Last week, we talked about a bizarre story involving Brooke Shields and the Duchess of Sussex. Brooke and Meghan both appeared at a SXSW panel discussion in March 2024 for International Women’s Day, along with Katie Couric as well. Early in the discussion, Couric asked Meghan about that famous story of when she contacted Procter & Gamble as an eleven-year-old and asked them to change a sexist commercial. Meghan told the story in about a minute and when she was winding down with her point, Brooke “interrupted” Meghan to quip about how when she (Brooke) was eleven, she was playing a prostitute. This is Brooke’s version of what happened, as told to India Hicks this year:
“Katie asks the first question to Meghan and she talks about how at a young age, she was already advocating for women. She starts telling a story about how when she was 11 – and she keeps saying, ‘Well, when I was 11, I saw this commercial and they were talking about how washing dishes was for women. And she said, ‘I didn’t think only women wash dishes. It wasn’t fair. So I wrote to the company.’ She kept saying she was 11! She wrote to the company, they changed the text, they changed the commercial. It was just too precious, and I was like, they’re not going to want to sit here for 45 minutes and listen to anybody be precious or serious.”
I’m including the video at the end of the post yet again – Brooke is really misrepresenting that moment, that’s all I’ll say. Brooke told her version of what happened to India Hicks, the well-connected British woman and granddaughter of King Charles’s mentor Lord Mountbatten. King Charles is also India Hicks’ godfather. I didn’t even know that Hicks had a podcast, and I find it so odd that Hicks would platform Brooke Shields bizarrely calling Meghan “too precious” while misrepresenting the actual moment in the panel discussion. Well, funny story? India Hicks has now removed the video of her interview with Brooke.
India Hicks, goddaughter to King Charles III, has removed a video from her website featuring Hollywood actress Brooke Shields criticising Meghan Markle. The footage, which was prominently displayed on Hicks’s Substack page, showed Shields describing the Duchess of Sussex as “too precious” during a panel discussion.
The deletion comes after both women faced online attacks from Meghan’s supporters. Social media users targeted them with offensive language. The video, from Hicks’s podcast released 10 days ago, had gained international attention. It has now been replaced with a feature about London’s best patisseries.
I maintain that this whole situation is bizarre. It’s bizarre for India Hicks to platform Brooke entirely, it’s bizarre for Brooke to misrepresent a moment during a 2024 panel discussion, it’s bizarre for India to back down and remove the video. If the goal is to spread toxicity about Meghan, just f–king own it, you know? Just spread your lies and be a shady f–king person. I kind of wonder if it was less about “online attacks from Meghan’s supporters” and more like the king’s goddaughter understanding that she and Brooke both looked like a–holes.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Avalon Red, screencaps from YT.
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- India Hicks, granddaughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma attending a Service of Thanksgiving for HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey, London, England, UK on Tuesday 29 March, 2022.,Image: 674182398, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Please credit photographer and agency when publishing as Justin Ng/UPPA/Avalon., Model Release: no, Credit line: Justin Ng/Avalon
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- LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 23: Brooke Shields arrives at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 968675603, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Brooke Shields, Credit line: Gregg DeGuire/Image Press Agency/Avalon
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- North/South America/Australia Sales Only – Paris, France – 04/27/2011 – Opening Night for the l’Art de l’Automobile Exhibition held at the Arts Decoratifs. -PICTURED: India Hicks -PHOTO by: Joseph Kerlakian/startraksphoto.com -KHAv70943 Startraks Photo New York, NY For licensing please call 212-414-9464 or email sales@startraksphoto.com Featuring: India Hicks Where: Paris, France, France When: 27 Apr 2011 Credit: Joseph Kerlakian/startraksphoto.com **North/South America/Australia Sales Only**
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- September 22, 2011: India Hicks, David Furnish attending the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation Party, Hampton Court Palace, London, UK. Credit: INFevents.com Ref: infuklo-105/WOZ 111612|sp|U.S. SALES ONLY. Featuring: India Hicks, David Furnish Where: London, United Kingdom When: 22 Sep 2011 Credit: INFevents.com **U.S. SALES ONLY.**
Yes one must never look like an asshole but what she did taking it down is too little too late. The internet and its users have very long memories. So looking like an asshole will stick.
Outside the UK tabloid bubble, it must be getting to them that their anti-Meghan campaign isn’t resonating.
Of course, their obvious several-fronted attacks on Lili’s birthday was quickly flicked by the Sussexes showing that India and Brooke live in opposite world.
Lots of bodies so far in this year’s tabloid count since Meghan returned to Insta.
It’s not Meghan’s fault that while Brooke’s mum was P11mping her out, Meghan was well into her advocacy. She is not responsible for Brooke and India’s low self esteem.
Good.
Whatever Brooke wanted from this, what she got reflects how terribly she’s behaved.
Meghan didn’t sound serious, she was smiling and laughing & having a good time.
I guess Brooke could just not handle another woman doing that.
Brooke’s comment was ridiculous anyway. Of all the things to say, she went with that.
From watching Meghan answering Couric question about Meghan’s letter to P&G, Brooke was obviously not happy that people might actually be more interested in Meghan and what she has to say than her – she did not like that idea of she could be seen as second fiddle to Meghan. Brooke looked and sounded defensive in that forum, maybe even looked offended by Meghan being there and having to compete for attention.
Agree. And Brooke is not known to be a nice person. Her comment while Meghan was speaking was “Look at me! Look at me!” Annoying and childish.
Brooke made a cringey Christmas movie in Scotland. I think she’s a royalist and let herself be brainwashed by the toxic British media.
Wow. So Brooke wanted to be seen as ‘equally important, I hope’ at 11. Zow. I didn’t know she was a mean girl. I’m important, too! I played a prostitute at 11! It was art! I’m more famous than you, Meghan! You were writing letters to P&G at 11 but I was a MOVIE STAR!!!
Don’t forget Brooke was getting PAID to act like a prostitute.
It is bizarre. Much worse has been said about Meghan. Stories about her are twisted every day and protests on her behalf are posted every day – so why back down on this? I think your conclusion is correct – Brooke and India realized they were wrong.
Nah. They did not realize “they were wrong.” They got a little taste of their own poisonous medicine and cried wah, wah, wah. Fools didn’t realize the brittabloid industry wouldn’t let a story go if there were any potential Meghan clicks. Eeejits both, coming and going.
Yeah, it’s this.
😂😂😂
I love this for them. Hi India 👋 that was certainly an own goal if you wanted to break into the American market. That was an idjit move.
As for the Sussex supporters – the more they bring down Meghan with their insane criticism, the more they increase her supporters. They want Meghan to be a polarising figure? Meghan has already won. Her insta numbers don’t lie while Brooke lie lies on India’s substack 😂
Ohh..yeah, I think Kaiser’s last sentence is on point. The women realized they looked like giant a-holes and took it down. Imagine boasting that you interrupted another woman when you actually didn’t. And then calling that woman too precious. On a panel for international woman’s day. All while knowing full well Meghan gets piled on by the uk press. That’s some spiritually ugly behavior.
Yep, that’s what happened. People pointed out that it was a gross look in general but especially since the way Brooke was describing it isn’t even the way it occurred.
And while I’m sure some people online were not nice in their push back, apparently anytime the Sussex squad or any other support online post receipts that point out lies its ” attacks”.
As I said in my comment on this story a week ago, I’m done giving Grace to people who act like they’re so shocked that they would have all this racist support to slamming Meghan. You know what you are doing. Stop being a coward and just go all in. Be Justine Bateman or Megyn Kelley if that’s what you want to be.
Anyone who doesn’t know yet that there have been 8 years of constant attacks on Meghan for doing absolutely nothing wrong is disingenuous. Way to perpetuate the biggest hate campaign I’ve seen against an innocent woman.
Jais, that is the thing that pisses me off. These folks know how the press piles on. Why help feed into it? One thing I’ll give Paltrow credit for is how she shut it down when the press was trying to weaponize her against Meghan.
@Sid, yeah Gwen can be an a**hole, which she also admitted, but she clearly said, I won’t be used to attack another woman in the media.
What you said, that’s the whole issue. Why would you be happy to claim you spoke over another woman, a Black one at that because no one wanted to hear her “serious” story about sexism. Lord Brooke.
And Katie Couric asked her to tell the story!!! Geez, Brooke, the attention was on someone else for a change!
This is exactly what happened, you said it perfectly, Jais. It sure took them long enough to figure out they looked like massive a-holes.
Brooke has been trying for a long time to show us who she is and she has finally succeeded..
She started around age 16 when she was making undeniably racist comments publicly. As expected, internet Karens did their damnedest to explain and excuse her “youthful” bigotry. Sixteen is the age of consent for sexual activity in several American states and considered old enough to drive nationwide…yet these broads were saying that 16 is too precious an age to know better than to be a raging bigot.
This is odd because Brooke didn’t interrupt Meghan. She was ending her story and Brooke connected it to her being an 11 year old. So, she misrepresented what happened on the podcast. I am guessing she knew that would play well for a UK audience. The panel was discussing women empowerment and feminism, so to follow up like that on a podcast really negates all of that. I will never understand why women pile on in that way with Meghan. It is pure jealousy!
@ Desert Diva – yes, it’s huge jealousy, and it’s layered over racism and classism too. Meghan is a juggernaut and many privileged white people are massive gatekeepers and nepo babies who don’t like seeing anyone making it without their permission.
What the hell. This is the first time I am hearing about this. It wasn’t even Meghan who wanted to tell the story. Meghan was asked about it directly to retell it during the panel. It was panel moderator who encouraged Meghan. I am very disappointed in Brooke. She had a rough life and I thought she grew to be a nice person who advocates about women issues. Imagine attacking a woman who has been abused by the media half a decade. White women strike again, I guess.
Brooke has always and will always be an oh so polite mean girl/bully. I empathize with her after the tom cruise ppd mess, but she’s always been like this.
I didn’t know she was messy like that. The most I saw her, she was talking about the difficulties of being a child actor who was sexualized from a young age.
I have never been a fan of Brooke she has always come across as phony. I think your description of her being the “oh so polite, mean girl bully” is pretty accurate.
India and Brooke are too precious.
Katie Couric wasn’t even the moderator but one of the 4 panel guests. Errin Haines of the 19th News was the actual moderator so Couric took it upon herself to ask it and wanted to know about it. This was also the panel where Meghan said she got the worst of the inline and press abuse while she was pregnant. Also Haines also skillfully redirected the conversation and made a larger point with it.
Nothing about Brooke’s behavior surprises me. If my memory serves, she had some truly ugly support for that murderer Zimmerman and some ghastly comments about Trayvon. And being a few years older than Brooke, I vividly recall her very racist public comments when she was about 16 or 17.
I don’t know about y’all, but at 16 I was clear about racism.
I think you mean Brooke Schofield not Shields
No, I’m quite clear on this. Whomever this Schofield is, she had some gross shit out there, but Brooke Shields most definitely posted some ugly support for Zimmerman and made some stupid racist comments as a teenager. On this, I’m quite certain.
Yeah, Brooke’s early career was um.. not good. That’s bad. She herself is an extremely messy bully who uses her platform such as it is to amplify hatered. That’s also bad. I just want to know why all of a sudden she’s clout chasing in the most obvious manner? She’s seemingly never felt the need before, why now?
@Beverely, I too am a few years past Brooke Shields and can confirm everything you’ve said, beginning in her teens. I even remember when she was a constant fixture in Michael Jackson’s life – at the height of his career of course.
India took down the video because the recording shows that Brooke is blatantly lying, because Meghan finished, put down the microphone and only then did Brooke speak up. India made a fool of herself by continuing the story about the interruption, which did not happen, as everyone could see in the video she included. That’s why the real video had to disappear, but the false content remained. They both achieved what they wanted. They were noticed and several articles were written, which would not have happened if they had not put Meghan there. But that’s shortsighted, because yes, they existed, but for me they are finished. Brooke is finished for me! I thought she really wanted to do something for others, for women, and she only uses women to heat up her own defunct career. She had no qualms about spitting on another woman, lying and making fun of her to gain attention. If someone is capable of something like that, it means they were a fraud all along. Let them go and take India Hicks with them.
Brooke has now shown her 2 daughters that Mommy is a liar.
Yes, it’s ironic and cruel for Brook to put another woman down who was also on a panel that advocated for women. I’m done with Brook!
I unfollowed Brooke. I think she might be friend with some women in NY who told why go there Brooke. Maybe she asked that hiccup woman to remove her from the podcast. She also knows wherever she promotes the book they are going to ask her about her too precious comment about Meghan.
She is also a business woman that hiccup woman. Great brand recognition that sells to women.
She is also a business woman that hiccup woman. Great brand recognition that sells to women.
I think Brook lost followers on Insta. When I unfollowed her she she had 2.7 million followers now she is at 2.5 millions. Maybe that is why the video is removed. Money reason!
I’m convinced she’s friends with Bethenny Frankel. “Too precious” is definitely something that has come out of her mouth as an insult to other women.
Each woman on that SXSW panel was their with their own story, journey and contribution, so for Brooke to see Meghan answering a question that was directed to her to explain where her own journey began, shows that she doesn’t value to contributions or experiences of other women. Her interrupting Meghan by blurting out how she played the part of a prostitute at the age of 11 was very disturbing because she mentioned it as if it was a starring role that she was proud of instead of mentioning it as her being exploited and exposed to something that no 11 year old should be aware of at such a young age. Her interruption didn’t make her sound like a supporter of women at that moment, so it’s bizarre that she mentioned it again in a podcast as if it wasn’t something she should have been embarrassed to blurt out at a women’s empowerment conference. Mentioning it now makes her seem as if she was jealous that Meghan was getting attention. I can’t imagine that she didn’t see the packed conference room and the lines of people wanting to get into the event to see Meghan, so she was probably in her feelings at the moment and took it out on Meghan, who did nothing wrong by answering the question that she was asked.
@Nerd
The problem is that she did NOT interrupt her! Watch the video. And after a while she sat down in front of the camera and started telling how she “interrupted Meghan because she was too serious and precious”, and all the while cackling smugly, she added – “I interrupted her in front of a thousand people.” Actually, it was good, at least she showed who she really is, and that all her pseudo-involvement is a fraud, because in reality she is a mean broad.
Brooke lied & misrepresented what happened:
1) Katie Couric asked Meghan to tell the story.
2) Meghan only said something like “when I was about 11, yeah I think I was 11”. That’s it. Not repeatedly.
3) There was no interruption. Meghan was already finished when Brooke spoke.
When I look at it now, Brooke is the one that was being out of pocket, the women even kind of said it…Brooke came off as being cringy….I think Brooke remembers that event and remembers how she felt and realize that in that moment she did not come off quite as funny as she intended. So, what does she do after all this time? She does what most ‘Karens’ do… blame the eloquent black person. The black person they blame for making them feel this way. Brooke did not ‘interrupt’ Meghan…(the fact that she was ok in making herself sound rude in order to belittle Meghan, says a lot)…Meghan was done with her point, Meghan even truncated the story and was very light about it…smfh
🎯🎯🎯
I think it’s so tacky that the BRF continues to platform all these people who are anti-Meghan. This is Uncle Gary all over again–sending out somebody to be nasty about Meghan for no good reason. Louis Mountbattan is India Hicks grandfather, right? If she wants to be nasty and expose someone royal adjacent, I’d say she has more than enough material without aiming for Meghan. The entire family is sick.
Yes, she’s an aristo. Pure class these folks. 🙄 And she herself was one of Diana’s bridesmaids.
I have always pitied Brook Shields after she was so grossly exploited while young. I still pity her now, nothing has changed
Did Brooke’s book sell well? She sounds a little desperate to get to in the British market.
Brooke is the classic “one-upping” kind of woman who incessantly responds to other women’s stories with “well, that’s nothing, I remember when I….blah blah blah” in order to diminish others’ stories. My mother was exactly like that, you couldn’t finish talking about yourself without her jumping in and basically pissing all over the importance of your experience. It’s a facet of narcissism, the intolerance of watching someone else succeed or reveal something special about themselves.
Yes! This is exactly it!
Brooke isn’t one of my favorites and I hadn’t paid much attention to her over the years. I didn’t like her comedy show back in the day, and didn’t think she was very good. But I couldn’t help but notice lately that she was trying to get back in the news and garner attention. I just felt she was trying to become relevant again. But I was really shocked at her doing this. I had not known she was a mean girl. I just seemed like she had been content to slip away, and all of a sudden, she wanted to be relevant again. What she said when speaking after Meghan was really buffoonish and rather awful. I don’t think her playing a prostitute at 11 is at all funny or a pundit. People weren’t waiting in lines to see her. Was she irritated by that? Suck it up. As I’ve always thought, Meghan is a litmus test. I have been amazed at who has lined up to take a swipe at her. If she wants to gain relevancy or popularity by stepping on another woman’s back, that is as well thought out as her stupid reply at the women’s conference.
Wow. I sent a tweet to Brooke answering her musing of whether she looked like asshole in the very condescending retelling of that piece of stage chat. I said yeah. But I hadn’t seen the actual clip she was “re-telling”. Now having seen the clip, I’m kind of floored at yes, the utter misrepresentation and the desperate “pick me” of her around that story.
Didn’t even click she was talking to India Hicks and the royal connection.
I’m willing to bet that she took it down at the request of Brooke Shields publicist. Brooke is currently on a book tour for her most recent book release. She also has other endorsements that may be at risk. Brooke has always been seen as a nice person, this showed her to have a mean girl side. Her team is trying to mitigate the fall out of her Wo(MAN) s’plaining to a woman of color. I was a fan of Brooke until now and had planned on buying her book but this is one of those situations where “when someone shows you who they are believe them the first time”. She’s shown me she is a mean girl and I believe her. I doubt she cares but she lost at least 1 book sale from me.
Did someone ask her to take it down? Did Shields ask her? As noted, what actually happened is different from what Shields said. Also, Couric herself, who asked Meghan the question, was a part of the panel, not the moderator. Errin Haines of the 19th news was the actual moderator of the panel so Couric taking it upon herself to do that was also a bit weird. To me, Meghan actually didn’t even seem like she wanted to focus too much on the story. Meghan was the draw of this panel, people came to see her. I still don’t understand why Shields basically took what actually happened and tried to turn it into cocktail party snark that changed the truth for storytelling that made her into some savior of the panel.
And how many times has B repeated these lies in private? What and who else has she lied about? Who’s going to believe anything B has to say in the future?
I avoid india hicks at all times, I used to follow her instagram for design until I read about her theft. I really hate thieves. Her designs were not interesting anyway.
I had not avoided Brooke Shields. I am not sure the way I’ll go. Brooke sounded a bit holier than thou and snide. I can understand the perspective about Meghan, but it is not a good look to say this publicly nor even to interrupt her or “tease” her to begin with. That said, I can’t claim to be perfect towards others either.
About India:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8770721/Socialite-53-bridesmaid-Princess-Dianas-wedding-admits-stealing-680-Max-Mara-coat.html
https://www.the-sun.com/news/1529472/prince-charles-goddaughter-india-hicks-steals-coat-harrods/
Why can you understand the perspective about Meghan, when her perspective was a lie and intended to make herself look as if she was rude to someone (Meghan) who was doing as she was asked, by answering a question that was asked of her?
I’m going to guess that Brooke didn’t realise that there’s video evidence of the discussion when she made up that story.
There’s no way that Brooke didn’t realize that there is video evidence of the panel, since it was part of a huge women’s conference that was televised and in the discussion on the podcast she specifically mentioned to India that it was up to her to keep what she says or delete it, all while they were both sitting in front of cameras. So there is no way she didn’t realize that there was video evidence of what she said. Her excitement in telling the story showed to me that she was knowing that it would get her attention she wanted and, in my opinion, she had already shared this story with India previously which is why she was there telling that specific lie on that podcast to that specific royal adjacent person.
Brooke Shields is a verified liar. I’ll never believe anything she has to say about anyone ever again .
Just saw the clip on another site. It’s very telling how gleefully B introduces her ” behind the scenes” piece of “gossip” which she says will interest I suggesting that both have a symbiotic antipathy towards M. If B was eager to broadcast this lie about M in public just imagine how many times she’s repeated this lie in private.
I said in another post that Brooke had lied about the interaction with Meghan& I didn’t understand what she hoped to achieve by it except clicks seeing as she’s pitched herself as a woman’s advocate & it was a panel for IWD.
But having watched a clip of the interview with India it’s obvious her & India have regular bitching sessions about Meghan & the clip felt like a spillover of that. She sounded like she would fit right in with some of the royal commentators chasing clout off Meghan.
Very disappointing but not surprising. As someone said, Meghan is a Karen black light