What a moment for Princess Eugenie to release her anti-slavery podcast

I was under the impression that Princess Eugenie’s work with her charity The Anti-Slavery Collective was put on an indefinite hold a few years back. I do believe Eugenie stopped being as public with her work around the same time as her father first “stepped back” from royal work following his catastrophic BBC Newsnight interview in late 2019. Then Andrew stepped back for real this February, and he was formally removed from most of his patronages. He’s also no longer allowed to use his HRH. All because he raped girls trafficked to him by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. It just wasn’t the moment for Eugenie to have a podcast about modern slavery. But now is the time, apparently, because Eugenie has officially launched her pod this week.

Princess Eugenie has officially launched her podcast for her charity The Anti-Slavery Collective. Titled Floodlight, the podcast is hosted by Queen Elizabeth’s granddaughter, 32, and Eugenie’s friend Julia de Boinville, who co-founded the charity in 2017 to combat modern slavery and trafficking.

The podcast features Eugenie and Julia speaking with “guests from all walks of life who are helping to combat modern slavery in a variety of ways,” read a Wednesday post on Eugenie’s Instagram as the first episode went live. “From lawmakers and company leaders to famous activists, survivors and journalists, Floodlight shows you just how prominent modern slavery is and that we can all do something about it.”

Eugenie teased the podcast back in January, saying in a joint monthly newsletter with Julia alongside a photo of the women recording with microphones on a white couch, “We were so excited to begin recording our long-awaited podcast this year, due to be released in 2022 so stay tuned!”

A podcast is the latest step for the pair, who previously hosted interviews shared on social media with those helping to shed a light on the issue. Eugenie also visits safe houses, and has spoken at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Eugenie and Julia previously revealed that they first met on a bus during a school trip, and in 2012, they traveled to India together where they visited an organization called Women’s Interlink Foundation and “first became aware of modern slavery.”

[From People]

Again, Eugenie’s father is all about human trafficking. And again, the royal family’s history in the transatlantic slave trade – and their profits from slavery – are in the news all the time now, as the legacies of British colonialism are coming even further into the forefront. The royal family can’t even do sad Jubbly tours without people protesting and asking for reparations. In addition to all of that, Nadine White at the Independent points out that The Anti-Slavery Collective is exclusively white. Everyone who works there is white. While I’m willing to believe that Eugenie’s heart is in the right place, all of this is just so tone-deaf.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.

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92 Responses to “What a moment for Princess Eugenie to release her anti-slavery podcast”

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  1. Brendar says:

    I guess, I would take “tone deaf but heart is in the right place” over “but what colour would the children be?”.

  2. Maggie says:

    May I be the first caller to ask how the Princess will be donating her inherited proceeds from slavery? Or how she has not publicly condemned her father for raping a trafficked woman??

    • Jan90067 says:

      I’ll be right there with you. WHO advises these people?????

      My God the bubble this family insulates itself in is like the old Get Smart “Cone of Silence” (well…when it worked lol).

      Guess Harry *didn’t* pick the brightest bulb as his favorite cousin after all.

    • Regetta says:

      Do you think harry should hamd back his inherited wealth too? Or just the royals you dontlike? Serious question.

      • Dee says:

        The wealth he inherited from Diana? Obviously not. The wealth he has yet to inherit from his corrupt family? Yeah, I think I would be a little disappointed if he kept it.

      • Drea says:

        Seriously. How much of the money that ALL royalty/nobility has is massive generational wealth gained from slavery/the slave trade/etc.?

        Probably well more than anyone knows.

      • Gee says:

        @Dee, what makes you think he would even be given an inheritance as a ‘spare’? The Queen Mother left nothing to him too. So your speculations on him even receiving one is merely – speculations.

      • Rnot says:

        The Spencer family also enslaved human beings.

      • Ennie says:

        I don’t think he will. And it is his ultimate right. At the end, this money will inherit will be his children’s who are also descendants of slaves. A perfect circle.
        On top of that, he and Meghan are and surely will continue to be of service to many charities. He, more than other billionaires who throw their money to capricious meltdowns can do better use of that inheritance.

      • aftershocks says:

        ^^ @Gee, from what I’ve heard, the Queen Mother did leave money to Harry, more than she did to William, reportedly because William will get so much when he inherits the throne.

        Honestly, there’s a lot we do not know about the royal family’s financial set-ups and inheritances. It’s more than likely that Harry received something in Philip’s recent will. As we know, Philip’s will is secret and legally locked for so many years that we won’t be around when it is made available for historians.

        All of this is moot to the topic in question. At least Harry has an expansive, generous, and thoughtful social conscious, as does his wife, Meghan. Thus, I personally do not begrudge Harry either his money or his status in the world. He (along with his accomplished and financially successful wife) give generously of their time and money to help others.

        The Sussexes deserve to be able to enjoy their rich lifestyle and Harry’s royal inheritance (whatever that might be). This is especially true because of all the abuse they continue to suffer at the hands and behest of members of the royal firm.

      • teecee says:

        All massive fortunes are built on exploitation, but old money British fortunes particularly, so yeah, Diana’s money was also stained in blood. But while I agree with paying reparations and returning artifacts, I don’t know exactly how the complete return of inherited monetary wealth would work logistically.

    • Regetta says:

      @Dee the money Diana left him is from her divorce from Charles. This means the money is from slavery/royalty.

      • Dee says:

        No, the money comes (came) from Charles’ businesses, and some estates that are not the proceeds of slavery, but of monarchy. Now, any Brit that wants to complain about that is fine to.

      • Regetta says:

        But @Dee that is exactly the same thing. The monarchy only has money because of slavery.

      • equality says:

        So none of Diana’s estate was anything inherited from her family? And anything she got from PC, she definitely worked for and earned.

      • Chergui says:

        When you really get into it, the money is all going to have some links to slavery. Would the be the wealthy land owners that they are without slavery and colonialism?

        They can all talk about how they now don’t believe in it but they’re all still directly benefitting from it through their inherited money and privilege.

        Of course none of them will give any of it up but it would be great to see a modern day slavery foundation of some sort, which the wealthy families who have profited from past slavery donate to.

      • Cate says:

        @Dee, the monarchy has amassed its wealth in all sorts of shady and abhorrent ways. Slavery, declaring anyone else who had a nice piece of land they wanted “attainted” and then confiscating all their belongings, imposing new taxes that their nobles were only able to pay because they had serfs working their land (and serfdom is pretty damn close to slavery, maybe families weren’t split up the same way but you were considered part of the property/land), etc. So yeah, Harry is wealthy primarily because he was born into a family that has played very very dirty for centuries. I will say he seems to be using his wealth to generally improve the state of the world and it seems Eugenie might be heading in that direction also, which is nice to see. Ultimately I don’t think they should voluntarily hand back their wealth but rather I’d like both the UK and US governments to do things like enact laws that limit the accumulation of generational wealth, and use the tax proceeds for social programs to address issues like racial inequity and poverty (and yes, also maybe reparations to countries that were impacted by slavery, or if straight up reparations is a bridge too far, some sort of significant aide package). Then all these families that have massive funds built on the backs of slavery and other cr*p practices would have to give some of it “back” but it would (hopefully) be organized for maximum impact.

      • aftershocks says:

        ^^ I completely agree with you @Cate. And thanks for articulating the facts, and your views on this issue.

      • aftershocks says:

        @Regetta: “The monarchy only has money because of slavery.”

        The monarchy built its vast empire during the 1500s to 1800s as a direct result of slavery in the Americas. However, the current monarchy has a number of sources of revenue, not directly tied to former involvement in the slave trade. (Of course, the institution gained its current position of power, authority, and status in part due to profiting from American slavery).

        Plus, keep in mind that England was a feudal society in ancient times. Its class structure was developed via the system of serfdom and indentured servitude. As well, how monarchy was created in the first place has to do with leaders of wars winning battles, amassing land, and creating kingdoms with the help of recruits, known as knights. The aristocrat class is directly descended from knights who pledged fealty to their leader and king.

    • MissMarirose says:

      What is she inheriting? Her parents are broke.

      • SarahLee says:

        MissMairirose you are absolutely correct. E & B will inherit a mountain of debt from their grifter parents. I think TQ may leave something to her grandchildren and great grandchildren perhaps. The Queen Mother was a nasty fossile who only left for William, of course. Protocol and all. Diana knew this which is why she favored Harry in her will – she knew William would inherit all the wealth of the Windsors one day. I still think she did this to give Harry independence and an “off ramp” in case his brother turned on him.

      • aftershocks says:

        ^^ LOL! Exactly @MissMarirose. The York girls are royal adjacent, not in direct line to the throne. They have to work in order to have some financial independence. Sure, their connection to the Queen helps them land comfortable jobs, but they aren’t going to inherit huge amounts from the Queen that they would be able to luxuriate off of. They need to work. Both Bea and Eugenie are lucky in seemingly having solid, decent marriage partners who also work.

      • aftershocks says:

        @SarahLee: “The Queen Mother was a nasty fossile who only left for William, of course. Protocol and all.”

        Where did you hear this? From general reporting that I’ve seen over the years, it has been said that the QM stipulated in her will that Harry is to receive more money than William (because William will inherit the Duchy of Cornwall when he becomes King).

        Check out the below link, compiled from previously reported news stories about the QM’s will. She left a total of 14 million pounds in trust for all of her numerous great-grandchildren. It hasn’t been reported exactly how the money will be split. And since it is held in trust, it is not readily available money.

        The article also explains the details of the money that Diana left to Harry.

        https://www.goodto.com/royal-news/the-queen-mother-left-prince-harry-money-591976

  3. C-Shell says:

    This is baffling. The timing feels so cringe worthy. I agree that Eugenie’s heart is in the right place with this, but wow — turning the floodlight onto her immediate family! Maybe she wants to differentiate herself from them, maybe this is a measure of atonement. Whatever it is, it’s definitely going to bring her father’s crimes into sharp relief.

    • Catlady says:

      Eugenie is in no way responsible for her father’s crimes. He career choices should not be predicated on his behavior.

      • Dee says:

        Yes, but how tin-eared will she look after getting through an entire podcast series about slavery without mentioning her family’s historic links, her father’s very recent scandals, or the fact that bars and nightclubs (of which her husband is an owner) are a hotspot for abuse, abductions and trafficking? You cannot do an “informative dive” about something while leaving out highly relevant personal info that might actually be a conflict of interest re: the topic at hand.

      • C-Shell says:

        @Catlady — no she is not, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have (misplaced guilt) feelings about it.

      • Jan90067 says:

        No, she’s not “responsible” for his actions. However, according to a Google search, “… Duke’s private secretary in 2011, who said the two (Pedo and Epstein) met in “the early 1990s”. Epstein and Maxwell were invited to that family costume birthday bash at the Palace. Epstein & Maxwell were at TQ’s cabin at Balmoral. Freeloader took her and her sister on The Lolita Express to Epstein’s private island.

        Now, while at those times she was too young to know what monsters those people were/are, but AS A GROWN ASS WOMAN, SHE KNOWS (AND HAS FOR SOME TIME). SHE KNOWS how many times her father has been to visit Epstein (incl. the photographic evidence of “THE WALK” and Pedo answering the door at Epstein’s home, waving to some girls coming and going. There is NO WAY that she couldn’t put two and two together to equal 4.

        For her to put this podcast out, and NOT mention the elephant Pedo in the room is not only disingenuous, but it totally demolishes all of her credibility to even talk about this issue.

  4. Cessily says:

    I don’t see this going well.. I would love to know what goes through these Royals minds sometimes are they truly all that deaf, dumb, and blind?

  5. Chloe says:

    Some royals are extremely lucky that nobody really pays much attention to them.

  6. Noki says:

    Is it wishful thinking to imagine she may have asked for Meghans smart advice going forward with this!? I am not putting anything on Meghan just saying i am sure she can get some educated and honest advice from her friend and family on such a gigantic subject.

    • Athena says:

      @Noki. We see what you’re doing. You were on the other story commenting on how Harry didn’t have the “education” for his job at Better up, now it’s Meghan fault or bad advice that is responsible for Eugenie launching this podcast.

      Eugenie is a full grown, white, female, aristocrat, who’s grandmother sits on the British throne, I think she will always do what she damm well pleases even if advised otherwise, we have as example her father who was advised not to do a certain interview but did it anyway.

      • Noki says:

        That is quite a reach !!! The betterup comment was based on what was said in the actual post trying to guess what possible angles could be used again Harry by the workers fair or not. And this post i clearly state Meghan is not to blame but maybe had she sought out some advice from her friend/family she could have told her to read the room.

    • s808 says:

      What good is advice if it’s not taken? And it’s not up to Meghan, and it certainly is not her responsibility, to advise her. She’s not responsible for E or her choices.

      • GR says:

        @s808 @athena
        Why are you jumping on Noki? She’s clearly not blaming Meg; she’s clearly saying Meg is good at publicly representing and supporting serious causes and it’s a shame Eugenie didn’t have the sense to ask her for advice.

      • YeahRight says:

        It’s not Meghan’s responsibility to babysit a grown woman. It’s common sense that knowing what her father and his deceased and jailed friends did it’s best not to do a podcast on this particular topic.

    • Noki says:

      I never said it was Meghans responsibility. I said Eugenie should have sought some smart and deep advice from someone in her inner circle who could surely help educate and advise her and maybe she would have read the room better. Stop the faux outrage and protection , what is so wrong with suggesting that she offer advice to someone she seemingly gets along with compared to the rest of the RF.

  7. Watson says:

    The timing is impeccable 🤣

    • Huma says:

      Why? Because the Chinese slave camps are widely known now? Because andrew got his HRH removed ? What are you referring to?

      • kacy says:

        Two failed Caribbean tours where slavery was a big topic and handle poorly by the royals?

      • serena says:

        @Huma You’re kidding, right?

      • Emma says:

        Huma — the English royals derive a lot of their wealth from slavery, which just got more publicity due to Will and Kate’s disaster of a Caribbean tour, and yes, also because her father Andrew just had to pay a settlement to get out of court charges for raping a sex-trafficked person.

        Is it reasonable for Eugenie to publicize her work to stop human trafficking and slavery, when she doesn’t say anything about her own family’s role, or her own father’s role? The beautiful estates where she was raised were paid for partly with money from colonialism and slavery — from horrors. Her silence is compliance, I don’t mean to be harsh, but it is.

        It is very difficult to speak up and question your own privilege. But it is crucial if you don’t want to perpetuate oppression.

        I find it very sad. Eugenie is a well-educated adult with many resources. If she wanted to understand the issues, she would. It seems that she is willfully choosing to ignore the elephants in the room.

      • Tan says:

        The all white girl boss staff is def a look 🤣

  8. Invsblesources says:

    This could be her taking a stand against what her father has done but hard to know?!? She really can’t speak about it unless she wants to be exiled… who knows if she can afford that really..
    I haven’t followed her enough to know if this is a longtime passion of hers but I wish her the best.
    There’s so many directions they can go with this so only time will tell if it’s all just talk or if they’ll delve deep..

    • Anastasia says:

      This is kind of what I am wondering. Eugenie has had somewhat of a work history, and is close with Harry and Meghan. I wonder if the trip to CA earlier this year had something to do with this?

      Jack has an actual job, and I don’t think they’re actually paying to lease Frogmore, so it might be possible that they’ve talked about what happens if she’s financially cut off/exiled?

      Until we know what’s actually in the podcast, we can’t actually judge.

      • SomeChick says:

        the trip to CA was because she was working at an art event. she came early for the visit.

    • TeamAwesome says:

      Eugenie has been patron of anti slavery international since 2012. This podcast has been planned for at least a few years and this is something she has been working towards for a while.

  9. SarahCS says:

    I am (very slightly) torn about this. One the one hand, there are massive issues here, clearly with the organisation itself and Eugenie as the messenger. At the same time, we’re telling the institution that it has to change and she is trying to step into a place where she can make a difference in something she seems to genuinely care about. Now, does that outweigh the first point? No, I don’t think so, but I will give her credit for trying.

    I saw a news story recently saying that in the UK there is still a big issue with businesses taking steps to tackle modern slavery so we do need more publicity and focus in this area, it’s a very real issue. Should she and this organisation be the ones doing that? Well, see my point above!

    • aftershocks says:

      ^^ Yeah, I’m not going to get too fussed about Eugenie trying to make a difference by shedding light on this stark and troubling issue. Too often, the terribleness of what trafficked victims continually suffer remains undercover and shrouded in darkness. Most likely, a variety of guests from different backgrounds will be interviewed on the podcast. Even if this effort is seen as ‘tone-deaf’ on Eugenie’s part, if her podcast does anything to help victims and to raise awareness, that’s a good thing.

      Eugenie is not her father, and she’s not responsible for his misdeeds. Nor does she absolutely have to publicly talk about the claims against her father. It must be hard for her to have to navigate separating her love for her Dad from his reported abuses.

      By 2010, reports of Andrew’s friendship with convicted pedophile J. Epstein, had surfaced. Eugenie surely began hearing about it then. In 2012, when Eugenie began working on this anti-slavery/ anti-trafficking initiative, she could have been spurred to do so in part due to confusion and misgivings regarding her Dad’s involvement with Epstein. Or else, Eugenie’s trip to India with her friend, helped Eugenie begin to find a way to overcome some of the harms her father was connected to, even if details of his role were cloaked at that time.

  10. OriginalLaLa says:

    Any royal talking about slavery while having been the beneficiary of slavery and stolen goods/riches/lands/bodies, is absolutely unacceptable. The BRF has engaged in no reckoning, formal apologies, restitution or reconciliation.

    Does no one in this family have *any* self awareness?

    • Call_Me_AL says:

      I actually think this is very brave of her. She is putting a lot at risk to take on this subject matter.
      Are we saying: “Eugenie, your father raped a trafficked/enslaved girl; therefore, you cannot be against it. Your ancestors perpetrated slavery; therefore, you cannot be against it.” ?

      My dad cheated on my mom, am I not allowed to come out against infidelity? I am white and have thus profited from racism, am I not allowed to come out against racism?

      Silence is the problem, Eugenie is trying to be a part of the solution.

      • OriginalLaLa says:

        if your family earned its riches through slavery and stolen land, and you benefit from it, and aren’t self-aware enough to address this before you make slavery your hot button issue, yeah you’re gonna be called on it.

  11. fani says:

    The amount of human trafficking is so bad right now that I think anything that tries to help is a good thing.

    The amount of people that go missing from the UK is staggering (not saying those people matter more, just that people in the UK might be more likely to listen to the podcast due to Eugenie’s involvement).

    She is not her father’s keeper.

    There are people who will listen to this because she is involved, who might otherwise not have listened to a podcast about human trafficking.

  12. Bettyrose says:

    I’m struggling to pronounce her name in my head the way Meghan did in the Oprah interview: YOO-jeh-nee. Not Yoo-GEE-nee.

    • HeatherC says:

      I remember reading an interview with Eugenie and she said to pronounce her name it’s like saying Use your knee if that helps?

      • Bettyrose says:

        Thanks! I actually liked her name better when I heard Meghan pronounce it. That syllable emphasis is unique (maybe it’s common in Britain but I hadn’t heard it before).

  13. MsIam says:

    Wow. But good for her for not running away from this. It seems that is typically what the royals do when confronted with something uncomfortable. (Diversity czar?) But yuck to the all white staff. Modern slavery is not just European women trafficked for sex slavery. I was looking at a video on the role of slavery and hotels. I had no idea that some of the workers are trafficked, especially at smaller chain hotels that are independently owned, and most are minorities.

    • Maggie says:

      This is worse.

      She is still a royal with all the protection that brings. Will she ever be asked any questions by a reporter, let alone answer how tone deaf this is? Will she ever criticize the monarchy and their significant role in slavery?

      No, she will not. This is just classic “aristocrat-splaining”

  14. SURE says:

    I started listening but was turned off when the other host kept referring to herself and E as “two girls” implying that they were completely naive about the subject. Presumably they aren’t going to talk about the elephants in the room – Andrew, Epstein and Maxwell – so why is E even bothering with this farce. It’s baffling why she started this project in the first place.

    • Maggie says:

      “Girls” used in this way is systemic misogyny – it is used to infantilize women and their ideas. When women use the term, they legitimize it for men.

    • Tan says:

      Reading the wiki article on racism is def a way to do a podcast I guess 🤷‍♀️

  15. Katie says:

    The issues here stretch way beyond the royal connection. I don’t know anything about her friend except that they met at an expensive boarding school. While this is a greater help to humanity than trying to get Insta famous by taking selfies on boats, depending on wealthy white people to take care of society’s ills is going to end up with nonsense like an all white anti-slavery charity (not to mention perpetuating all the power structures that have made the mess in the first place). I haven’t been able to bring myself to listen to the Maintenance Phase bonus episode on charities and NGOs because they strongly hinted it would mostly be about clueless rich people making a mess of things.

    • BeanieBean says:

      Oh, so this is sort of the modern take on rich white lady charity work, then? Instead of hosting a fundraising fashion show, selling tickets to all your friends, host a podcast? Yeah, I can see it.

      • aftershocks says:

        ^^ Yeah, I get it. And there are some valid points being made. But, it’s easy for us to stand on the sidelines and criticize. What are we doing, if anything, to shed light and to foster change on this important advocacy? As Meghan said, “Be the change we want to see in the world.”

        Even if tone-deaf, at least Eugenie is doing something, and not completely running away from, or ignoring this problem. She’s entitled and sheltered, yes. But she’s also trying to make baby steps away from silent entrapment inside the gilded cage.

        Both Bea and Eugenie have modeled some of Meghan’s stylistic themes and approaches, so it’s not surprising to see Eugenie try to pattern herself after the Sussexes’ charitable successes. Eugenie’s efforts seem genuine. If we have critiques, why not dm her some advice and suggestions?

  16. Connie says:

    All directions are linked to her family. Their reign is over. They can’t recuperate from this. Meghan brought a lot of attention to that family, I personally didn’t want her to marry Harry. I knew she would work hard to prove she’s here to support. It never works. Once a Mockingbird feels threatened “crocodile tears!” It works every time. I hope they pass on the jubilee. (Their crying not to come; BS!) If something goes wrong Sussex will be thrown under the bus. The British press are stirring the pot to embarrass the Sussex with that Jackass of a father. That Wooten prick is a sick twist asshole. America is racist as hell. England their on some new 💩. He’s a pig. Wooten and jackass will destroy each other.. hope jackass has life insurance. If jackass comes (doubt it) who will they blame when he becomes the focus and makes a fool of himself. His handlers can’t stand his ass. He’s a joke. What if he has a heart attack what is Wooten gonna do? Tell Meghan to get the jackass? I hope he goes. Hell be treated worse then his daughter. Nothing like an OLD FOOL!

    • Hell Nah! says:

      Connie, this is seriously fire.

      I love your stance and the words you’ve chosen to express it all are simply perfection.
      Thank you for my morning ab workout.

  17. Pork Chops and Applesauce says:

    The “exclusively white” bit is cringeworthy. How could such a massive point be so grossly overlooked while that organization was being created and staffed??

    • Lemons says:

      Honestly…Think about someone’s wedding party. The bridesmaids are all white. The grooms are all white. No one thinks anything of it because that’s just the way it is, but this means that no one has cultivated a meaningful relationship with a minority in their lives.

      And this is how businesses are built, clubs are organized, and charities are founded! Everyone has good intentions, but they don’t realize that, at the core, they are the problem.

  18. Ocho says:

    In private, Eugenie (and Beatrice) can love their father and spend time with him… and be repulsed by him. But every time one of them appears at a public event standing by his side or posts a photo with him (maybe with their cute baby) on social media, they are actively participating in rehabilitating his public image and insulting his victims. (I personally think part of the timing of Meghan and Harry’s departure from Royal Family events coincided with the growing awareness of Andrew’s actions and they did not want to support him. I mean, there was a lot going on during their departure… but I don’t think H and M, advocates for women’s rights, want to stand next to him on a balcony.)

    Now Eugenie has decided to publicly speak about human trafficking, TO CREATE AN ENTIRE PODCAST FOCUSED ON IT. I do not see how she can responsibly cover this topic without addressing her father’s actions. It is disrespectful to the victims of human trafficking and their advocates.

  19. sunny says:

    This is an important issue but I don’t know how she can successfully champion it without examining her own ties to it? I think this issue could have been better served by her boosting the work of other activist. Also the fact that the whole team behind this is white is another red flag.

    • L4Frimaire says:

      This here. She needs to address her fathers ties to Epstein and Maxwell or it’s just weird and kinda dishonest. Hoping she will at some point.

    • Christine says:

      This! There is a massive elephant in the room, and if it isn’t addressed, her entire purpose comes across as disingenuous.

  20. Amy Bee says:

    I think her heart is the right place but her first episode should have been on her family’s involvement in slavery and her father’s alleged crimes.

  21. Sue E Generis says:

    Such an odd choice of pursuit for Eugenie. It practically begs for criticism.

  22. serena says:

    The irony. How can she speak on slavery without mentioning her family, and most importantly her father, recognizing all the damage they have done? It’s just pure hypocrisy.
    And an all-white staff and hosts? Talk about being tone-deaf YET AGAIN. I can’t with this family.

  23. equality says:

    To those wanting Eugenie to pay reparations for slavery: Most of the wealth of the monarchy is held by the actual monarch. How do you think they control those lower down in the line? Even a lot of that is actually supposed to only be held by the monarch and belongs to the UK. If you are from the UK, start a petition to return stolen goods and wealth to other countries. It’s supposed to be publicly owned so you should have a say.

    • emma says:

      No one (here, anyway) is saying Eugenie personally should pay reparations. That’s an issue for the government.

      • JaneBee says:

        @Emma – someone up thread said Eugenie needs to donate any inheritance she receives.

  24. FeministYeah says:

    Is this all manners of problematic? Sure.
    Is it still necessary for more white people to discuss slavery and its aftermath? Absolutely.
    Even here, in our online reality, you can see that the engagement on posts about Black people is substantially smaller (former royals notwithstanding, royals visiting Black people notwithstanding).
    More white people need to be engaged in these conversations and if she’s even attempting to do that, since there are SO FEW to begin with, I commend it.

    • poppedbubble says:

      100% agree @FeministYeah.

    • Christine says:

      You make a seriously good point.

    • Kitt1 says:

      The problem is white people do engage in human trafficking but the narrative is it’s white people who are the saviors for bringing attention and championing human rights.

      If you read the narratives in the Daily Mail, the Telegraph and the Sunday Times, they are about how black and brown people owed their successes to British ingenuity, legal system and education. Their readers frequently chimed in with comments like Africans sold slaves historically and the problem is rife in Asian and African countries today. People like these don’t want to acknowledge how today’s human trafficking is a problem worldwide. The exploitation of people will continue as long as rich and connected people escaped the rule of law and common people get cheap clothes and food.

      The same attitude is tied into the British class system with its systemic racism and misogyny. It’s why it’s fine to look down on hard working care givers who frequently are POC and immigrants because people like these are valued so cheaply.

      • FeministYeah says:

        I agree with you but 1)she can’t be expected to right every wrong the BRF has ever done 2)she’s also her own person when it comes to her father the rapist 3)I am not ready to call her the savior of racism (as if any one person could, at any point).

        I have not heard the pod yet but I celebrate it in the same light that I celebrate any man speaking up about sexist issues *to other men*, because a privileged voice speaking up about oppression to other privileged voices still will go better than if I, a brown woman, were to do it.

        I won’t think it makes them the best human or the best savior or anything like that, but I won’t just come down on that choice like I find nothing to uplift about it, because I do (albeit a little bit).

    • aftershocks says:

      ^^ I’m with you @FeministYeah! I agree with your takes, and with the salient points you have made in both of your above posts.

  25. Kitt1 says:

    Look the only way these royals can be taken seriously is to actually admit their family has benefited and continue to benefit from slavery and the exploitation of people. That means yes, Eugenia needs to address her Achilles’ heel, her own dad, Andrew. She needs to address this eventually anyway. It means the family needs to talk about its reparation plan and its exploitation of the Commonwealth to buff its royal image and finally to address its own systemic racism problem. The world knows none of this will happen. The “never explain, never complain” policy is the ultimate gaslighting since the family uses the royal rota as proxy to whine and lie daily.

    This human slavery thing has been used BTW by white nationalists to defend Britain’s role and how it derived its national wealth from the enriching mercantilism of slavery and colonialism. You can read their comments in various news media outlets from The NY Times to the Daily Mail. Their favorite strategy is to use the excuse it was Africans who sold their own people to white slavers. If the white slavers wouldn’t buy slaves, some other groups would. They like to make human trafficking a “third world” problem. The same group of monarchists like to crow how these royal women, as human rights champions, brought public spotlight to charities to end human trafficking.

    Eugenia has the right idea, but if she can’t shake off the problem of Andrew, it means she will always be vulnerable. Charities suffer when their front person can’t be taken seriously.

    Andrew refuses to go away and by insisting on being the headline news, his children suffer. Eugenia’s opportunity depends on her ability to reconcile her public image while being weighted down by her parents’ problem. It means Eugene will have to talk about Andrew. As we all can see, trying to make a career outside the toxic pettiness of the BRF is fraught and takes a great deal of genuine pluck, luck and hard work.

    I wish Eugenia success.

  26. Patricia says:

    Has anyone noticed how suspiciously nice the daily fails articles have been to the Princesses? Especially Princess Beatrice,who is getting the full on “ isn’t she beautiful “ “ aren’t her clothes exquisite “. It’s so over the top. Are they(or her) selling the goods on the Sussex’s?! Hmmmm!

  27. Liz in A says:

    I can’t fault her for the attempt, and am willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on her honesty towards it and see what comes out.

    She can’t be guilty for her father’s sins, and if she is serious in her efforts, it shows some members of the family will atone for their privilege.

    It might all be horribly done in the end, but I am willing to wait and see. Her hanging with Harry and Meghan might be a good sign, maybe my rose colored glasses come from that. But I’m super curious, not rolling my eyes.