Royals and American media coverage

[ButteryPuffin]

Saw this cover posted on Twitter and noted that it seems the tabloids do indeed exist in the US (amazing, huh?). This is pretty much what you'd expect from the source, and I think it's pretty deplorable, but I am interested to see how the American media in general cover the presence of the former royals who've now arrived to make their home there. Of course we can discuss their coverage of other Royals too and related topics. All welcome.

Link to cover story - please note I'm not endorsing it, I'm just sharing it:
66.media.tumblr.com/79912301ec9c6e0f2cbf902a7a42a540/da60395e577b1897-aa/s540x810/61af854a1eed0d02b6bfa026133d16f8bdb87f41.jpg

Only my opinion Dandy but I believe Invictus was for glory and credit.
He professes to hate the media press, but loves the media glory.
This is only my opinion but he has backed that up by his actions

I do think he loves the media glory, this is true.

In my opinion, based on his actions.

I do also think he likes helping people. But I think he’s much more motivated to do it if it comes with some glory or prestige or something else that he wants.

Yeah like money.

@Dandypenguin fair enough, I suppose there is an element of glory and credit in it.

Anyway great discussion it’s with the witching hour in my house😂

*helping

What's the witching hour?

Very young babies cry in the evenings, usually no reason for it = witching hour

Hope you don't mind me joining in, to comment on the Wimbledon photo incident. The tone of the reporting at the time was more shock than anything that a member of the RF would behave that way...and for many people ( me included) more, not less so, that it was Meghan.

I'd be interested how it was reported in the USA because it might not have been such a big deal there, but it broke The unspoken 'rules' of the class system enough here to reach areas of the media ( and audiences) that aren't in the slightest bit interested in whether royals wear tights and hats.

@HarryDaylight what she said^

chrisseldah1

Oh dear, chrisseldah1, that's not fun. Hope he/she settles soon. Would you like or ?

@5LeafPenguin I remember the Wimbledon reporting and I was screaming No no no Meghan Just no!. They are gonna crucify you for this idiocy, you can’t have whole rows empty and not realise that what it looks like🤦🏿‍♀️.

I don’t know how the American tabloids covered it, maybe it was a non event for them. But tbh I have seen celebrities like Beyoncé and Jay Z at at Basketball games and have never seen empty rows between them and other people . I thought to be in those kind of seats you got to have deep pockets anyway ? .It wasn’t a good look. Maybe she had no say in what the security personnel did but if it were me I would have overridden them.

I think a self-made A-lister in the US can get away with it.
A royal in the the UK - absolutely not.

True

Basketball stadiums are always packed, and the closer to the players you can sit the more visible you are to the cameras. Hence courtside seats for Beyonce, etc.

I know Chrissel. The lady that was told to put her camera down was an ex BBC reporter. I remember her being on breakfast tv and being clear that the security officer looked embarrassed to have to speak to her. It couldn't have been clearer that it wasn't his idea and she was totally believable when she said she had no idea who Meghan was.

That's why I was so shocked... I'd thought Meghan was so ( to use a very UK phrase) nice.

As far as I know the seats she was in were the massively expensive debentures that are held by members and can be sold or leant as they wish.

But the privelidge of getting those seats when normal people have no chance, then using your security guard in that way . Not royal behaviour at all, but yes possibly a celebrity move ( although I suspect a celebrity would have been politely asked to leave if they'd done that).

What I found unfair was the constant negative daily headlines about her even when pregnant.

Every royal woman has been pilloried. I'm old enough to remember when Diana was (pre internet, so that filtered from UK papers to here!), Fergie, Camilla, Kate. MM was no different.

I maintain that the tabloids set the tone from the very beginning of how they were going to cover her, and she was always going to trip over as no human being is without fault.

See above. I remember UK papers making a huge deal of the fact that on being presented a silver dish on a royal visit, Diana turned it over to look for the stamp. That wasn't tabloids, either, because it was widely reported in the press here.

See the Disney deal for me was a good thing, elephant without borders is a great charity that will benefit greatly from her donation. There are over 130k elephants in Botswana that are at risk. Poaching and overpopulation of these pose the constant human/animal conflict as the animals encroach in farms resulting in death for both at times .When I heard that she was doing a voice over and donating her fee to the charity I was actually glad.How she got that role does not really concern me but I get that it may annoy other people.

No one is decrying the fact a narration was done. It is that Harry, Captain General of the Royal Marines, did not attend a memorial service for royal marines who gave their life in service. Rather, he chose to attend something as fluffy as a premiere, it now appears, in order to pitch for work for his wife.

The documentary MM narrated had already been completed and narrated by an actual A list (academy award winning) actor, who also reportedly, donated the narration fee (the actor was paid). Also, we don't know if the money MM received has been donated to a charity. I haven't read the charity acknowledging this, and originally, those funds were going to be donated via the Sussex Foundation, which was never legally established. I'm not suggesting it hasn't been, just that you are wrong in stating it has been donated, because we don't know that as a fact.

I think he has been infantised quite a bit and given some leeway because he was still being seen as that little boy following behind his mum’s casket.

I think it is because, by all accounts, he's rather dim.

Dandy re People magazine - it is known as "kneepads" here. The term was coined by an entertainment lawyer who ran a very successful gossip site (he sold it - it's still in operation, but not accurate, as it was in the lawyer's day) and made its way to more "mainstream" sources. People truly is just a source for publicists.

^gave their lives. Sorry for the poor grammar.

This is from Datalounge, which has, for at least a decade, discussed royals of all types. They have fascinating discussions on royal history (not just British), though these days, the best discussions are paywalled. I'm including it for those who believe the negative views on H&M are restricted to "racists" in the UK. I happen to agree the leak is tone deaf, although the language is rather strong -

Entertainment Tonight also has a PR fluff piece emphasizing how their mental health has improved since stepping back last week.

It's a relief to know they're feeling happy and relaxed in the middle of a pandemic.

www.etonline.com/how-prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-are-adjusting-after-exit-from-royal-duties-144265

And a couple of responses -

These two are the biggest jerks I have come across in all my days.

They're straight up cunts. Only cunts release a statement through "friends" telling the public how relaxed and mentally healthy they are during this time of hardship. Hardship of course defined as being ensconced in a secluded Malibu mansion, having staff and security wait take care of your needs, not worry about next paycheck and being destitute, worrying about loved ones working in the front lines, or loved ones' poor health, etc... But I guess cunts are gonna cunt even in times of extraordinary worldwide uncertainty. Fuck them, they can fuck off and fuck ET for being paid to spew that shit.

@winterlife
Yes every royal woman has been criticised in the tabloids. There was no excuse at the time for any of them to be criticised unnecessarily. I have stated before that it was totally unfair and cruel the names Kate was called for being in a long term relationship with William. I particularly felt for her mum being dragged in the press. I have seen some commentary from certain places bout Meghan’s mum. This was unflattering and untrue stuff being written.

Had Meghan not being subjected to racist articles and constant hounding when pregnant from certain parts of the British media I would have agreed that probably the coverage was the same as others. Were Diana and Kate constantly criticised for holding their bump when pregnant ? Or even articles about avocados = supporting terrorism?.These type of articles may seem like nothing to others I know, but it must have worn Meghan down to an extent. What does it say about the British tabloids in this day and age to get away with writing stuff like this. Like someone wrote ; ‘If a biracial member of the royal family can be subjected to such deplorable behaviour on a national scale what chance does an ordinary POC have’?. The Royal Family represent the entire Commonwealth with countries where there are majority of black and brown people , and for some it was quite great to have M there. The treatment she got was awful and I doubt the DM would have been able to print a headline like the one they did in America without being challenged. Indeed I wonder if someone like PM would have been able to spout the cruel things he said on his good morning platform if he still worked on CNN.

Some may disagree with my take on this, but I know I’m not alone in believing that a certain known stereotype was painted about Meghan from the very beginning. This topic was discussed a lot around January, and it was often clear that well regarded POC were struggling in finding allies especially in the media when debating this issue. Even I know I can’t/won’t sway those who are not convinced that M was treated awfully with racist undertones from the onset by Certain sections of the media. At the end of the day I understand we will all have different interpretations of why she and her husband left.

With regards to Harry and attending the movie premiere my views are above, some have disagreed with my take on it and that’s absolutely fine. It is my opinion that he shouldn’t have gone to the premier, I don’t know what his motives were.

How Meghan got the Disney role has been discussed above as well, I don’t know if some A lister was dumped for her, I don’t believe she pocked the money. The makers of the documentary stated she donated her fee to the elephant charity and that’s great, because it is indeed a great cause.

By the way I for one don’t believe that every criticism of H & M has racist undertones or is racist . I don’t know anyone in real life who believes that. Nobody is universally loved and I’m sure they are aware of this. It’s out there just how some people feel about them especially since their exit.

@DandyPenguin

With regards to Harry and attending the movie premiere my views are above, some have disagreed with my take on it and that’s absolutely fine. It is my opinion that he shouldn’t have gone to the premier, I don’t know what his motives were.

I’ve said it before but I think H & M are true case of folie a deux. Individually they each had a mixture of attractive and unattractive traits. Once they met, some alchemy happened that created something really quite negative and ruthless.