Meghan Markle may be using her podcast as a platform to respond to the damaging accusations made against her in recently released books on the royal family, a royal expert has suggested.
Kinsey Schofield, host of “To Di For Daily” podcast and author of “R is for Revenge Dress,” weighed in on the most recent episode of Markle’s “Archetypes” podcast, where the Duchess of Sussex said she is afraid of speaking her mind at times due to fear that she will be perceived as a stereotypical “angry Black woman.”
“This seems really transparent that she’s utilizing American media, she’s utilizing this podcast to respond kind of vaguely to accusations that both Tom Bower and Valentine Low have made against her in their recent books,” Schofield claimed of Markle on GB News. “She wants you to know that she’s not a bully, she’s just an assertive woman.”
British writer and investigative journalist Bower discussed Markle and her husband Prince Harry’s relationship and feud with the other members of the royal family in his book, “Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors,” which was released in July.
In the book, the former BBC reporter claimed that it was Markle who made Kate Middleton cry during a flower girl dress fitting despite the former actress’ claim that the “reverse happened.”
The Princess of Wales allegedly “burst into tears” after Markle compared the former’s daughter Princess Charlotte “unfavorably to her best friend Jessica Mulroney’s daughter,” Isabel, during the fitting before the “Suits” alum’s wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018, Bower claimed in his book.
Meanwhile, in his book “Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown,” Low, the royal correspondent for The Times of London, quoted unnamed palace sources and members of the royal household as saying that Markle’s alleged treatment of her former staffers left them “broken.”
Some ex-staffers alleged in the book that Markle verbally attacked them on numerous occasions during her time as a working royal. One former employee told Low they were left “shaking” over a mishap involving the press at a public engagement, according to the book, which was released earlier this month.
Markle previously denied all claims of bullying through a spokesperson, who said the duchess was “saddened by this latest attack on her character, particularly as someone who has been the target of bullying herself.”
Weeks after the claims made by the two journalists’ books made headlines, Markle said on her Spotify podcast Tuesday that she’s “particular” but insisted that this trait “does not make you demanding, it does not make you difficult. It makes you clear.”
It is unknown if Markle is aware of the book’s allegations, but Schofield said she believes the duchess is “clearly utilizing this podcast as a vehicle to respond to some of those accusations in a way that is not as blatant as a sit-down Oprah interview.”
“She’s trying to paint a picture of who she wants the world to see her as through this podcast,” the royal expert claimed, citing as an example Markle’s revelation on her podcast that a genealogy test she took showed that she was “43% Nigerian.”
Schofield also claimed that Markle was using bigger stars and celebrities to allegedly “elevate herself.”
However, the royal expert said she believes Markle’s attempt to “reset the narrative and define who she wants to be seen as” through her podcast hasn’t worked in terms of improving Americans’ favorability toward the former actress.
Markle’s “Archetypes” podcast debuted in August, more than two years after she and Prince Harry stepped back from royal duties and signed multimillion-dollar deals with Netflix and Spotify.
So far, Markle’s podcast has featured celebrity guests such as Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling, Constance Wu, Margaret Cho, Lisa Ling, Issa Rae, and Ziwe.
In the latest episode of “Archetypes,” Markle discussed with Rae and Ziwe how the “angry Black woman” trope has affected them and inspired them to take action to make a change.
Markle revealed that she was “shocked” after reading the book “Algorithms of Oppression,” which explores how search engines reinforce racism.
She also recounted that when she was auditioning for roles, the description for the Black roles in the casting sheets often included an edgy character or attitude.
“Those were the seeds being planted,” Markle said at the start of the episode. “We all know that sometimes things make you feel angry or sad or hurt or upset — and that’s not a gender or racially-specific feeling. Yet, this trope of the angry Black woman, it persists.”
