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The royal family

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

The PR Whodunnit?

666 replies

StormzyinaTCup · 22/04/2023 19:50

So what is this all about then?
Who did it and why?
And whoever's PR team is responsible needs tearing off a strip, it's going to backfire.
I know there was a thread about this earlier today but it was deleted due to questions over how genuine the OP was. As this story is everywhere at the moment I thought I would have a try myself and see how we go. Just a couple of preemptive points:

  1. My MN credentials are rock solid so don't anyone even go there😁
  2. Lets also keep some perspective, at the end of the day we are talking about a bunch of privileged and entitled millionaires who likely wouldn't even pee on us if we were on fire and that goes for both 'sides'.

https://news.sky.com/story/meghan-wrote-to-king-charles-expressing-concern-about-unconscious-bias-in-the-royal-family-reports-12863044

🤞🤞🤞🤞

Meghan wrote to King Charles expressing concern about unconscious bias in the Royal Family - report

The letter was reportedly sent after the duchess said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that a senior royal had speculated about how dark her unborn son's skin would be.

https://news.sky.com/story/meghan-wrote-to-king-charles-expressing-concern-about-unconscious-bias-in-the-royal-family-reports-12863044

OP posts:
Thread gallery
23
MamoruHisaishi · 23/04/2023 22:27

Roussette · 23/04/2023 22:10

therefore her podcast became a hit because the people who didn’t like her were also hate listening. Just like with Harry and his book, it’s the controversy that sells.

Well... MNers are a representation of all sorts of people and the big majority (if not all) of those who don't like Meghan and Harry, said they couldn't bear to listen to more than 5 minutes, watch more than 10 minutes of NF, or read the book... so I can't imagine detractors of the couple would put themselves out and do this.

My understanding is that on Spotify, if you click on a podcast, even if you don’t fully listen to it till the end of the episode, It will be included in the numbers of listeners for the podcast. Also, the first few episodes also had the likes of Serena Williams and Mariah Carey, all stars in their own rights. So their own fans would have listened to those episodes as well, and helped boost its popularity. I read somewhere that closer to the end of the series, when there were less well known celebrities being interviewed by Meghan, the numbers of listeners had gone down drastically.

MamoruHisaishi · 23/04/2023 22:31

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 22:23

You can't "hate listen" through 13 episodes, of approx an hour each, unless you're mentally ill or something. People enjoyed them, come on.

I can't think of bigger losers than people "hate listening" and inadvertently making the person they hate go top of the charts! 😂

Explain the likes of Kim Kardashian then, or all the reality stars out there. People have and will hate watch or listen to something controversial so they could bxtch talk about it to others. Not saying it’s right, but it has happened otherwise Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton wouldn’t have become the celebrities they are now.

polkadotdalmation · 23/04/2023 22:36

The podcasts did abysmally on rotten tomatoes reviews because they were an exercise in self aggrandisement and boring. Of course the woke elite loved it, but Meghan wouldn't have got that deal in the first place if she hadn't been a royal. Wouldn't have got within sniffing distance of Spotify 😂😂. Laughable

Roussette · 23/04/2023 22:45

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 22:23

You can't "hate listen" through 13 episodes, of approx an hour each, unless you're mentally ill or something. People enjoyed them, come on.

I can't think of bigger losers than people "hate listening" and inadvertently making the person they hate go top of the charts! 😂

Sounds bizarre! And I'm only going by what posters said on here..
I'm not listening to that rubbish
Can't stand her syrupy voice
Won't listen
Will not give them any clicks for that rubbish

And so on

Roussette · 23/04/2023 22:47

Well... Fergie wouldn't have sold any of her 72 books if they weren't written by Sarah, Duchess of York.
No difference

Ditto Princess Michael of Kent

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 22:52

polkadotdalmation · 23/04/2023 22:36

The podcasts did abysmally on rotten tomatoes reviews because they were an exercise in self aggrandisement and boring. Of course the woke elite loved it, but Meghan wouldn't have got that deal in the first place if she hadn't been a royal. Wouldn't have got within sniffing distance of Spotify 😂😂. Laughable

Not sure what 'woke elite' even means. Hmm Some nonsense DFail term is it?

It was mentioned by someone on here I believe that her haters were going on to Rotten tomatoes to flood her with bad reviews when her award was announced. Spiteful, but oh well that's them.

Roussette · 23/04/2023 22:57

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 22:52

Not sure what 'woke elite' even means. Hmm Some nonsense DFail term is it?

It was mentioned by someone on here I believe that her haters were going on to Rotten tomatoes to flood her with bad reviews when her award was announced. Spiteful, but oh well that's them.

Yep. Ditto her one children's book on Amazon. Didn't buy the book but made a point of going on there to write a negative review.
I imagine doing that gave them some excitement 😅

Maireas · 23/04/2023 22:57

Roussette · 23/04/2023 22:47

Well... Fergie wouldn't have sold any of her 72 books if they weren't written by Sarah, Duchess of York.
No difference

Ditto Princess Michael of Kent

Spot on. No difference at all. Titles get you significant privilege, that's why people want them and hang on to them.

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 22:59

Explain the likes of Kim Kardashian then, or all the reality stars out there. People have and will hate watch or listen to something controversial so they could bxtch talk about it to others. Not saying it’s right, but it has happened otherwise Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton wouldn’t have become the celebrities they are now.

No idea. Didn't know Paris Hilton was still going, I remember her from the 00s. A lot of young people watch the Kardashians, the types that love crap like TOWIE, I don't think they hate them, I think they truly love the glamour and are invested in their fake 'reality' stories.

Normal people don't waste their time watching something they hate - unless they're paid to, or are part of a hate campaign.

Roussette · 23/04/2023 23:04

I avoid those famous people that annoy me! There's one in particular at the moment who I know has a new programme. That's all I know.
I don't read about it, post about it (there's probably threads on here) or give headspace to someone who irritates me somewhat

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 23:34

That's 'cause you're normal, @Roussette!

MamoruHisaishi · 24/04/2023 04:48

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 22:59

Explain the likes of Kim Kardashian then, or all the reality stars out there. People have and will hate watch or listen to something controversial so they could bxtch talk about it to others. Not saying it’s right, but it has happened otherwise Kim Kardashian or Paris Hilton wouldn’t have become the celebrities they are now.

No idea. Didn't know Paris Hilton was still going, I remember her from the 00s. A lot of young people watch the Kardashians, the types that love crap like TOWIE, I don't think they hate them, I think they truly love the glamour and are invested in their fake 'reality' stories.

Normal people don't waste their time watching something they hate - unless they're paid to, or are part of a hate campaign.

Except hate watching is an actual phenomenon. And no, it's not coz they're part of a hate campaign or they're paid to. Some people/shows etc just provoke controversy and people will hate watch just so they can snark and gossip about them:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/93akvp/why-hate-watching-tv-movie-social-media-explained-psychology

Why Hate-Watching Feels So Good

A psychologist explains why we like to follow shows, movies, or people we can’t stand.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/93akvp/why-hate-watching-tv-movie-social-media-explained-psychology

MamoruHisaishi · 24/04/2023 05:03

I still think the letter was leaked by the Sussexes or someone close to them. This is reminiscent of the five friends talking about Meghan’s letter to her father in people magazine. The recent statement also doesn't prove anything as the Sussexes have also released a statement to court denying that they were involved in the finding freedom book only to backtrack on it when correspondence showed the opposite. Also the statement itself doesn't actually deny that the leaking came from them or someone close to them. There were legal letters sent, some of the royal reporters quickly covered themselves by saying it didn't come from the sussexes but again, that doesn't mean anything as they werent the ones who wrote the article. It's interesting how the article has been updated numerous times, and it now seems that the ‘racist’ comment wasn't meant to be malicious or deliberately racist. Merely unconscious bias.

Whenharrymetsmelly · 24/04/2023 05:09

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 22:23

You can't "hate listen" through 13 episodes, of approx an hour each, unless you're mentally ill or something. People enjoyed them, come on.

I can't think of bigger losers than people "hate listening" and inadvertently making the person they hate go top of the charts! 😂

Tbh some of the Meghan haters on here are bordering on obsessive and I have no doubt are mentally ill. It's literally that saying, "love to hate". They actually get something out of it

MamoruHisaishi · 24/04/2023 05:29

Meghan during Oprah interview:

In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of 'He won't be given security. He's not going to be given a title,' and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born," she said.
"There were several conversations about it," she said.

“That was relayed to me from Harry,” she said. “Those were conversations that family had with him. And I think — it was really hard to see those as compartmentalized conversations."
“Because they were concerned that if he were too brown, that that would be a problem? Are you saying that?” Oprah asked.

“I wasn't able to follow up with why, but that— if that's the assumption you're making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one, which was really hard to understand, right?” she said.

Harry during Oprah interview:

“That conversation I’m never going to share. But at the time, at the time it was awkward. I was a bit shocked,” Harry said. “What will the kids look like?”
“That was at the very beginning when she was not going to get security “

From the most recent update on the article:

It is understood that both the King and the Duchess acknowledged that the individual’s remark was not made with malice.
The Duchess is believed to have thanked the King for his words. The Duchess’s letter is also said to suggest that she had never intended to specifically accuse the individual involved of being a racist, but was raising concerns about unconscious bias.

Reading the comments from the Sussex interview and the details of the letter regarding the complexion comment, it seems that there's definitely discrepancies. First between Harry and Meghan, as Meghan claimed there were several conversations with family about how dark Archie’s skin would be when she was pregnant, whereas Harry claimed it was right at the beginning referring to only one conversation.

Then when Oprah asked Meghan that the concern was that Archie would be too brown and that would be a problem, Meghan never denied it and said that's a pretty safe assumption. Most people would assume that Meghan was agreeing with what Oprah said.

Now it comes out that Meghan has acknowledged that the remark (so there was only one remark after all instead of a series of conversations?) was not made with malice nor was it outright racist. That is completely different to what the Sussexes implied in the Oprah interview. Being concerned about how dark a baby’s skin tone is malicious and completely racist, not just mere unconscious bias.

MamoruHisaishi · 24/04/2023 05:33

Whenharrymetsmelly · 24/04/2023 05:09

Tbh some of the Meghan haters on here are bordering on obsessive and I have no doubt are mentally ill. It's literally that saying, "love to hate". They actually get something out of it

To be fair, the same could be said of those who hate the Cambridges and the royal family in general. I've seen death threats against the Cambridge children coming from some Sussex supporters on twitter, not to mention the accusations that William cheated or is into pegging were spread by these same Sussex supporters.

Whenharrymetsmelly · 24/04/2023 05:39

MamoruHisaishi · 24/04/2023 05:33

To be fair, the same could be said of those who hate the Cambridges and the royal family in general. I've seen death threats against the Cambridge children coming from some Sussex supporters on twitter, not to mention the accusations that William cheated or is into pegging were spread by these same Sussex supporters.

Oh OK, I can't say I've really noticed that (as extreme as the Meghan hate), but most of what I see is on MN so that's probably why. It's all a bit weird really, normally if you dislike someone/something you avoid it, you don't seek it out. It's all quite disturbing!

Roussette · 24/04/2023 05:47

MamoruHisaishi · 24/04/2023 05:33

To be fair, the same could be said of those who hate the Cambridges and the royal family in general. I've seen death threats against the Cambridge children coming from some Sussex supporters on twitter, not to mention the accusations that William cheated or is into pegging were spread by these same Sussex supporters.

That's awful and I think it would come from extreme Sussex supporters, death threats...vile.

However there's many posters on here who don't hate K&W at all, but who aren't Monarchists and who criticise the Institution

poppysockies · 24/04/2023 06:08

From what I’ve seen on MN this weekend, posters who dislike the Sussexes usually criticise their behaviour (Oprah interview, Spare, apparent leaks to stay relevant ) but the people who hate the Cambridges are much more vicious, making nasty comments about Kate’s appearance, her family, wild allegations about Will cheating.

Roussette · 24/04/2023 06:21

poppysockies · 24/04/2023 06:08

From what I’ve seen on MN this weekend, posters who dislike the Sussexes usually criticise their behaviour (Oprah interview, Spare, apparent leaks to stay relevant ) but the people who hate the Cambridges are much more vicious, making nasty comments about Kate’s appearance, her family, wild allegations about Will cheating.

That's not my take on it at all. There's posters on here who just spew out wild and vile accusations about H&M, with no facts, just ranting on and on.

There are of course extremes on either side, and more sensible ones in the middle

Gilmorehill · 24/04/2023 07:13

MamoruHisaishi · 24/04/2023 05:29

Meghan during Oprah interview:

In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time, so we have in tandem the conversation of 'He won't be given security. He's not going to be given a title,' and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born," she said.
"There were several conversations about it," she said.

“That was relayed to me from Harry,” she said. “Those were conversations that family had with him. And I think — it was really hard to see those as compartmentalized conversations."
“Because they were concerned that if he were too brown, that that would be a problem? Are you saying that?” Oprah asked.

“I wasn't able to follow up with why, but that— if that's the assumption you're making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one, which was really hard to understand, right?” she said.

Harry during Oprah interview:

“That conversation I’m never going to share. But at the time, at the time it was awkward. I was a bit shocked,” Harry said. “What will the kids look like?”
“That was at the very beginning when she was not going to get security “

From the most recent update on the article:

It is understood that both the King and the Duchess acknowledged that the individual’s remark was not made with malice.
The Duchess is believed to have thanked the King for his words. The Duchess’s letter is also said to suggest that she had never intended to specifically accuse the individual involved of being a racist, but was raising concerns about unconscious bias.

Reading the comments from the Sussex interview and the details of the letter regarding the complexion comment, it seems that there's definitely discrepancies. First between Harry and Meghan, as Meghan claimed there were several conversations with family about how dark Archie’s skin would be when she was pregnant, whereas Harry claimed it was right at the beginning referring to only one conversation.

Then when Oprah asked Meghan that the concern was that Archie would be too brown and that would be a problem, Meghan never denied it and said that's a pretty safe assumption. Most people would assume that Meghan was agreeing with what Oprah said.

Now it comes out that Meghan has acknowledged that the remark (so there was only one remark after all instead of a series of conversations?) was not made with malice nor was it outright racist. That is completely different to what the Sussexes implied in the Oprah interview. Being concerned about how dark a baby’s skin tone is malicious and completely racist, not just mere unconscious bias.

The remark wasn’t made to her but to Harry so how would she even be able to tell if it was malicious or not? Anyway the OW interview was two years ago and the comment is even older than that. Why keep dragging things up?

Maireas · 24/04/2023 07:18

@MamoruHisaishi - thank you for that detail, it was a very damaging accusation and I can't understand what they were trying to achieve. Anyway, they seem to have backtracked. It's all very curious.

Phoebo · 24/04/2023 07:25

Maireas · 24/04/2023 07:18

@MamoruHisaishi - thank you for that detail, it was a very damaging accusation and I can't understand what they were trying to achieve. Anyway, they seem to have backtracked. It's all very curious.

I think it was said, and it was said with malice. I think they backtracked because it was too controversial. I'm not sure how I feel about H&M, because at times I feel sorry for them, I can see what the press was doing, but then I also think they act very spoiled, and sometimes even quite stupid. I also think they've done things and not really thought about how it might come across or play out. Meghan in particular seems quite naive, or she could just be a good actress. Either way they've all been deeply hurt and I don't think any of the relationships will be the same again, which is sad as I'm sure they're all mostly decent, nice people

MrsFinkelstein · 24/04/2023 07:29

michaelmacrae · 23/04/2023 22:23

You can't "hate listen" through 13 episodes, of approx an hour each, unless you're mentally ill or something. People enjoyed them, come on.

I can't think of bigger losers than people "hate listening" and inadvertently making the person they hate go top of the charts! 😂

Some people enjoyed them, absolutely. But many people listened initially just because of the possible controversy.

But then they stopped. That's why the podcast numbers dropped off a cliff after the 1st couple of episodes and it no longer featured in the top 10.

Was it a success? Based on overall listens - absolutely. But it swiftly lost listeners, not gained. Will it get renewed? Probably.

But the only reason she got the big contract, and the main reason people listened is because of her Royal title. Fair play to her, but to deny its not a massive factor is disingenuous.

MrsFinkelstein · 24/04/2023 07:30

Roussette · 23/04/2023 22:47

Well... Fergie wouldn't have sold any of her 72 books if they weren't written by Sarah, Duchess of York.
No difference

Ditto Princess Michael of Kent

Exactly. The title is the selling point.

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