The Duchess of Sussex’s Variety cover story was supposed to come out in mid-September as part of her promotion for the Archetypes podcast, and as part of Variety’s “Women in Hollywood” issue. Then Queen Elizabeth II passed away, and Variety agreed to postpone the cover in exchange for new comments after the Sussexes returned from the UK. While I love Variety’s photoshoot, they chose a terrible photo for the cover! They’ve been sitting on this editorial for two months and no one said “actually you made Meghan look like a cult leader?” Anyway, Meghan has a lot to say about a lot of different things, including how she loves Jeopardy, she does Wordle “in bed with a glass of wine” and she’s obsessed with Beyonce’s “Cozy.” You can read the full piece here. I’m breaking it up into two posts. Some highlights:
What she wants out of life: “Joy. That’s really it. It’s everything that we can work toward for ourselves, our friends, our kids, those around us — that would feel so good. And we do feel joyful.”
Mourning the Queen: Following the official period of mourning, Meghan agrees to sit again for a lengthy discussion about her road to the present. She worries that any comments about the queen or her in-laws will be “a distraction” from continued mourning, but presses on to celebrate the icon.
How she feels after QEII’s passing: “There’s been such an outpouring of love and support. I’m really grateful that I was able to be with my husband to support him, especially during that time. What’s so beautiful is to look at the legacy that his grandmother was able to leave on so many fronts. Certainly, in terms of female leadership, she is the most shining example of what that looks like. I feel deep gratitude to have been able to spend time with her and get to know her. It’s been a complicated time, but my husband, ever the optimist, said, “Now she’s reunited with her husband.”
Her reflection of the Queen: “I’ve reflected on that first official engagement that I had with her, how special that felt. I feel fortunate. And I continue to be proud to have had a nice warmth with the matriarch of the family.
Processing the loss as a family: “In big moments in life, you get a lot of perspective. It makes you wonder what you want to focus your energy on. Right now, we feel energized and excited about all of the things we’ve been building toward. We’re also focused on our foundation. So much of the work we do includes the philanthropic space.
On her openness in interviews, even if they’re written about in a snarky way: “The [New York] story was intended to support “Archetypes” and focus on our projects. I’ve had some time to reflect on it. Part of me is just really trusting, really open — that’s how I move in the world. I have to remember that I don’t ever want to become so jaded that that piece of me goes away. So despite any of those things? Onward. I can survive it. Part of what I’m doing with “Archetypes” is looking at the nuances around the women who come on the show. I’m not a journalist, but I want a candid, real conversation with them. I’m talking to some really textured, colorful, layered, dynamic women with strong histories. And that comes with a lot of pieces you can choose to include or not; I choose to include something that I feel is fair to them and also uplifting. And something we can all learn from.
What she would say if her kids want to work in Hollywood: “I would say, “Great!” When you become a parent, you genuinely want your kids to find the things that bring them complete joy. They’re our kids, obviously, and they’re part of a legacy and a tradition and a family that will have other expectations. But I want them to be able to carve out their own path. If it’s the entertainment industry, great. And also, good luck. There are so many people that will talk about what opened the door for my children. But it still takes talent and a lot of grit. We’re creating multidimensional, interesting, kind, creative people. That’s who our kids are.
On the idea of actors playing her in the future: “I haven’t given that much thought, to be honest. It’s all weird. You have to compartmentalize. Anyone talking about me or casting an actor to play me, that will be a caricature of me that has been created for a business that makes people a lot of money. Once you can separate that out, it’s much easier to go: “OK. That actually has nothing to do with me.” It genuinely doesn’t. It’s a hard lesson to come to grips with.
Advice to an actor playing her: “I hope that in preparing for that role, she finds the softness and the playfulness and the laughter. The silliness. I just hope she finds the dimensions. Also, she can call me!
So, basically Variety threw out their first interview/profile of Meghan and did this Q&A after she returned to California after the funeral. I wonder if she had more to say about the Windsors in the first interview, but I guess we’ll never know. She’s being very positive about the experience of being stuck in Salt Island unexpectedly for that length of time – she knows that if she utters one word of complaint, everyone will climb all over her, so she’s smart. Plus, Meghan and Harry have always maintained that they were close to QEII regardless of how much the British media wanted to make it sound like they were recording diss tracks about Ol’ Liz. Part 2 of this coverage will be Meghan talking about WORK!
Cover & IG courtesy of Variety.
The bottom pic reminds me a lot of the outfit and styling for her Time cover with Harry, although I think the Time cover was more hair-centric, for Meghan anyway ha ha. I just remember being like “wow! that is one hell of a mane of hair!”
I especially liked it b/c it seemed like something the queen would have TOTALLY disapproved of.
Back to this pic, WHAT is the deal with all that weird fog/mist/bluriness around Meghan?? It looks super weird, like some crappy filter in a photo editing app esp next to her face, which seems to be the victim of a completely different but equally bad filter. ….
Variety, I am NOT impressed
I love the fog and the little whimsical lights. It’s very dreamy like….
No, sorry, but I’m a retired professional photographer, and that image is cheesy and badly done. It is possible to get an attractive halo/haze look in an image, but this is crappy Photoshop!
Wow. What a treat! Yes, the cover is a little cult leaderish but she is so gorgeous, I’ll look past it. It’s smart for her to keep her positivity about QEII when sure, we know that old lady wasn’t all that. Her talking about the outpouring of love from Salt Island is quite generous and I love knowing that the British media’s heads are exploding right about now.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
That’s what is bugging me about the cover. I don’t like it. I also kind of went meh on some of the photos. The Cut had better ones I think.
@girl_ninjas, I agree regarding the cover. And yes, Meghan is seemingly careful to be over-generous to the Queen in her comments. I’m sure she had a warm relationship with old Betty. And Harry dearly loved and respected his grandmother to a fault. So it is what it is.
Regarding Meg’s reference to ‘outpouring of love’, I think she means globally, not just from Salt Island.
At first glance, I thought they had weirdly truncated her shoulders because I thought I was seeing her in a black dress with short sleeves, then I looked again & saw her actual shoulders. I think the lighting/blurriness failed them in this photo. She is so beautiful, though! All the photos (less the lighting/blurriness) are gorgeous! And that interview clip was a lot of fun, too.
^^ Exactly. At first glance the bare ends of her shoulders fade into the background and her proportions (neck, head, shoulders) seem off. The background is wackadoodle Not a great cover photo at all. The Cut definitely had a much better better photo spread. In any case, Meghan is very photogenic, so that helps make up for the bad photo editing choices.
My name got misspelled–
Lol, same! I thought they’d done some weird photoshopping, but then saw the pic for what it was.
Ditto on the shoulders – didn’t see she was wearing a sleeveless dress at first and it looked oddly cartoonish. Also, while she’s beautiful and the clothes are lovely, the styling of the photos, specifically the backgrounds, was uninspired, and tacky. What’s that thing she’s laying on that looks like the shell of a hot air balloon? And that blue gauzy thing behind her, with the odd sun/shadow play on the grass at her feet? Very strange choices, that distract both from her and the clothes.
Lovely interview, she comes across so beautifully in it, though it feels a little bid dare i say, .. bland but is a 10000% justifiable given that this comes out just after the Queen’s death and is the right choice.
Have to say, that I feel a little vindicated for feeling that the In the Cut interview was very very snarky, i think she felt it too, since that’s the first question the interviewer leads with.
I found the acknowledgement from her about that interesting, but its definitely not the first question the interviewer leads with. at least not in the full article. And even then the question is also about the Oprah interview, not just the Cut interview.
Me too. That article seemed like the writer had a bent and wanted to convey it. But, hey, it was written like an old-school fashion magazine editorial rather than something journalistic.
I love that Meghan said an actress that might play her could call her!! I’ve never heard a human being say that in my life. THAT’S what makes her special and unique. That approachability and openness. That lightness of heart. I’m incredibly impressed.
I also thought everything she said about her being fictionalized was a nice (maybe unintended) shot at the RF who are FREAKING OUT about the crown. Like, calm down, it’s not real.
Meghan has already been portrayed by at least four different actors. On the British comedy, The Windsors, and the three Lifetime movies about M&H’s royal romance. Only the first Lifetime movie was well cast for both Meg’s and Harry’s portrayals.
I glanced over the covers briefly and went straight for the video. Omg she is GORGEOUS. Like I fully believe it when people say she just GLOWS. It’s really kind of preternatural (which was what they were trying to go for with the cover, I believe) and you either have it or you don’t. Also, she is SOOO good at sound bites. Like that is professional level engagement with the public and cameras; the ability to always know what to say and how to frame things. The pauses, the one-liners, the anecdotes…I can 100% see why people like the Wails (and even Harry, who for all his charm, is not nearly as articulate as his wife is) realize they need to up their game, pronto. Even the most famous celebrities (think Julia Roberts or Natalie Portman et al, w decades of experience or fame) don’t do sound bites as well as she does.
She looks weird in the first photo in the carousel. They’re gone way overboard with the photo shop in that one! And yes the cover is very cult leader.
Regarding the cover title, it seems like a copy of something that’s been mentioned on social media more than once: Meghan IS the Moment.
Word.
Oooh – love the navy dress. She wears impact outfits in deep colors so well.
God, I just love her. ❤️
I see why they chose the cover. To me, she doesn’t look like a cult leader, but I can certainly see how people would say that. To me, she looks like a woman looking forward, over the horizon, at her future. I wonder if that was the instruction the photographer gave her. The photo looks like what a try-hard, earnest, Anne Hathaway type (which Meghan seems to be) would do if told to imagine her future as she looks forward. I find it endearing (maybe because I’m a try-hard, earnest type of person, too!)
This is what I thought too – a woman looking towards her future.
Same. This cover is eternally hopeful, which is exactly who Meghan is.
Why on the world would they make her look cartoonish on the cover pic? She doesn’t need photoshop.
@SHANA- Right??? I kinda feel like Variety did her dirty with the photo shoot. The pics are ridiculous but you can tell it is purely the fault of the unskilled 12 year old who edited the pics.
At least that’s how they look to me. Like they were edited by a 12 year old who was new to Photoshop.
Striking the right tone, staying true to her supremely intelligent and caring self, a glorious woman in leadership.
^^ Yes. From what I’ve seen and know from following Meg’s Instagram, The Tig, her print and video interviews, etc., she’s always been consciously grateful for her blessings, genuinely devoted to giving back, and she always tries to live fully in the moment. This is why she’s such a graceful, savvy survivor. More than that, she’s a mover-and-shaker who keeps her eyes on the prize.
Although in essence, Meg hasn’t changed, as a thirty-something and now a forty-something wife and mother, she has evolved and surely learned a lot these past five years. I think she’s always been a fast learner who effectively applies what she learns in beneficial ways.
I actually love the cover photo, I just think the necklace/choker is a little much for that particular photo. But I love the photo overall.
I kind of laughed at the part of Betty being a “shining example” of female leadership, especially when she talks about Gloria Steinem in the same article, but I think that’s a combination of Meghan knowing she has to say that about the Queen, and also obviously Meghan seeing a side of the Queen that we have never seen, so maybe she does think she’s a shining example.
Anyway overall I loved this article and how she is portrayed. I think her confidence and joy, as she says, really comes through. She’s not a bitter person. She’s been through the wringer, but she’s not bitter.
ETA also I’ll say that as a fellow nerdy American mom, I love that that’s how the writer classifies her LOL. Wordle and Jeopardy FTW!
Nerd Alert! Raising hand as I am also a nerdy American mom. Love me some Jeopardy and Wordle. Although I do my Wordle before I even get out of bed and depending on how I do, move on to my Quordle for the day immediately or later after my coffee.
I also think the cover shot is gorgeous but think one of the full length of her in the blue dress laughing captures her better. Especially as she wants to focus on “joy”
And duolingo! I’m going to be keeping my eyes peeled on my French leaderboard!
Don’t forget Octordle! I had a blast in one of my classes yesterday as we solved the daily sequence Octordle–8 puzzles in 13 tries for the regular, 8 puzzles in 15 tries in sequence–you have to get the first word before going on to the second.
Y’all are killing me! It’s all I can do to complete Wordle in the morning! Nerd I may be, but there are some days I cannot even figure out the right five-letter word. Sigh. I think I need some chocolate with my caffeine this morning….
Oh no! I had no idea Quordle exists or Octo-versions. Wordle is easy but I’m going to pretend I didn’t even read about other versions lol. Jeopardy on the other hand is easy for me to ignore. I’m an Art Fleming purist. Yes I’m a dinosaur dating back to my College Bowl years.
There’s *some* legitimacy to her praise of the Queen as a trailblazing leader. Granted, the Queen was in those rooms and had those meetings/relationships because of random birthright, and not any actual skill or merit, but she was there, and she didn’t break for 70+ years. I’ll give her that!
@MOLLY- Just out of curiosity, why do you think it’s notable that the Queen “didn’t break” for 70 years? I hope I don’t sound combative, I’m really asking…..
Just because it seems to me that the main pressure on the Queen was to simply show up. Everywhere. All the time. Year round (minus her summer vacay in Scotland). She never had to make difficult political decisions, even though she did seem to make a point to stay abreast of world affairs, it seems like she was never asked to DO anything with that info. As I sit here and wrack my brain, I cannot seem to recall seeing the Queen doing anything other than showing up at places and waving. I suppose at State dinners there would be chatting.
I do give her SOME credit for sort of remaining mostly scandal free, except that back when she might have found herself embroiled in a scandal of epic proportions, the media was WAAAAY more reverential. Additionally, things that any other royal would have been massively criticized for, QE got a pass because at one point it seems criticizing QE, even good-faith, respectful criticisms, became taboo. It is nice that she never had any major meltdowns that we know of, but considering how pampered and coddled she was, is that such a feat?
And unlike, say, Harry, who was not cut out for royal life, QE seemed to THOROUGHLY enjoy being THE QUEEN.
I know I’m very biased in my view of QE, and so I have no doubt that my mind probably latches onto negative info I’ve read about her, and discards info that doesn’t fit my already – held view, coupled with the fact that bajillions of people mourned her like a family member, it makes me wonder, what am I not seeing?
Oh, and NYT spelling bee. So good for word nerds. 🙂
I think her face is just gorgeous on the cover, my quibble with it is that the way they cropped her photo is not good for someone in a sleeveless top, at first glimpse she looks like she has really impossibly narrow cartoonish shoulders.
I had the same thought & posted above! At first glance it’s a little weird.
The filters did get a little Instagram aesthetic looking but Meghan looked fantastic as always, and so happy. I’m not sure if they took new photos after the time on the Island, but I’m glad to see her looking at peace. I never want to see her looking the way she did at that walkabout again. I had to laugh reading the article though, thinking of all the stories the BM will glean from each line in it, “Prince Harry’s favorite American Burger place!”, or ” The Woke 90s TV show Archie loves” lol. I did like her snark about them living two hours away from LA though and driving down for meetings, she’s so good at refuting BM nonsense without making a huge production
I’m waiting for a DM article analyzing the In n Out menu and the calorie count of each thing and what Harry might eat and ISN’T MEGHAN A VEGETARIAN (she’s not but you know they’ll run with that) and omg why aren’t they feeding their children organic?!!?!?!??!
I bet it takes them two hours, maybe less.
I don’t ever recall her saying she is a vegetarian or vegan. Her engagement interview with Prince Harry she talks about making chicken for dinner so I always found that story of her being a vegetarian funny. I’ve never eaten at In and Out I might have to stop there on my trip to California over Christmas and try the fries 🤣 because I am a vegetarian. I love that they admit to eating fast food every now and then.
@Cessily I think she said once that during filming Suits, during the week she would try to eat vegan (or just vegetarian?) because it helped her to eat healthier, but on the weekends she ate whatever. So I think the BM took that as proof that she was vegetarian or vegan (also it fit their California narrative) so they just use that as a hammer of sorts, which is weird, bc so what if she is vegetarian? But again she’s not, and you’re right they have the roast chicken engagement story, so she’s clearly not LOL.
@Cessily — In-N-Out is a California obsession. My nephews adore it. It’s pretty good, although I don’t share the enthusiasm. The fries are awesome. Worth a try.
@cessily get the fries well done or with cheese. If you’re a vegetarian, get their grilled cheese burger. It tastes just like their regular cheeseburger to me and it’s my go to order!
I wish they picked the pink/lilac dress photo for the cover, its so pretty. But maybe they wanted a more business leader type look. Anyway, it may turn out for the best that her cover was delayed, this way it stands out on its own instead of as part of the Women in Hollywood theme.
I would have liked to have seen that blue dress, the one where she is laughing and really does look so joyful. But alas, Variety did not consult me, LOL.
@Becks1, looks like I should have kept reading before I responded to your comment above. The blue dress with her laughing is delightful.
Wasn’t a big fan of the cover. I wish she would have explained why she thinks TQ was a great example of female leadership. In my eyes, the only thing TQ had going for her was that she was crowned at such a young age when media was controlled by a handful of ppl. However now that she’s gone, what on earth was her legacy? All she did was prop up the ruling class at the expense of exposing her “family” with whom she did not have much of a hand in raising. As far as I know she doesn’t have a foundation or something philanthropic she’s known for so that part of the interview made me pause.
Meghan is not stupid enough to walk into the mine field of critiquing the role of the queen a month after her death. Leave that to the historians and political commentators. She said some nice things about a deceased in law and moved on.
I wonder if that’s something that we’ll sort of “get” only after Charles has been on the throne for awhile and we compare and contrast what their reigns and leadership styles are like.
I mean, things are already seeming to go to shit, like immediately, with Charles growling at peasants and throwing tantrums at pens, with him doing all this tabloid trash leaking about Harry and Meghan and where they’re allowed to be and not be, throwing fits about the crown, multiple extended family members doing weird commercial stuff suddenly. I wonder if the queens “shining example of leadership” is more about the stuff we didn’t see, behind the scenes and also the way she carried herself. She made everyone think she was a sweet old granny, she didn’t yell at pens, she didn’t seem to do as much leaking personally. She was beloved as the queen and people feared upsetting her so they were reticent to criticize the institution. Which is good for the institution.
Maybe she was a good example of female leadership specifically for the institution of the BRF, and wouldn’t do so well out in the real world, but there was something about her and the way she operated that seemed to make it all seem easy and cozy and family-like. Whereas Charles and William (the next 2 leaders) are shambolic, mean, petulant, angry, leaking, tantrum throwing messes who polarize people.
Do we honestly believe that George will be any different? Maybe the grampa Middleton influence will temper his temper, and make him a little kinder?
Otherwise, England is going to be ruled by petulant jealous kings for approximately 100 years to come.
Meghan has never bad mouthed her father in public either.
^^ Right. I get the sense that Meg truly respected the Queen and genuinely admired her on a human level. The Queen was surely kind to Meg behind-the-scenes. In addition, Meg loves and supports Harry, who deeply adored the Queen and Prince Philip to a fault, despite their flaws. So, Meg is being a bit generous in her praise of the Queen, which I side-eye a bit.
Betty is revered and exalted in some quarters due to her birthright inheritance. Other than her longevity, status, and steely resolve, she actually did nothing of real note to help others. So I certainly do not see the Queen as a “shining example of female leadership.” Betty did as she was told for the most part, throughout her life. She was slavish and dutiful to the monarchy, and she enjoyed the perks of her position as best she could. She had a certain wit and good humour, and she adapted well to the pressures of her position, with her notable poker face. Yet, she was definitely not a leader, much less the best mother to her children.
It will always be a footnote in my mind at least, that Betty did nothing publicly to put her foot down against the racist smearing of Meghan, in addition to the media’s slights against both M&H.
An excellent choice for a cover. There is a cultish coverage of Meghan from the media, fans, supporters, and haters. The cover nailed that cultishness for me. Meghan has come to terms with what being the public Meghan is about, and she’s maneuvering that image with great intelligence.
I’m glad to see her joy for herself, her husband, her kids, and her work. Congratulations Meghan!
Meghan really thinks QE2 was “the most shining example” of female leadership? Huh. I would not think that is something she would say, but these are direct quotes from her, so she said it. I’m sure she has a lot of metaphorical eggshells to tiptoe around right now.
I think everyone needs to realize that she was fond of the Queen and didn’t see an issue with being a part time Royal at all until the Queen and Charles said no. We can support her and also say hey the whole monarchy thing is BS and she was fine with marrying into it.
The queen was a shining example of visibility–arguably the most visible woman of the 20th century, or at least of the 2nd half of the 20th century. Meghan knew her as a human being, as a matriarch of a family. She didn’t have much opportunity to see her as a monarch. Meghan went to very few events where the queen was queening.
I think her comments were pretty anodyne. The queen deserves a lot of criticism, but Meghan doesn’t need to be the one to provide it. Meghan has served as a human shield for those royals plenty enough. And she’s not a historian, or british. The queen was never Meghan’s sovreign. She was grandmother in law. There are plenty of people who can provide public critiques of the Queen–Meghan doesn’t need to take that on.
The fact that people were forced to deal with a queen/woman in power alone is a lot. Usually people will do literally anything to avoid that. They were forced to deal with a woman leader for 70 years!
I mean she has to say this. It doesn’t mean she actually believes it.
^^ Right. That’s true, and I agree with you. Meghan is very smart about saying the right thing. She’s savvy about being in the public eye and being diplomatic. Another reason why the snobbish prejudices, incompetence, and jealousies within the royal firm was a surprise and a learning curve for her.
They had so many beautiful photos to choose from, the cover photo was not a great choice. I loved the article and the four minute video clip that Variety released. It just is so good to see her smile and know she is in a good place.
I can’t deal with all the hair in the first carousel pic but every other pic is absolutely stunning. I can totally understand why they want to crop in on THAT FACE for the cover. Divine.
Off to read! I love how open she is despite everything she’s been through, and that she’s making it clear that’s a conscious choice by her. It’s very admirable.
I’m not getting cult leader from the cover. It looks like she is looking towards a magical future with hope in her eyes after a hard time. Like that Mary Tyler Moore theme song
🎶Who can turn the world on with her smile?
Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile?
Well it’s you girl, and you should know it
With each glance and every little movement you show it
Love is all around, no need to waste it
You can have the town, why don’t you take it
You’re gonna make it after all
You’re gonna make it after all! 🎶
Nailed it!
She really is, through and through, such a beautiful and warm human being.
Idk about anyone else, but the behind the scenes video for this photoshoot really gave me the pre-royal Meghan vibes , back to her Tig days. I missed that Meghan so much and it’s so wonderful and amazing to see that the toxic racist institutions weren’t successful in breaking her.
Lol also, how long before we see a certain keen person bringing back the slicked hairstyle with silk blouses and what-nots. She’s already trying with the chunky jewellery
The divide between family and Firm is apparent in the way she talks about QE2. She seems to be focused more on the granny than the queen. Maybe the best way to deal with all that disfunction.
I feel like Meghan is talking about the bright side of her experience in the UK when the Queen died. She’s so diplomatic.
Meghan is inspirational and aspirational for me.
I absolutely love her in the blue and pink dresses but wish the cover was different, sigh. You can tell Meghan is focusing on the positive re: the Queen and the institution because she smartly isn’t going to make this interview about the royals. I do love hearing little snippets of their family life; it must feel so good for them to be free.
I’m also glad that this Variety article came right out and called The Cut article snarky, which it was. By acknowledging that on their end, it was almost like their promise to Meghan that Variety would go higher and would treat her with respect. She deserves that.
I actually like the cover with her full face, no hiding behind big waves of hair here. The choker is what feels “off” for me, just too heavy or something.
Notice how she mentions the warmth she received from Harry’s grandmother – the royal rota is going to be screaming about how she’s “shading” the royal family and being ungrateful.
Yes the choker gives me the impression I’m looking at a disembodied head floating in space
Meghan is not a fire starter. Why are her fans on this site surprised by her comments? Contrary to the Daily Fail she wanted to maintain and uplift the BRF; they forced her and her husband out against their will.
^^ No surprise on my part. To be expected from someone as astute and diplomatic as Meghan. Plus, she and Harry knew the Queen on an intimate, human level. We did NOT. I believe Meghan genuinely admired and respected the Queen, which does not mean I agree with Meg’s generous comments about the Queen. Meg very likely holds nothing against Betty. That’s great for Meghan. As an observer on the sidelines, I have differing views, even though M&H may understand more about the Queen’s apparent reluctance or inability to go to bat for them against the tabloids and the usual suspects within the firm.
I find this comment about Netflix interesting… “It’s nice to be able to trust someone with our story — a seasoned director whose work I’ve long admired — even if it means it may not be the way we would have told it.”
It sounds like she is already trying to distance herself from the project??
I think she’s acknowledging the reality of movies. The director films their vision and it may not be exactly what others hope or expect.
Why does the photo shoot look like it has been done by an amateur? Did all the other honorees have this photographer?
I don’t care for the photo series, except the one with her in the navy and white, with the teal fabric behind her.
I think she handled the questions as well as possible, she knows she has to be very careful in what she says or the media will go nuts, but I like that she highlighted the positive.
I’m here for cult leader Meghan. I really do like the cover and some of the more natural photos from the shoot.
These photos are kind of awful. I only liked the one of her in the blue dress laughing. Everything looks photo shopped to hell. And one of my friends reminded me the cover looks like that one photo that happened on the Apprentice when the model was eating a box of Wheaties or something. Ugh.
Representation matters. I live in a Commonwealth country and the idea of a male, a King, is a “what?!!” moment. I still haven’t adjusted. It’s always been the Queen, and her husband following steps behind her. Unthinkable that a man would be ceremonial head of state. Just not done.
I recall the response of the little boy in Iceland. All his life he had only known females in leadership roles in his country. When told he could run for these roles, he said, “But I’m a boy!”
I love love love that she refers only to her ‘in-laws’ bwah ha ha that will annoy all those titled egos
I must say I wasn’t impressed with the cover at first, but then I sat back and looked at it again, and it’s just so hopeful. She’s not looking back. She’s not looking down. She’s looking ahead and it’s great. I loved all the dresses and outfits. I couldn’t help comparing this photoshoot to Kate’s. It’s laughable how bad Kate’s was. This one and the video and article just prove how dynamic and warm Meghan truly is. Salty Isle messed up by running her off and abusing her.
Lol…a little off topic, but I love how The Fail is covering this story with the headline, “Meghan’s warmth for Queen.”
My first thought was “ooooh…Meghan like Bohemian Rhapsody! She’s just like us!”
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
You know she does the high and low voices when it comes on when she’s driving…
….Just like us.
And you know we are all now singing the song in our heads (or in my case, out loud, since I’m home alone. “Mamaaaaa!!!”)
Cover photo is funny, totally cult-like but the other photos are lovely.Will read the entire article when I have more time. I’ve always loved Meghan’s nerd energy. Also, when they were being hated on in the UK during the funeral, I felt they were getting support and people were there for them. They’ll continue to do their thing, like helping to build the new playground in Uvalde. I’ve never expected them to be the smartest people in the room or agree with all of their choices, but they seem to be doing it in a way that allows them to be happy and pursue what matters to them. I think the haters don’t matter at this point.
Just read the Variety article:
I love LOVE that she names the women who helped her. Pamela Adlon, Bonnie Hammer – these aren’t household names. This isn’t name dropping. She’s doing the opposite – remembering people who were kind to her and helped her when they didn’t have to and lifting them up for recognition.
Esp Bonnie Hammer providing mentorship when Meghan was a newbie on a show and Bonnie was the one with more power. Now Meghan is global celebrity and reaching back to name this woman who helped her. Very few people do this. Or they make a big deal of it, make it about them (shout-out to my high school drama teacher, without you I wouldn’t have won this award!).
She’s so damn consistent. It’s a rare trait.
I have to admit I didn’t like the Cut cover and how the writers interview people and insert their own point of view. I much prefer the Variety interview and the video was well done. I like the Variety pictures more. I never got the Cut pictures with the exception of the two where she’s seated on the bench with her feet up and the one where she’s seated leading over the chair with her bare feet on the grass. My favorite Variety photo is the dress with pink/purple?
The only thing i liked from the Cut interview was when the writer wrote about Archie and the wooden stethoscope, Lili and Harry beatboxing and Meghan and the writer joining in to coax a smile out of her, Harry the handyman and Meghan picking up Archie from school. I felt the Cut writer was biased towards Meghan and did no research on the person she was interviewing.
I also felt the Cut writer deliberately misconstrued Meghan’s words like when she was talking about her own father and the writer blurred the quotation to make it seem Harry was talking about his own father.
I don’t like the Variety cover much and I think the pictures within would have made better covers. I’m hoping Misan Harriman photographs her for another magazine cover one day. He would do a much better job to capture her essence.
I feel the Variety interview captures Meghan’s identity better and is a better introduction to casual readers.
I like the cover and I like what she said in the interview. She’s still going to get attacked for it but who cares. Those attacking her should be paying to attention to the “relevant” royals not Meghan.
I also love the photo as some have said since I interpreted as her looking past her critics and focusing on her goals/future. Not sure if anyones mentioned this take or not, but I LOVE how UNAIRBRUSHED her face is!!! Ignore the fuzzy halo effect and zoom in people—you can see every fine line, freckle, mole, pore, you name it! I say props, Meghan, for being AUTHENTIC! Practice what you preach (for any haters out there on salt island, take notes)!!!
Totally different opinions here: I love the cover shot, especially the jewelry… and I don’t think the Cut profile was snarky enough to provoke any pearl-clutching from Sussex fans. That kind of distance/critique is still appropriate in my mind, miles away from salty, racist derangement. Profiles shouldn’t have to treat the subject as a saint.
i don’t think the profile was negative, or did Meghan any harm. I do think the tone was snarky though, even slightly catty.
She is luminous. And I love that she is close enough to Gloria Steinem to call her “Glo.” Her innate decency and warmth just come through in both the video and the article.
And as another nerdy mom, I also thoroughly enjoy Wordle-and-wine moments. She clearly revels in her children and her work. I’m so glad she’s in a place where she’s allowed to be her best self. She and Harry are making the world better because they’re free now to do so, and it’s lovely to watch.
Anyone else catch the line about some people thinking they live in LA, but it’s actually 2 hours away? A nice bit of shade to the British media that don’t understand U.S. geography. Also, the brief mention of her loving Beyoncé’s song “Cozy” — one of my faves too. Some lyrics that seem apropos:
She’s a god, she’s a hero
She survived all she been through
Confident, damn, she lethal
Might I suggest you don’t fuck with my sis
‘Cause she comfortable
Comfortable in my skin
Cozy with who I am
Comfortable in my skin (cozy, cozy)
Comfortable in my skin
Feet up above your sins
I love myself, goddamn (cozy, cozy)
I love Meghan so much. I think she is exactly as she seems to be. Warm, open and honest. She is a good person.
Meghan gave at shout out to the queen – but not to the rest of the Windsors. If Charles was expecting a fawning section where Meghan was groveling for titles for the kids he didn’t get it. Meghan wants the kids to form their own lives.
I think she’s put that life behind her. If others bring it up then she’ll talk about it but I can really hear excitement in her (literary) voice about the future. Harry may feel differently though.
I’m guessing that most here are not going to agree with me on this, but it’s really something I’ve been thinking for a while, even though it has nothing to do with me……….. I have INTENSELY disliked Meghan’s last 3 photo shoots, more specifically this Variety photo shoot, the Cut photo shoot, and the Time photo shoot (although I did love her hair in that shoot). I mean REALLY disliked the photos. And the thing is, I think Meghan is GORGEOUS. From head to toe! And when she BRINGS IT, fashion wise, which she does a LOT, combined with her natural grace and elegance (in fact if I had to choose one word to describe her, appearance wise, it’s ELEGANT) she’s like a living breathing work of art.
In my opinion, I just think that Meghan looks a million times better when she’s not posing/having to pose/being posed. When she’s just moving naturally and un-self consciously. Plus I think that when she is posed/posing, it just doesn’t pick up her joie de vivre. Her JOY.
Someone else who I think has the same kind of thing where they look better unposed (to me) is Jennifer Anniston.
For years, I defended her with my full chest. But I’ve come to the conclusion that she is the common denominator in an endless list of grievances and jettisoned relationships. It’s possible to be both a victim of racism and a grandiose narcissist.