Morgan & Markle: What Role Does Race Play?
It has been quite an unprecedented start to the new year for the Royal family on the other side of the Pond.
On January 8, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced that they will step down as senior members of the British Royal family, opting to split their time between the United Kingdom and North America.
Popularly referred to as “Megxit,” the nature of the split was overall amicable and done with the interest of the couple’s son in mind, according to an Instagram post shared on the official Royal family’s page. While some respected the decision, others thought it was selfish and a symbol of betrayal, including Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan.
From predictions about what truly motivated the couple to make this decision, much of which is pointing the finger at the British media, the social media frenzy surrounding this news attracted plenty of attention. This was only heightened considering the history Markle shared with the British media, including a pending lawsuit against tabloids such as The Daily Mirror and The Sun. Like many events surrounding the lives of royals, this announcement was a media fantasy, provoking a variety of opinions and responses from the public. Naturally, many took to Twitter to share their thoughts.
Since Meghan Markle first joined the Royal family, she received criticism in tabloids in relation to her race.
From a distasteful headline suggesting that Markle was “almost straight outta Compton,” to another headline discussing her “exotic DNA,” this treatment has only escalated. Despite this, Markle has continually responded to media attacks, including those from Piers Morgan, with grace, and has not allowed these attacks to make her act out of character.
As the host of Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan is known for being divisive and inspiring heated conversations, which rings true in the wake of Markle and Prince Harry’s announcement.
Morgan published an article on DailyMail.com January 20th titled “Spare me your ‘patriotic’ crocodile tears, Harry – you DIDN’T have to quit. You chose to ditch the Queen, the monarchy, your military comrades and your country… to become a royal Kardashian and keep Meghan happy.” Moreover, Morgan is also facing backlash for suggesting that the media being racist toward Markle is a baseless claim, and claiming that racism is not prominent in the UK.
“They are driving the narrative that this is all driven by racism and sexism, which I think is completely, grotesquely wrong,” said Morgan. Here, Morgan holds that tangible proof needs to be provided in order to support the claim that the media’s coverage is racially tinged, however, the proof is in the pudding. Though it is impossible to fully know the intentions behind those who discuss Markle, British tabloids have proved time and time again where their loyalties lie. (See: Buzzfeed News’ Headline Comparison between Kate and Meghan)
In June of 2019, Morgan criticized Markle on the British radio station LBC (London Broadcasting Company) for spending $3 million on a recent home renovation, calling the Dutchess a “piece of work.”
While Morgan’s criticism was targeted at Markle alone, it is doubtful that the decision to renovate was made by Markle alone, being that the home belonged to the couple. In this instance, Morgan placed Markle in the realm of a celebrity instead of a member of the Royal Family, though this same comparison to a celebrity was not applied to Prince Harry.
Similarly, the decision to distance themselves from the Royal Family was not entirely treated as a mutual decision, based on Morgan’s aforementioned article. The article framed the decision as one that Markle somehow brainwashed Prince Harry into making alongside her. The suggestion here is that the Dutchess acted selfishly, deviously convincing the Prince to abandon his family and country for her own desires.
Source: Pinterest
It certainly holds true that spouses who marry into the Royal family can expect to be scrutinized in the press, however, the extent to which Markle has been scrutinized is perhaps indicative of a larger problem.
Another instance of Morgan seemingly attacking the Dutchess also happened in June of 2019, when Markle did not attend lunch with President Trump during his UK state visit. Although it was later revealed by the palace that Markle was not in attendance because she was taking care of her newborn son, Morgan insisted Markle’s real motivation in skipping the lunch was driven by her personal dislike of Trump.
In another article Morgan wrote for DailyMail.com, the journalist stated, “I’m sorry, but bunking off at home is simply not an option for ANY senior member of the Royal Family.” Instead of expressing understanding for Markle’s decision to stay in and take care of her child, Morgan assumed negatively of Markle’s intentions, suggesting that she shamefully skirted her royal duties on purpose.
Why has Morgan dedicated so much attention to criticizing Markle? What role does race play? Have his critiques been justified, or is he going overboard? Why does Morgan refuse to acknowledge the possibility that Markle might feel targeted by the media based on her race?
On January 13th, Morgan published a different article on DailyMail.com, this time insisting that his critiques of Markle were entirely unrelated to race. Morgan even lists instances of his critiques against Markle and attempts to explain why they were not fueled by race, putting the word racist in quotes throughout the entire article. One example Morgan includes on this list provides necessary insight into Morgan’s pre-existing relationship with Markle: “Was it ‘racist’ of me to express dismay and concern when so many similar stories to my own (Meghan ghosted me after an 18-month friendship the second she met Harry, which I only repeat because it illustrates the saying, ‘If someone shows you who they are, believe them’) emerged involving her family and friends, including her ex-husband, of being ditched by Meghan when she no longer had use for them?”
Perhaps Morgan has criticized Markle to an extent that has allowed him to be labelled “disturbingly obsessed” because he felt personally snubbed or wronged by the Dutchess. Allowing this personal bias to affect how he does his job as a journalist and reports on Markle, however, is problematic.
While Morgan came to his own defense with his article, British politician Lisa Nandy challenged him on his assertion that race is not involved in the matter on Good Morning Britain.
Here, Nandy asks a critical question: “How on earth would you know? As somebody who has never had to deal with ingrained prejudice, you’re not in a position to understand people who have.” The truth is that Piers Morgan has not lived the experience of a Black woman in the spotlight being continually reported on by the media. While he might like to tell himself that racism has not fueled disparate media coverage in the case of Markle, he is ultimately not the final judge on the matter.
In the face of this controversy, Markle has admirably remained poised and continued to act in a manner that would best serve the well-being of her family and herself. In fact, Twitter user @_RyanJesse even coined the term “Meghan Markled” as a verb, meaning to take care of your mental health.
