women in high level positions.
YES. I keep EVERYTHING in writing at work when I’m working with someone who gives off the “tricky” vibe. If we chat about something on Zoom, I’ll send an e-mail along the lines of “so as we discussed, I’ll do these three tasks and you’ll do those three tasks before our meeting next Wednesday.” It’s a good habit I picked up when I worked in the court system.
Also important to make sure you have ongoing access to that documentation, should everything go south very quickly. Printed copies of everything that you keep at home, download electronic copies to your jump drive if your system allows those. That way, you have exact times, dates, email chain lists that can be gotten off the data tape (electronic backup) by subpoena if necessary.
My husband laughs at me because I have over 10k emails saved and he deletes almost everything once he reads it from his personal account, but as a WOC, it’s like an unconscious, innate thing. I have receipts for pretty much every single thing that’s ever happened in my life since having an email account. It’s absolutely come to my rescue on more than one occasion for sure.
I’m so glad that she did that. One advice I received when I started working was to get everything in writing. Even when you have a verbal disagreement, you can settle some of it in writing – “As per our discussions earlier…” (lol) and then follow on to state what was discussed or the nature of the disagreement. I think this is also what Jason Knauf and Simon Case tried to do as well. Create a paper trail to use against Meghan later, except that they hid theirs.
I don’t believe Knauf and Case have a paper trail. That story was convoluted as hell. Plus whatever happened with that Melissa woman is something no one wants to come out. But it sounds like the Sussexes will put that out there if they have to.
yuuup. I’m the queen of as per our discussion emails.
You might be right @MsIam. I have seen many articles point out that they cannot verify the email as they haven’t seen it. It’s quite convenient too that the palace has chosen to drag the investigation.
lol @Petra. I used to enjoy being copied in those emails because I love messy (when it doesn’t concern me)
Of course they have.
I think the Firm wasn’t ready to deal with a woman who has hr own mind and most important who has been working and supporting herself all her life, I mean, when you work you learn having a written proof is THE BEST thing you can do to protect yourself. As a woman of colour (I am a latina in a white environment myself) you have to be prepared, no wonder Meghan had her eyes open.
Nobody of them has ever had to work one day in their life, so of course they don’t know the mindset of someone who has been supporting herself, of course she must be “the difficult one”.
Perfect! Well done, Meghan!
I wonder what the ‘gross missconduct ‘ was for the person who had to leave. I bet there was a lot of spying on them,in the end i am sure they didnt like communicating via emails or even whatsapp family chats.
I think that was in reference to Melissa T, And aren’t the rumors that her exit had to do with something untoward regarding newborn Archie?
No, Melissa left around the time Meghan’s pregnancy was announced. I really want to know what happened. Her firing was the catalyst for Jason Knauf accusing M of bullying (thats my theory anyway.)
The one about Archie was about the night nanny – and I keep thinking back to an interview with Scobie around the time his book came out, where he said he knew why the nanny was fired but couldnt share it, then went off record and told the person interviewing him who said in the article “he told me what happened, and I would have fired her as well.”
I like the point Janina is making here – push on these issues and you’re going to find things maybe you didnt want to know, and you’re going to have to make them public now.
“I like the point Janina is making here – push on these issues and you’re going to find things maybe you didnt want to know, and you’re going to have to make them public now.”
I’d be glad to be proven wrong, but I don’t think they’d make anything public that would support Harry & Meghan’s claims. I suspect we would get some kind of generic, non-committal statement about things being handled internally that would be vague enough for people to speculate that they’re protecting Meghan by not releasing the details.
Typing this just now has me worried that I’ve become a full blown conspiracy theorist, but even with that worry, it’s still what I anticipate.
@sa – I dont know. On the one hand I think you’re completely right, that they wont release anything that supports M’s claims and that they are going to try to bury this investigation as much as possible.
OTOH though, the palace may need someone to sacrifice, and Jason Knauf would be a good start – “he falsified the bullying claims in retaliation and we see now how that damaged and hurt Meghan and was a part of the problem and so he has been removed from royal service.”
@sa the sussexes can always go to an American media outlet and pay them plenty of money for a counter narrative. I know meghan and harry said they wouldn’t play that media game. But now they have the leverage to do it anyway if challenged. And im pretty damn sure that would be the RF worst case scenario. This oprah interview was to give their side of the story, but in a way it was also a threat: keep playing and we won’t be silent anymore
@Becks1 and @Cecilia, I hope you guys are right about things coming out, I’m just not sure.
Even the response to the interview, they used pretty words to essentially accuse Harry and Meghan of lying (or else finding their work as royals to be so “challenging” to them that their “recollections” are delusional). And since they didn’t name the person who was concerned about Archie’s skin tone, I find it doubtful that they were able to verify the lack of conversation with everyone it could possibly be before issuing their statement. So I definitely don’t think they’ve changed their attitude about making Harry & Meghan the fall guys for everything, they’re just using more subtle language to do it.
I have no idea if this is true but, from what I’ve seen discussed by people who follow the drama pretty obsessively, it is likely about that Melissa person. She was apparently dating Jason and he was the one who hired her. But they padded her resume significantly to do it. She was in no way qualified. She also directly called the tabloids to complain and (literally) cry when things didn’t go well. I believe that last part was confirmed by a tabloid reporter who didn’t quite get what she was revealing because she was so focused on sliming Meghan. I would guess that Melissa (and Jason) might be behind the whole “MeGain” slur. And, given how we know Jason consistently worked against Meghan, I wouldn’t be shocked to learn that they also tried to deliberately sabotage some of her projects.
Lying to get a job, sucking at that job, running to the tabloids to smear your boss…all seems like “gross misconduct” to me.
And doesn’t Melissa now work for a journalist? I believe she went directly there after she was fired. Interesting…
I think they did sabotage. I worked in the comms team for one of Meghan’s patronages at a key point up until just after they stepped back. At a major engagement Kensington Palace made significant changes at the very last minute, told us nothing about when or where they would promote it, and then sent out the wrong press release. They promised us they would fix it, but they didn’t completely. Some of the press coverage from major publications still has the wrong information.
Then there was another event coming up which was related to Meghan’s work and KP told us that Meghan would do something to commemorate the day. We followed up with KP regularly, but they never got back to us about whether or not Meghan was going to do what they told us she was. Literally three days before the event we were in a meeting just like “Well it’s 3 days to go and we haven’t heard from them. I guess it’s not happening.” They released a surprise statement from her instead without ever telling us anything. I just thought the KP comms people were incompetent at the time, but when they stepped back I started to wonder if they were being deliberately obstructive.
Desertrose! Thank you for that insiders look into how they tried to dim meghans sparkle and mess up her work commitments. Yikes!
It’s not much of a leap to go from hearing Meghan was told to be 50 percent less to them sabotaging her work. Anything to make her less and the Lamebridges more.
That turquoise dress, in the rain, on Harry’s arm…. she’s walking like a woman set free, and now we know, she had the receipts. Love it.
Here’s where the Firm is getting bitten, again, by not having people who have had “real” jobs (I.e. not royal or royal adjacent) in charge. Emails and texts are documentation. Screen shots are documentation. When your employee starts laying a paper trail? You tighten up your SHIT. You examine yourself and your records and you ensure you’re in the right. You don’t keep it going and putting shit in writing that you wouldn’t like to see on the front page of a paper.
Exactly. Meghan is no dummy. She interned at a US Embassy during college. She was way ahead of them the whole time.
Noticed…she has been working since age 13. She ain’t no dummy. She’s learned a thing or two.
Wait, what does interning at a U.S. embassy nearly 20 years ago have to do with this?
Anyone who interns at an US embassy or consulate (I did it one semester) learns that they keep notes and records on EVERYTHING – no matter how seemingly insignificant. Interns are often tasked with sorting and filing various unclassified documents and updating databases and they learn all the ways to maintain a paper trail.
Meghan is smart and took those lessons to heart. I do not doubt that she has ALL the receipts.
Exactly. Anyone who has worked in the real world knows that you document everything. You CYA through documentation….documentation. That’s one of the first things I learned on starting my career. An older employee told me, “baby, make sure you have a paper trail and notes on everything..just in case you ever need it.”
This is such a badass interview. Janina is so good. What a great friend and so versed with regard to privacy and how to state without stating. Tt’s very clear why she would be given permission to speak to the press.
Imagine having friends like Janina in your circle and then being told you can’t use your voice.
yeah, i was in awe, watching her. the gift of being aim to smile like that *while sending daggers out your mouth* (Like “oh, did you watch the interview, by the way?”) — I mean, that is so “midwestern nice” and it works perfectly here. just, like, mastery of “nice” tone and facial expression while putting the interviewers on blast. AMAZING.
“Did you watch?” it was the best moment! Mr. Crotchedy nearly lost it and the blonde forget to fake smile for a second. And when he brought up Prince Phillip being in the hospital, he really gave away his whole negative game plan. None of which she fell for.
So agree. I work in crisis communications and this is near-perfect message discipline. She is really good at managing this line of questioning. These interviewers are being out-classed in this interview. I work with executives who have had multiple rounds of media training who wouldn’t do as well.
Right? I firmly believe that they had an entire crisis PR strategy in place before doing this interview. If you know what you are looking for, the messaging in the interview itself is so tight. And the fact that those now authorized to speak for them are hitting the same notes is brilliant. They aren’t messing around.
She is. She’s doing great work here. I’m also super interested in her art, she has really cool art.
Janina was such a sweet badass in this interview! What a great friend. Really impressed with the poise and maturity of the whole H&M gang. The world needs more grown-ups like these.
from Janina’s Wiki
‘In 2011 she created a free template for actors and artists to help them control their online presence and in 2012, spoke at the Suits and Spooks Conference about how she discovered a solution for data challenges faced by actors through the use of open source tools. ‘
this is a woman who is tech savvy (she has inested a load of money in it) obvously ask Janina was the answer to this
I was really enjoying the energy she brought. In my brain Meghan and I are friends, so can you imagine if this happened to your friend of 17 years?
Also, she had the best dress at the royal wedding.
She did. Every last designer who refused to dress her for the wedding was seething-and-sorry that day. The vintage orange fringe dress, temporarily altered for the event, was Amazing.
So fun to read about that dress.
https://uncoverla.com/2018/05/24/la-stylist-niki-schwan-janina-royal-wedding-dress/
I agree. And I thought the male host was absolutely trying to trap her into making claims or supporting this awful narrative that the Oprah interview was intended to blow up the monarchy. Yet another POS British show host who wants to keep the narrative that Meghan is the one causing distress amongst the RF, with his digs about TQ being in such an emotional state right now with PP in the hospital. Janina was brilliant and was clever to spot his baiting and shutting him down.
Oh my god-he was awful and was getting SO frustrated at how she was running circles around him.
He also accused Meghan of “ghosting” her family–her horrible family–and thus having no one to go to in time of trouble. As if anybody would go to her dad or step-sister.
Woop Woop! I love receipts. They f&cked with the wrong girl. Harry is a lucky man.
One thing we know for sure. Her toxic ass father forced her to learn how to protect herself against the toxic assed royal family she married into. As disgusting as it is, it was a great training ground. She knows the games manipulative and narcissistic people play and she’s going to show you up with every receipt known to mankind. Good luck to the royal family. ✌️
My thoughts exactly! I come from a toxic family and married into a toxic family, I cut my own family off long ago and my husband and I cut off his family together. I too kept a paper trail and showing my husband the receipts was what it took for him to see their behaviour for what it was and understand they were gaslighting us. I learned to keep the receipts with my own family and if I had not learned that I would not have been smart enough to keep the during the second go round.
Sorry you had to go through that. But i am glad that you were able to leave all of those toxic people behind much like Meg amd Harry. Terrible life lessons, but lessons learned nevertheless.
@Watson, I was thinking the same thing as I read the article. Tom Markle taught Meghan to keep the receipts.
Janina is gorgeous! And a great friend. I’m happy for Meghan that she counts with that support.
Smart woman!
Meghan preparing ammo and releasing that she has the receipt – and they will STFU and let her be.
I hope the BRF/BM get the message to just leave them alone. But it seems the Royal Family is still acting like colonizers trying to control the message and H&M. Just leave them in peace.
They only have to let her be! The BRF is incapable of leaving this woman alone… they either signed deals with tabloids in blood or they’re just so spiteful and horrible. Or both.
*adjusts tin foil tiara*
Either way they’re f’ed.
I think the point about underestimating their friends and connections is a really interesting one. Still mentally living in the 1950’s the BRF and supporting clowns assumed that by physically isolating Meghan they could neuter her. Now, they very nearly succeeded in getting her to take her own life and that of her unborn child but she survived and her and Harry’s friends totally have their backs. They are also some very interesting and well-placed people.
Yeah. I love that this is not a ‘palace insider’, ‘reliable source’ or a ‘friend of’ anonymous and faceless story in a magazine like Tatler. Not the ugly unnamed, no receipts gaslighting of KP, BP, and CH. This is standing up, showing your face, stating your name and speaking your truth. This is so professional. The Firm, on the other hand, is a family and staff who have shown themselves to be a bunch of cowards scurrying around leaking their faceless, no receipts to offer, unattributed BS. Love, love, love it. FREEDOM!
Funny thing is, the BRF has a paper trail too.
Yes-and theirs will show how callous and out of touch they are.
Which begs the question as to why the palace hasn’t released said receipts if they’re so keen to defend themselves from the allegations Meghan and Harry have laid at their door. Surely something would have leaked by now if they had anything to paint the monarchy in a favorable light.
This!
If the palaces had ANYTHING that could help them it would have been released.
On pedo Andy, do you mean?
Oh yeah, true. They must have records upon records of his travels and which security staff were assigned.
Yes, the BRF is so media-savvy, I’m sure they just deleted everything. That’s all you have to do, right? *
*sarcasm
The only problem is that they need to keep theirs hidden. They show their’s and it proves what Harry and Meghan said.
Yes, it leads straight to Jeffrey Epstein’s island.
I don’t think the BRF’s paper trail would show what you think it shows Elizabeth, but that’s just my opinion as an outsider.
Yes, I would imagine the BRF’s paper trail is covered in redactions and White Out.
It looks like the story is already dying in the UK from where I’m standing in Denmark.
Especially after interviews like this, BP wants this story dead, stat. Prince William’s press smear has been ordered to stand down. Meghan and their kids will never be welcomed back to the royal family but they’ll leave her alone and work on Harry individually.
NotSoSimpleTaylor, I could see that happening. I can also see some problems with that. Once TQ dies, I think Harry will be able to tell both his Father and Brother to FO. He is never going to leave Meghan. I have to wonder if he’ll go back for TQ’s funeral. I think he’s smart enough to hang on to his passport! He’ll have his own security. When he wants to leave the UK, he will. This could get interesting going forward. They’re just going to anger Harry more than he already is.
I see this as another warning shot after the palaces started leaking again for today’s papers. They showed they can actually shut up for two days so the palace has shown they have control over whether leaks are happening.
I said this after the interview – she kept mentioning letters and emails, giving BP the heads up that she has the receipts. Which is why it took them so long to come up with that pathetic statement. They couldn’t just outright deny any of it happened. I hope she burns it all down!!
I watched the whole interview this morning, and, wow, Janina is brilliant. She refused to be drawn, even when that old fart challenged her, “why are you here?!” She probably had some guidance from Meghan/the Sussexes advisors, but she clearly is incredibly deft at sticking to, “I don’t speak for them, I don’t talk about what they told me, I only discuss *my* experience, knowledge, feelings for my oldest friend, whom I know better than any of you coconuts.”
Also, she’s stunning.
Janina was amazing, although part of me wishes she had said:
“you know, Oprah asks that question BEFORE the interview”
when they asked “why are you here” LOL
Good point!
Yes, and she pointed out that they called her, not the other way around, as did other people from the same station.
Meghan isn’t dumb. She’s not going to accuse the Firm of preventing her from getting help for mental health or trying to take away Archie’s HRH in the future without receipts. She’s not going to give them a chance to wiggle out of this. If the Firm continues to gaslight her, I think she’s going to start dropping those receipts.
Also, Janina has a really good point about the investigation. Investigate it, and find out what really happened. And since the investigation was announced so publicly, I would expect the results to also be public. Let’s all find out what exactly Melissa T did.
The whole rollout of the interview was a master class in terms of PR and getting your story out and your point across
And The Firm /BM is so terrible and predictable they fell right into the trap
They proved H&M’s point that they are toxic and out to smear Meghan and that the family is demonstrably terrible and learned nothing for Diana
And after H&M told their side of the story and got their point across they casually dropped the hammer covered in silk
“Leave us the eff alone because we both know that we have the receipts”
Mic effing drop
+1
I don’t get why the interviewers are like, “BUT THE TIMING….WHY NOWWWW?”
Uh, let’s see. H&M are financially stable, now, after a chaotic 2020. They’ve just finalized their “no thanks” revisitation of Sussexit. Meghan just wrapped up her lawsuit against the Daily Mail. This is virtually the first time that they’re in a position to speak for themselves.
What does Prince Phillip have to do with it? They had no idea what would be happening with his health when they did the Oprah interview. Are all these American interests (Oprah, CBS) supposed to move everything around for…him? I’m sorry, what do we owe Prince Phillip again?
And what does the pandemic have to do with it? Given the current state of the UK, it will be forever before the pandemic goes away. The monarchy certainly isn’t organizing the pandemic response.
There’s always some lame excuse about “WHYYYYYY now?”. That’s not a remotely valid or even relevant challenge to their motives for giving the interview in the first place. Why not now? Think harder, people.
I don’t GAF about how genially they tried to portray themselves… that question about timing was lobbed solely to telegraph displeasure and an attempt at oppressing H&M. There was NOTHING else it was meant to be but: “stop complaining you whiny b*tch.”
If the media was so concerned about the timing they would have left Harry and Meghan alone after they the UK last year March. The Palace and the media insisted on continuing to intrude into Harry and Meghan’s life and to smear them.
yeah funny how timing is never an issue when it comes to media treatment of Meghan while pregnant…when she’s already miscarried. That’s not a problem. But Prince Phillip’s health is? Got it.
Yes. That question set my teeth on edge! I have to say, though. I didn’t find the other questions to be out of line (i.e. asking about Meghan going to her friends when she was in crises and asking why the friend was doing the interview when she is being so guarded). I mean, I wondered the same thing. As in, “Wow. That’s horrible what the BRF did to Meghan when she went to them begging for help! I hope she was at least able to talk to some of her close friends and get some comfort and assistance in navigating through that.” At least, that’s how I took the question the interviewer asked, because I did hope that Meghan (especially) and Harry weren’t completely alone. I couldn’t imagine how much more horrifying that would have been. I also didn’t find the question about why the friend was there given that she was so guarded to be out of line. I thought it was fair. I also think the response to that was brilliant. I’m not familiar with these interviewers (American here), so maybe they are typically Harry and Meghan bashers and those questions should be side-eyed – especially given the question about the timing of the Oprah interview given Betty’s age and PP’s health (yeah – rolling my eyes at that).
The not-sister has been g guest on This Morning
The issue is that I didn’t feel like they were asking the questions with sensitivity or in good faith. They were just digging for more dirt and more fodder for headlines. Why do they need to know exactly when the Sussexes started discussing leaving? Why do they need to know exactly when Meghan began to have suicidal thoughts and what the friend advised (which would necessarily require her to address the specifics of what Meghan said.)
From what I gathered, this is not some sort of hard hitting investigative television program. It’s fluff. I would have expected questions more along the lines of “we hope she’s doing well, we’re glad she had your support, was it difficult to watch her go through this extremely traumatic experience,” not “who in the palace knew about this mentally unstable woman?” I think she would have been more forthcoming if they hadn’t so pointedly tried to dig up private details that Meghan herself never shared. So yes, the question of why she’s so guarded is a valid one, but it’s one they brought upon themselves.
They expected her to be more like Thomas Markle and were disappointed when she refused to sell Meghan out. The tactic here should not have been to insist on continuing to probe into the “hard questions.” It felt like the male host was almost blaming Meghan for bringing discussions of racism and mental health to the fore in the UK. They should have taken a step back and ask broader, friendlier, human interest questions. The interview felt more like they were putting Meghan on trial, and her friends were supposed to be fact witnesses to corroborate the veracity of her statements.
Additionally, the follow up questions to some of their initial overtures were so obvious. You could read their minds, where they wanted this interview to go. She didn’t give them any room and got HER message across: Meghan and Harry love each other very much and are very happy with their new life; there are plenty of people who support Meghan; there are plenty of people who, if ANYTHING should happen to her, have BACKUPS of receipts; and the palace is still not telling the truth.
She wasn’t there to answer their questions. She was there to get her own message across- she came to the table with her own agenda and successfully hit all her talking points.
Oops.
Exactly, GRNIE WNIE (comment 19). —— does the British media think the Queen is going to suddenly grow younger? That a 99 year old man with health issues isn’t always in semi fragile health? I see that “question” as really pathetic. If not now, when? The only correct answer as far as these people are concerned is NEVER.
That said, I thought the interview was professional and I didn’t see the other questions as out of line. More like being grilled by Gayle. Head and shoulders above anything Piss Morgan ever does.
Meghan actually having had a career before marrying Harry explains a LOT about both her clashes with the royal staffers and also how she handled those clashes – documenting infractions at the time, telling multiple people, etc. The sad reality is that Black people, especially Black women, do that routinely in American workplaces.
The royal staff was just flustered because they’d never actually worked with any royals with actual workplace experience before (other than the military obviously) and they had no idea how to handle it.
Yeah, the The Firm FAAFO’d.
Meghan was raised by a Black woman. Receipts are apart of the training because her mother knows what the world is like and that protecting yourself is key when you don’t hold the power. The paper trail is the power. Doria was her secret weapon. I feel like this would be what most mothers that are WOC with heavy western real world experience teach their daughters. To watch their own back. She tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but you always know what the backup plan has to be.
Janina sure does seem like a good friend. So devoted and solid. I love the way she alludes to there being plenty more evidence about other shady behavior.
And it was hilarious that the interviewers ask, after failing to pry any dirt out of her, “Why did we bother to invite you here if you won’t tell us anything juicy?” (They didn’t say THAT, but they may as well have!)
And all throughout, wearing a brilliant smile. 🔪
She really said nothing but gave a great interview! I think she was another warning shot of witnesses to the Firm’s abuse, as well as a way to show that birds of a feather flock together. She, Meghan, their American friends are lovely women.
that’s a good point too — that there are witnesses who aren’t afraid to speak out…
I said it and am convinced that a point of that interview was Harry and Meghan letting the palace and the world know that there is a paper trail so if the keep fcking around they are going to find out.
Which reaaly will blow the Kate cried thing out the water
Exactly! The message is, ‘Meghan and Harry have receipts and aren’t afraid to use them if The Firm doesn’t finally, “call off the dogs”.
Of course she documented everything – Meghan lived in the real world and had real jobs and in the real world we know that documenting everything in a bad work situation is the only way – god the BRF is filled to the brim with incompetents who live in such a messed up fantasy world.
I realy think that Buckingham will stay quiet about them. And people will forgot because let is be true other news on other people will come and we will talk about other stuff and we are still trying to go out of this pandemic. It seems already here in france belgium people are talking about something else. You know we have a royal family too in Belgium and we follow the news of Buckingham since a long time and nothing is a big surprise for us about what is the life inside that. On the other hand, for Harry It is still his family and country, it must not be easy for him to deal with all that. Maybe they will have a family peace later
IDK, the daily mail has about 20 articles daily about Meghan so it doesn’t seem like anyone is forgeting about them.
Black women document things always. The world has taught us too cause of mess like this.
Native woman here and same. I’ve had people say what a great strategist I am, but it’s more that my standard operating level is there by necessity and training from my elders.
Yup. High five.
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Love the discourse, just adding those pics of Meghan at the end of the post are so satisfying. Expert level.
The BRF will play the long game and are very good at it.
And the Sussexes don’t give a shit as long as they are left alone. And if the BRF was good at the long game, they wouldn’t be scrambling like this now. Happy people don’t complain now do they? The long game would have been to keep the Sussexes happy. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about bad press from Netflix series or TV interviews
I think Harry is correct in what he stated. The Firm can’t play the long game anymore because they are locked into a very ugly relationship with the British tabloid press. They just roll from crisis to crisis constantly trying to rewrite or erase things and put out never ending fires. The ‘long game’ left the building long ago.
Go ahead and keep underestimating black women.
Not only is she underestimating black women – she is WILDLY overestimating the BRF.
If the Royal Family was so good at the long game they wouldn’t be in this mess right now and on the defense.
Lol. The long game would have required that the BRF stop being racist jackholes LONG before realizing they’ve put the Commonwealth at risk. Can’t roll my eyes hard enough.
Was Andrew apart of the long game too? Hell, the royals are still reeling from Diana nearly 25 years later.
Oh look-you’re back. Trying again. Sad.
I don’t think they’re winning with Andrew or the public. Your concept of good doesn’t mean what you think it does.
Is the long game killing strong women?
(YES I SAID IT!)
The long game will end the monarchy.
Go back to the Daily Fail where you belong.
What’s the long game? Colonize the moon? Steal more jewels?
I bet you Gayle and Oprah have seen those receipts too. Right after the Sussexes announced they were leaving, Gayle and Oprah were asked about their opinion and they bought a lot of heat to their response. Not typical “interested journalist” heat either.
It is entirely possible that something was said or alluded to at the baby shower that Gayle attended.
I bet her friends got her out of the country, ostensibly for a baby shower, but it was actually a strategy session and time to start making plans for what they could do to help her/them.
That’s absolutely the kind of thing my friends would do.
God it makes me fantasize about filing motions to compel discovery against BP, KP, and CH (shhh don’t disturb my daydreams. I’m on vacation and here I am having idle thoughts about litigating against the UK Monarchy, instead of doing my level best to ignore anything related to work.)
@Lara ha ha. Thanks for the laugh and daydreaming myself now about you getting it done. Lol.
LaraW, I’m a retired paralegal. I’ll help you!
Love that her friends can speak out publicly now. The royal reporters are either acting like it is new news that one of the staffers was fired for gross misconduct or stating that isn’t true. Camilla Toomey has dug a deep hole in claiming this interview was a lie
Janina said that it’s a new era now. Meaning Harry and Meghan can speak freely and will defend themselves.
They can’t deny the racism, er, excuse me, “challenges” that Meghan experienced, and they are still trying to pin the blame on their victim and her friends.
It’s the equivalent of telling an assault survivor that she should have fought back more, should have recognized it or reported it right away, and maybe they really wanted to be a victim? Anything to undermine their experience and invalidate their claims.
Unbelievable, except sadly very predictable.
Of COURSE they have receipts. Harry and Meghan are smart and don’t say things they can’t back up, unlike the BRF. I have no doubt there’s a paper trail of every single claim they made — they let that be casually known throughout the interview.
I say this as someone who adores Meghan — I wish her friends would stop speaking on her behalf. I mean, great if they feel moved to protect her or stand up for her, because she deserves that. At the same time, all I see are trolls going “Well of COURSE her friends say she’s kind, she’s their friend, not their boss.” And…I see their point. I do NOT think Meg is a bully whatsoever, but I also agree that her friends going “no she’s not!” isn’t really the strongest argument for her.
I think her friends from work are absolutely right to stand up for her. They’ve worked with her.
Her friends have been silent for 5 years other than Serena and Jessica Mulroney occasionally speaking out. If one of my best friends had been smeared and attacked based on lies I would want to defend them too.
Well I’m sure Meghan wishes the Daily Mail “royal sources” would stop coming for her but here we are. Funny though that you have a problem with peoples friends standing up for them. I mean who else do you expect, strangers on the street? And btw those 72 members of Parliament weren’t “friends” were they?
I don’t have a problem with it, let’s be clear. I just think it makes her more of a target for people who already hate her, and I don’t want that.
Honestly? I think if crew members of Suits and films she’s worked on would speak out on her behalf, that would be really cool. If she had an assistant or staff of any kind as an actress, that would also be cool, and would speak more accurately to how she is as a boss.
@Case have you heard any of those people speak out against her? I think that says a lot as well. Plus those are typically the people who sign NDA so they just can’t randomly pop up out of nowhere . I think if Meghan was this terrible bully from Hollywood we would have heard about it by now. Just ask Ellen how that works.
@Some of those crew members and extras have. It’s on twitter. But they’re not famous, so it’s not covered.
In fact, I’d bet the only way those kinds of comments would get any attention would be if they were negative.
Lastly, when white women are uncomfortable hearing a black woman tell the truth about racism, those white women tend to look for a way to blame the black woman for speaking. It’s “why is it happening now” “why are they doing it THIS way” “why is THIS kind of person speaking up in their defense” etc., etc. Anything to muzzle speech. Anything to protect white women from the truth. It’s wrong, it’s weak, and it needs to stop.
So true tcbc – they’re going for the messaging, because it helps avoid hearing and dealing with the message (about racism).
And @MsIam – are they really supposed to sit there and continually take the neverending leaks and snark coming out of BP/the tabloids without responding? No. And the BRF doesn’t quite seem to have caught on – H & M can now come back at every single smear – with receipts, as others have pointed out.
I am glad `Meghan’s friends are speaking up as it shuts down the narrative or Meghan ghosting people ( ie being a user). Trolls be damned, there opinions do not count 🙂
The only woman who ever to compained about Meghan was her friend from school who apparently had a thing for Trevor and took his side wheh they broke up and her ‘event’ agent who was pissed because Meghan stopped taking speaking gigs after she got together with Harry
It’s really awful and gross how they kept saying “there are dIfferent sides to the story” as if to delegitimize Meghan and the truth she spoke about.
And saying “there’s the corona and people dying, do you think this is the right time to attack them?” ..WTF? Who’s the one attacking who? Seems like they’d try anything to keep up the royal family reputation, no matter who they smash in-between. Clearly, they don’t care at all that Meghan was bullied and almost drove to suicide.. I’m disgusted.
classic gaslighting by bullies…
wrong place.
This is where it really shows that Meghan had 35 years of life before meeting Harry, including working for people who aren’t her relatives or inlaws. She knows that the first response when you’re being treated unfairly by people who have power over you is to start keeping records of how you’ve been treating. I don’t think that that the royal family, insulated as they are from any sort of modern work, has those kinds of survival skills. They haven’t really needed them, and now they’re trying to attack someone who does know how to handle such situations.
I don’t think the UK press and the monarchy understand that the more they keep harping on this issue, the more credibility they lose in the US. Their debut to the US wrt H&M was a huge character assassination campaign that became a “boy who cried wolf and then shit his pants.” So even if, scraping the very bottom of the barrel, they manage to find something somewhat true, it’ll be dismissed as another falsehood cooked up by a completely racist institution.
Surprise. This is what happens when adult women, who have had adult jobs, enter the royal family. You can’t boss them around like you can literal teenagers.
Or like you can women who have lots of experience quietly navigating family dynamics, but none in being independent or pushing back against authority.
Kate has been able to get a lot of what she wants as a royal, but it’s always hinged on her willingness to confine her goals to a pretty narrow set and to let William, Charles, and the Queen have the final word on everything else. I don’t think the family was prepared for a woman who would both reject that framework and have the ability to push back against it.
I don’t think the royal family could imagine someone who was willing to totally walk away. Diana kept living at Kensington palace, working at St. James’s palace, flying on royal jets, and doing very royal charity things. (And lord knows Fergie will cling to every royal connection she has.)
Omg I just saw the tape! That Janina is next level “don’t come for me unless I send for you” with a smile! Love it!
That interview was pure gold! The female interviewer was secretly incandescent with rage she just shut down and tuned out the whole thing. What a wonderful friend Meghan has.
I love how she leaves them hanging when they ask questions that they already know the answers to, which were answered by H and M in the Oprah interview. She has them so off-balance. Well done.
Tbh for the first few minutes i was wondering where Janina was going with this but the last few minutes was honestly a masterclass in how to politely with a smile on your face say “f*uck around and find out.”
There were 3 big warnings here: 1) Meghan has a paper trail and will use it if necessary, 2) Her friends, many of whom have their own platforms, are now free to speak, angry af that they were silenced in the first, and more than willing to go to war for Meghan over what they witnessed, publicly with their names and faces on the record, 3) Melissa you in danger girl so you better tell Jason to stfu
It’s a new era!
This is what worries me: if any of these receipts are letters or emails (e.g. Kate’s apology note), there’s no way she could ever leak them without being a massive hypocrite. She just set a pretty powerful precedent when it comes to sharing private communications.
Nope not at all. That was a copyright violation. Reproducing the work of others for sale without their permission. So she can’t sell the letter to the papers like bad dad did and have them reproduce it. Plus she doesn’t need to leak the contents of the letter, just the knowledge that the letter exists is enough. As for anything else like emails or texts, if its with the permission of both parties then have at it.
Thank you for clarifying!! That makes me feel better. I’ve since had coffee & there are a lot of clear differences. Phew!
Maybe Kate’s letter…but a chain of emails/texts addressing mental help, security, Archie’s title, or bullying/staffing issues-she is good to release it if the family keeps lying about her. If these emails and texts prove differently she gets to prove it and not just take it.
And it’s pretty standard for emails, texts etc to be submitted as evidence in workplace investigations or even tendered in court (atleast in Australian court jurisdictions).
She doesn’t need to release the full email to the public in a statement. She can just give the email to a reporter on background and allow them to do their job of verifying it and then reporting on the contents. That is a common journalism practice and the issue of public servants denying Healthcare to a public servant is of actual public interest.
Whete the MOS fucked up is that they printed actual pictures of her letter and included a larger amount of excerpts than necessary and to make matters worse they did it without the consent of the author and in a way to take things purposefully out of context on an issue that might have been of interest to the public but not of public interest.
Janina was great. She was cool, calm, collected and violent. She was not going to allow them to gaslight the situation and wasn’t going to let the BRF/courtiers/media off the hook. Meghan is lucky to have her.
Wasn’t that Melissa woman maybe the responsible for leaving the tag on a dress Meghan wore during the Oceania tour?
also about that Melissa woman, She might have been sabotaging Meghan’s outfits, as it was not the only faux pass, and it was Meghan’s first tour with multiple appearances and clothes changes as a Royal.
Meghan has great, loyal, and very intelligent people around her. Contrast her friends’ loyalty and their intelligence and media savvy to the likes of the palace clowns and pimp mama Middleton’s. The royal family are screwed. And this is just one friend. She has many with much more power and influence. Checkmate fools. I really hope the royal dullards push them. The fact that it’s been reiterated that they have emails, texts, and paper trails to support their claims is a warning shot and yet these idiots still keep pushing. I really hope they fuck around and find out.
It’s telling, isn’t it? And these aren’t new friends or former friends; they have all worked with her, known her for years, attended the wedding, and perhaps most importantly, kept quiet the whole time she’s been a global superstar.
It’s pretty telling. In the best of ways. I’m glad the rest of the people in Meghan’s life truly appreciate her & don’t take her friendship for granted… she is reaping the benefits of having their backs for so many years.
It’s weird, isn’t it.
The Brit Kangaroo Press keeps insisting she cuts everyone off, but here are these longtime friends and co-workers to disprove that foolishness.
It’s not everybody, Piers, Bad Dad and Scammy. Just the garbage.
Now let’s hear from Kate’s (Will’s) friends. We can start with the Tattler article where they clowned her and her middle class, wisteria family.
First off, the way to get interviewees to reveal more than they intended isn’t to get all huffy and throw your rattle out of your pram. I’ve seen interviewers be very sympathetic and echo the person’s own statements back to them to build rapport, which can be very effective at getting the subject’s guard down.
Phillip Schofield was married and a public figure when he came out as gay, and it was reported that he was struggling, had lost weight and so on. I’m sure the press wanted juicy gossip: in fact one story was that he was allegedly forced to come out on his show because one of the tabloids had threatened a tell-all. If that’s true he was in a very difficult and unfair situation and I feel for him. And presumably he would have hoped, just as Meghan did, that his friends and family would rally round him at a vulnerable time rather than selling him out to reporters. Surely he can understand why Janina feels protective and doesn’t want to betray Meghan.
He just gave a masterclass in passive aggressive interviewing…
He doesn’t like women, that’s for sure. Especially strong women who talk back. He really couldn’t keep the contempt out of his voice.
Agree with you, Toto! That was quite a hostile interview by Phillip Scofield and Holly Wilboughy. I mean, it with shows that Phillip Scofield sides with ‘The Firm’ and gets huffy and ineffective when he can’t get the interview he wants.
And it’s yet more evidence how gendered, white and middle classed the media is in Britain, therefore they are either racist or ‘don’t see’ blank people/racism (lol). They feed that Brexit and anti-multicultural Britain audience. And they love to pick on a POC who is trying to describe their experiences with a colonial institution.
Janina handled that well. It’s amazing… the hosts (and all the BP/RR/tabloids) seem to have a post-interview narrative of “there’s always two sides to a story” “varying recollections” etc… as if the only story coming out since 2018 hasn’t been wholly and solely the BRF’s and the tabloid trashies’.
I have to hand it to Janina for keeping her cool during that interview. And how dare he imply that talking to friends was all Meghan needed when she was suicidal. As several commenters have pointed out, friends are not the same as having professional help. That host should be fired for gross incompetence.
I imagine Harry telling Meghan how his mom was treated after she left Charles-Cause Meghan to wise up and keep receipts-John Oliver had stated before Harry and Meghan wed-the royal family may cause Meg some mental destruction-He stated this in 2018-Oliver must understand the dynamics the royal family would use on any member to force compliance or exile-Piers Morgan with the turkey neck can kiss the Sussexes asses-Sharon Obsbourne had a hot discussion with Sheryl Underwood today on the Talk-Sharon defending Piers caused a very uncomfortable discussion-She thought the panel was accusing her of being racist for defending Piers-He was defending the Monarchy but he has constant stirred up hatred towards Meg and Harry which can cause physical harm-I hope he use this much energy dragging Prince Andy unless he thinks a predo is good for the royals.
600313 2651Several thanks for sharing this fine piece. Really fascinating tips! (as always, btw) 923626