From Ohio to Alabama Sussexes winning PR war against the palace
If you want to know what America is thinking there is no better place to look than The View, the country’s top-rated daytime talk show, where a high-profile group of women discuss the water-cooler topics of the day.
This week, the ladies of The View have been united. They are, as one put it, “in Team Meghan”. Or, “Duchess Meghan Markle” as Whoopi Goldberg, one of the co-hosts, calls her.
“We can’t ignore the elephant in the room,” declared Meghan McCain, another co-host and daughter of the late politician John McCain.
“There’s probably a racial angle to this. There’s a lot of racism directed at this woman [the Duchess] in a lot of different ways. She threatens a lot of people in the [British] patriarchy.”
Ms McCain said allegations that the Duchess bullied her staff in London were “ridiculous” and a “very obvious oppo dump” by Buckingham Palace ahead of the Sussexes’ two-hour interview with Oprah Winfrey, to be broadcast tonight on US prime-time.
According to Sunny Hostin, another co-cost, the Duke had “removed his wife and family from England because of the terrible racial hatred she was subjected to”.
The British press were “lying for a buck”, added co-host Joy Behar, going on to compare the situation to the Tom Cruise film, The Firm.
“In that movie they will kill you,” she said. “In the British monarchy they will just make your life miserable. Look what happened to Diana, same thing.”
The opinions expressed on The View both feed and mirror those held by millions of viewers. If the Duchess was ever to doubt the depth of her support in the United States she need only tune in. Similar conversations are going on in living rooms from Ohio to Alabama.
Since the Duchess referred to the Royal family as “The Firm” so do many Americans, and so does the US press.
The Duke’s recent appearance on James Corden’s chat show was widely regarded as a big hit. On CNN a host declared that the Sussexes were “winning the PR war” against the palace. Their popularity is also booming on social media, where the Duchess in particular has an army of American fans. Anyone in the US with a passing interest in the “Megxit” saga will have recently seen on their phone a video of the couple titled “The most attentive husband”.
It shows various occasions on which the Duke has helped brush down his wife’s windblown hair, or adjusted her ponytail. The video, helped along by a “like” from Rihanna, has been watched an astonishing 36.3 million times, more than any TV event in the UK ever.
Another video showing the Duchess’s kindness to a fan has been seen 9.2 million times. The videos were produced by the SussexSquad, a group of “superfans”, many of whom began following the Duchess during her acting career.
As tensions between the palace and the Sussexes escalate ahead of the interview, colleagues from Suits, the legal drama she starred in, launched a coordinated defence of the Duchess’s character. Aaron Korsh, the show’s creator, suggested the bullying allegations amounted to nothing more than sending late-night emails. He said: “Meghan Markle is not a monster. She’s a strong woman with a kind heart who’s trying to make her way in an unimaginable situation … if late-night emails makes you a horrible person, then I’m going to hell 50 times over.”
In a lengthy diatribe Patrick J Adams, the Duchess’s co-star for a decade in Suits, called the Royal family “apparently bankrupt of decency”.
He said: “It’s obscene that the Royal family, whose newest member is currently growing inside of her, is promoting and amplifying accusations of ‘bullying’ against a woman who herself was basically forced to flee the UK in order protect her family and her own mental health.” Mr Adams said the Royal family seemed “at best complicated” and “at worst … toxic”.
For some, anger appeared to boil over. One TV anchor tweeted: “The Brits better leave Meghan Markle alone. We know where they live.” Another TV anchor added: “I’ve been on the other side of The Firm’s wrath as a reporter. The ruthlessness is real.”
On its website CBS News headlined a story: “British press up in arms over Meghan and Harry interview with Oprah.” Winfrey has links with CBS, including through her longtime best friend Gayle King, who hosts its flagship CBS This Morning show.
Like the ladies of The View, King is firmly on “Team Meghan” and on Friday told her millions of viewers: “‘Vilified’ is the word for what has happened to Harry and Meghan, Meghan in particular.
“I think it’s going to be interesting for people to see their side.”