If aliens landed on Earth tomorrow, we’d have to forgive them for assuming Meghan Markle is a public enemy number one.
Just this month she’s already been compared to serial killer Rose West. And now this week, in a Politico article titled '2022 Is The Year We All Finally Got Tired of the Narcissists,' she’s been grouped in with the likes of Donald Trump, Elizabeth Holmes and Kanye West, who these days goes by the name Ye. Meghan’s crime? Apparently, existing as a non-white woman in the public eye and daring to have an opinion.
In the piece, writer Joanna Weiss argues: ‘The overreach that led to the Sussexes’ critically panned mega-series is the same impulse that turned Elon Musk into a terror on Twitter, that prompted Ye to up the ante of outrageous behavior until he crossed the line into blatant antisemitism, that sent Bankman-Fried from the top of the world to a Bahamian jail’. She goes on: ‘Some of them got their comeuppance and some of them got worse: our disinterest.'
The article comes days after broadcaster Jeremy Clarkson wrote in the Sun newspaper saying that he loathed Meghan ‘on a cellular level', and he was ‘dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, "Shame!" and throw lumps of excrement at her.’
We don’t all have to love Meghan: you might have watched her and Harry’s Netflix documentary and thought it cheesy or one-sided, or perhaps you ignored the hoo-hah around it altogether. But surely comparing her to the likes of these is something else.
As if you need reminding, chief pussy-grabber Trumpallegedly stole classified materials, called white supremacists and Neo Nazis ‘very fine people’ and refused to release his tax returns, as well as being embroiled in numerous other corruption, sexism and racism scandals.
Ye recently posted a series of antisemitic social media posts, praised Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and was suspended from Twitter for a second time after uploading an image which appeared to show a symbol combining a swastika and a Jewish star.
Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of three counts of fraud and one count of conspiring to defraud private investors in the blood-testing startup Theranos. And Sam Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas two weeks ago and faces charges he cheated investors and looted customer deposits on his trading platform.
Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan put their necks on the line to use their positions at the heart of the British establishment to start an arguably much-needed conversation about the British empire and racism in the royal institution. They made a documentary about how poorly they’ve been treated by the media and Buckingham Palace. Considering this month’s attacks alone, no one could call their claims entirely unfounded.
The piece did make a point of differentiating Meghan from some of the others, saying ‘the Sussexes’ addiction to the public eye is benign’. But still, why has Meghan been lumped in with these criminals, antisemites and reprobates?
And, crucially, if Meghan, why not Harry? If Meghan stands accused of being a narcissist for defending herself and criticising the British institution, shouldn’t Harry’s name and photograph be up there alongside Trump and Elizabeth Holmes? Shouldn’t Harry feature in Clarkson’s violent fantasies?
It will always be Meghan, because a misogynistic society means it’s women who aren’t allowed to speak their mind or stand up for themselves without censure. And we live in a patriarchal world which increasingly seems to take a pleasure in mocking women until they feel unsafe. Standing up for herself has made Meghan an easy target.
In a statement responding to the criticism the piece has attracted, Politico spokesperson Brad Dayspring said: ‘The purpose of opinion writing and commentary is to engage readers and provoke thought. The writer shares a belief, the reader reacts with their own — sometimes agreement, sometimes not. Regardless, diversity of thought is not only welcome, but encouraged.’
This is true of course, but we must ask ourselves why Meghan in particular is constantly demonised and dragged into these murky comparisons. Differing opinions and healthy debates are one thing - but when do we put a stop using them as an excuse to single one woman out?