Harry and Meghan to freeze out tabloids
THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex have severed all dealings with Britain’s tabloid press as court documents reveal the couple texted Meghan’s father to warn him against talking to the media.
In a strongly worded letter to the editors of the Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and Daily Express, Harry and Meghan said the new policy is “not about avoiding criticism” and that the media have every right to have an opinion on the couple, “good or bad”.
But the document went on to say: “What they won’t do is offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.”
Their stance was criticised by the Society of Editors, which said the couple’s
“actions here amount to censorship”. Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, over publication of a letter the duchess wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
Court documents, published ahead of the case’s first hearing on Friday, show that Harry and Meghan sent a string of text messages to Mr Markle days before their wedding in May 2018, with one saying that contacting the press would “backfire”.
The couple, who are now based in Los Angeles, said in their letter to the editors that they believe a “free press is a cornerstone to any democracy” but an “influential slice of the media” had distanced itself from responsibility for its reports “even when they know it to be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason”.
The letter went on to say: “There is a real human cost to this way of doing business and it affects every corner of society.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know – as well as complete strangers – have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue.
“With that said, please note that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be engaging with your outlet. There will be no corroboration and zero engagement.”
The letter to the newspaper editors is the latest chapter in a fractious relationship between the couple and sections of the media which began in the early period of their relationship.