Meghan interview draws major ratings
Even people who don’t closely follow every move of Britain’s royal family were obviously riveted to Oprah Winfrey’s explosive interview with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Sunday night.
According to Nielsen, the two-hour CBS special, “Oprah with Meghan and Harry,” delivered 17.1 million viewers.
That’s the largest primetime audience for any entertainment special in the 2020-2021 season. It was also the largest prime-time audience for any entertainment special since the Academy Awards on Feb. 9, 2020.
On social media, the interview drove 12 billion potential impressions, according to CBS. The special dominated the night, with the word Meghan trending within the top 10 in the U.S. for 12 hours and peaking at No. 1. #OprahMeghanHarry, Archie, Kate, Charles, Diana, William and Royal all trended within the top 10 Sunday night as well. It was also CBS’ most-livestreamed event outside of the NFL and Super Bowl Sunday.
In the interview, Prince Harry and Meghan claimed that unnamed members of the royal family had a discussion about “how dark” their baby’s skin tone would be. Also, Harry revealed that the rift between he and his father, Prince Charles, became so wide that the elder royal at one point “stopped taking my calls.” And Meghan said that she felt so alone and confined in the palace that she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore.”
Winfrey, appearing Monday on “CBS This Morning,” said Harry requested she reveal that neither of his grandparents, Queen Elizabeth or Prince Philip, asked the question about Archie’s skin tone.