With Love, Meghan - criticisms and genuine concern for her mental health

[Lavenderfarmcottage]

I am probably going to be flogged for posting this and chased down the dark laneways of Mumsnet as bystanders yell “Shame Shame Shame”.

I weighed in yesterday about a thread on Meghan and her new Netflix show. I made some criticisms about the trailer and certain cliche’s in the way it was produced. Hypocritical of me to be posting this but I feel guilty and have reflected. I am actually looking forward to watching it on Netflix and my criticisms were pretty minor and not exclusive to her show - it’s a common issue I have.

Meghan has struggled with mental health because of criticism. The reaction to ‘With Love… Meghan’ has been fairly brutal.

I think it would be really good if we refrained from saying anything negative about the series or Meghan Markle. That’s not the point of this thread.

I want to know if you think the criticisms have gone too far. The Princess of Wales is not on the scene and we are protective of her rightly so. That leaves Meghan as media fodder though.

Do you think it’s time Meghan and Harry were given a break ? I do. I think we’ve been far too harsh and the criticisms have gotten out of hand.

I think we also forget the cultural relevance. If we went into the homes or Gwyneth, Julia Roberts etc and I would probably feel the divide too. American culture doesn’t apologise for wealth and hollywoood is highly competitive.

Having a confident demeanour, throwing your head back Julia Roberts style when you laugh and unapologetically selling $$$ vagina products like Gwyneth Paltrow is how it over there. People talk loudly and confidently and are polished and rehearsed especially in the
Competitive world of Hollywood…

Are we all being too hard ?

I don't like racism. I call out racism when I see it. I don't see it with Meghan markle. I think she is a proven liar and at best got the wrong end of the stick.

However I do see it in your words. I think you are being racist using the word for gammon.and that's why I asked what it meant to see if you realised what the connotations are. It describes someone who is white. They can only be white as they have red cheeks due to rage. It is a derogatory term for someone based on their skin colour and I think that ticks the box for racism. You may just have unconscious bias though.

The editorial process goes - how can we get people to read this dull environmental story about the effect of avocado farming? Not ‘what story can we write about Meghan today’
Well, not really: if you’re doing the avocado farming story you won’t use Meghan as SEO because Google punishes sites that do that, plus readers will click away if they’re looking for Meghan stuff and get environmental stuff with a bit of Meghan padding. Clicks aren’t worth much just on their own; you want readers to stay on the site and to click around and go to other pages so you can show that to advertisers. No one’s going to go exploring far if they land on a boring story that’s been jazzed up with a royal family member.

Usually, if you’re on the environmental beat you’ll write the environment story and use your SEO tools and a good headline to draw readers in. If you’re on the celebrity beat you’ll write the Meghan story and in the morning meeting – knowing that Meghan stories not only bring in the clicks but those readers scroll all the way down, stay on site, and read all the other Meghan stories (gold for advertisers, paywalls, etc) – you’ll pitch all the Meghan stories you can. Last I checked after Meghan uploaded the Netflix trailer to Instagram, the Daily Mail had spun 22 separate stories out of her return to social media – Meghan IS the story, it’s absolutely “what story can we write about Meghan today”.

I'm not particularly interested in her mental health but the British media had it in for her as soon as she set foot here and I don't blame them for leaving the country.

To do as Charles asked Harry to do and put together a plan on paper with what they’d like to do and how it could be funded and then discuss with Charles and the late Queen what the realistic options would look like and make some agreements between them before issuing a press statement and launching a glossy website.

That way it wouldn’t have come as such a shock to Harry that if he was planning to base himself overseas he would lose access to the police protection officers and private security would have to be funded.

Rushing everything through without proper preparations because they were worried that Dan Wooton had an ‘exclusive’ they were leaving was ridiculous.

But it didn't start like that. There was interest, comparisons to Wallace Simpson, positivity about her style and looks, reservations about being American.

The narrative changed when they became just more privileged rich people doing whatever they fancied.

Exactly, I'll give it a watch as I already subscribe to Netflix and light-hearted cookery/lifestyle shows sounds like my kind of thing.
Bit of escapism 🙂

Please don't bring Kate into it I never saw so much photo shopping in my life from one royal. The only time I have seen the real Kate was on Remembrance day and saw how she really looked from all the treatment she had. Chemo takes its toll on the body and it showed in her face. I was shocked and really she didn't have to do the photo or the speech when she was talking nothing moved in the background. Kate has every right to her privacy but that's not what she wanted she wanted to share parts of her journey and that's her right.

Headline writers and picture editors do add things for clickbait and the avocado story is the perfect example.

But people keep using it as a comparison for why Kate and Meghan were treated differently.

They make money from Netflix and selling their story. They are bringing it on themselves. If they wanted to live away from the spotlight they could have lived a quieter life in my opinion.

@Horserider5678 please take the time to actually read what I said. I said I hate the fact that Meghan is a liar.

Calling it what it is if it's a spade call it a spade. Netflix must be stupid if they are endorsing her again according to you. A multimillion pound company and they don't know what they are doing.

It must hurt you that Netflix keeps on endorsing them and they are relevant.

Catching up but...

I think the most likely scenario is that NF are wearily fulfilling their original contractual obligations and have given up on securing successful content.

Happy to eat my hat in the event of what would appear on current and varied platform forms an isolated renewal deal.

Netflix doesn't have advertising? How do you know about Netflix then?
The whole point of the Meg and Harry shitshow is advertising. That's what they're banking on.

MM could have done a Stacy Solomon though. A few interesting documentaries, a show that actually helps people with a modern problem.

A look at "my things I've learnt in my lovely life" is a poor choice.

Word of mouth social media platforms. You good people are promoting it.

I believe Harry and Meghan don't read social media so it won't be affecting her 🤷‍♀️

Stacey Solomon is a chancer Sort your life out give over. I only stomached one episode.

There are a myriad of comments about the pony collapsing and dying in 2010, PETA included, but mostly it's chat forums like Quora and Reddit. That says it all, doesn't it?
The most recent article I found from a "reputable" source was this one from Newsweek:
https://www.newsweek.com/prince-harry-animal-rights-problem-netflix-peta-1892078

The other two were The Mirror and NY Post, both tabs, so dubious.

Ok I don't know how to fully assess public opinion and how that changed but the explanations for the dislike seem incredibly disproportionate.

I remain really confused as to why the level of hate I see so often online is stronger towards MM and Harry than Prince Andrew ( I don't sweat and I never met this woman in my life).😬

And Charles (Saville was his best friend writing his speeches. The financial scandals, his position as Duchy of Cornwall and the revenue associated with that at the expense of others ).

I really would love a psychologist/ expert in all this guff to explain it. It makes no sense and I'm open to hearing it genuinely.

Netflix aren't "keeping on endorsing them" - they have a contract!!

You appear to be a little confused. Netflix is a streaming service where you watch shows with no adverts: Netflix makes its income from subscribers. It makes no income from adverts.

Sometimes, Netflix itself advertises its shows elsewhere to draw more subscribers – when I play Candy Crush, I’m shown adverts for Harlen Coben’s Missing You. This costs Netflix money. They can’t be “banking” on Meg and Harry for advertising because that would mean spending more money and they’ve already spent $100m.

They haven’t done a lot of paid advertising of Meghan’s show – I’ve seen it on the official Netflix Instagram and other social media, but that doesn’t cost them money. The whole point of the Meghan and Harry contract is to bring in subscribers; if the show flops, if subscription numbers go down or subscribers downvote Meghan’s show, that’s not a win for Netflix.

I don't follow the RF or read much tabloid fodder but even I know that H&M has spoken very publicly about how much the relentless negative press does affect her mental health.

She was close to a breakdown during pregnancy.

As another poster said it's all fun and games until someone can't take it anymore and then it's all #BeKind.

This thread and the gleeful nature of all other threads ripping this woman to threads for entertainment just prove we've learned nothing from Caroline Flack's death.

@ThatRareUmberJoker maybe it's not your thing but as TV goes getting people to de clutter their crap is at least helpful both to them and other people in a similar situation.
Tarting up food so you look good to your guests ( not seen anything but a short trailer) seems puerile .

Obviously I don't know her, Kate or Stacey but in terms of useful work MM comes last.

She's been mercilessly bullied and harassed to within an inch of her life. For what?

Why has Andrew and his gutter level behaviour been completely ignored? Is the public really so stupid.