Meghan Markle Responds to Critics Who Say Media Scrutiny Is Just Part of Life in the Public Eye
In the new documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which aired in the U.K. over the weekend and will premiere in the U.S. on Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex both speak openly about their issues with press.
And more specifically, at the end of the program, Meghan responds to the argument that media scrutiny is just a part of life in the public eye.
"I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair," she tells British broadcaster Tom Bradley on camera. "That's the part that's really hard to reconcile."
In an interview on the final day of the tour of South Africa, just hours after news broke that she was suing the Mail on Sunday, and Prince Harry published his searing statement about the press, Bradley asked the Duchess pointedly about critics who argue that she has "power," "privilege," "fame," and "wealth," and that with those advantages come public scrutiny, both good and bad.
Meghan responds that she is fine with scrutiny, but that the "unfair " and "untrue" coverage she has endured is more than just scrutiny. "It's a really different beast," she says.
"If things are fair, that completely tracks for me, if things are fair. If I do something wrong, [I'll] be the first person one to go, 'Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I would never do that.' But when people are saying things that are just untrue, and they're being told they're untrue, but they're still allowed to still say them, I don't know anybody in the world that would feel like that's okay," she said.
"And that's different than just scrutiny. That's what would you call that? ... That's a different beast. It's a really different beast. I think the grass is always greener. You have no idea. You know, it's really had to understand what it's like, but I know what it seems like seems like it should be, it's a very different thing."
Fortunately for the Duchess, she ended the interview on a happy note, returning her thoughts to her family.
"The good thing is I've got my baby and I've got my husband," she said. "And they're the best."
Harry & Meghan: An African Journey was produced by ITV, and premiered in the U.K. on October 20. It will tonight in the U.S. at 10 p.m. on ABC, in a special hosted by Robin Roberts.
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