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 ?

So you haven't seen any of the interviews, read Spare and all the other bullshit they've come out with?

I think we have a pretty good idea of the people they are, direct from the horse's mouth.

Unfortunately that is the risk of putting yourself in the limelight. I was more reserved about passing judgement on her when she was a royal as she didn’t ask to be put in that position. She fell in love with someone who happened to be a Prince.

But now she has left the family and chosen to carve her own path in the public limelight, I think we are allowed to criticise her as much as we should be allowed to praise her. She has chosen to do these projects and if they aren’t successful, we have the right to point that out. She also chose (along with Harry) to criticise the ‘Firm’ and spill family secrets and private conversations. Therefore, I find it fair that if she does something ridiculous (take her The Cut interview, for example, where she was OTT performing for the journalist but the journalist saw this) then we should be allowed to call her out and criticise her for it.

I am no fan of the woman - but the amount of hate she gets - I really don't know how she copes.

I do think Meghan gets more than her fair share of criticism. Most of it is just spiteful.

Kate seems to get virtually no scorn. Having a health issue has obviously helped in this regard.

Anyway, I don’t really care about any of them. But I’m a sucker for a lifestyle type show in a nice house. I’ll watch Meghan’s show but I think so many will watch it having decided in advance they’ll hate it and relish in slagging it off.

Yes, it would - Catherine knew full well what she was marrying into.

And the '2 bedroom cottage' you speak of was a Sir Christopher Wren designed building on the grounds of an actual royal palace, in one of the most exclusive areas of London. And she was getting it for free.

Indeed. 2 bedroom Flats, not even houses with two bedrooms average out at around £6/7k a month, in Kensington & Chelsea, especially that close to Hyde Park & Knightsbridge.

Poor old Meghan & Harry stuck in that dump

Catherine is carrying out royal duties in the public eye. Meghan is not.

However, Catherine has her fair share of critics. Didn't you see all the bullshit before she announced her cancer diagnosis, or do you only stick up for Meghan??

How can you justify that comment?
Lives in a mansion, has another show...
Not on the breadline.

Never called either of them saint or sinner, I’m very ambivalent to both of them, not a fan of Catherine to be honest. However Megan constantly puts herself in the public eye by making series.

I just watched the trailer, and I don’t see what the fuss is about tbh. It’s pretty sugar sweet American Happy Happy Smiley bit of nothing much. I’m sure people who want a feel good filler will enjoy it. Bit like is it cake but for adults.

And yes Catherine did know what she was signing herself up for. For a very specific role. And has dealt with horrendous media coverage including the ABSURD stuff when she was out of the public eye. On MN there were people suggesting that William had beaten her up, that she was holding the kids hostage till a divorce was negotiated. It was open season! I am not saying it was right, but again, a LOT of posters suggested that since she was in the RF subsidised by the public 'we' had a right to know about her medical history.

The total amnesia about the wild wild speculation is very bizarre and quite intriguing.

Harry has never had anonymity and could never have a normal life. He was never going to retire in Nantucket and catch clams off a boat or get a job at Walmart. They needed something to do with their lives and its fairly impossible to ever hide.

I've seen a lot of comments like this on similar threads.

That Harry and Meghan are uniquely famous and always will be. I disagree. In California, they are living among many people far richer and more famous than them. I suspect most under 40s, certainly in America but increasingly in Britain too, have little idea who they are. As time goes on, and as their, especially Meghan's, links to the royal family fade, so too will interest in them.

Lots of famous people manage to live fairly anonymously. They could too if they wanted. But they actively choose to put themselves out there for public consumption, and in doing so can't expect that they only receive a positive reception.

Playing at Wimbledon is very different to a cookery show.

If shows were awarded based on skill alone, the Kardashians would never have got a show,

We can’t say who Netflix should give opportunities to, they’re in the business of making money, not nurturing ingenues.

An hour a week, I believe?? 😂

To be fair to her, she seems to be able to open a jar of shit jam, something I personally struggle with.

Narcissists do not suffer from poor mental health. They adore attention, no matter what type. Grandiose thinking makes them spin any criticism into something that has nothing to do with any of their flaws. They will blame it on the person, society, racism or whatever. In the end, they don't see their failures as true failures but simply the fault of someone else.

I don't think it's a cultural thing. She married her way to (what she thought would be) the top rather than working her way to the top, and she lacks the kind of experience and charisma that is required to make it on her own.

Trying to brand herself as an expert in something, purely because of her association with the royal family but without putting in the hard work along the way was always going to set her up for failure. It didn't work well for Brooklyn Beckham either.

What's going on in her personal life with her family doesn't paint her in a great light either. Ditching her father and other family members (and friends too) doesn't endear her to the public. Not saying it's necessarily wrong to do this - I know there are so many reasons someone might go no contact with family members and we'll probably never know the full story. It just makes people sceptical of her motives.

And of course there's Harry's treatment of his own family. I don't think anyone will ever really see them in a positive light after how they behaved. I'm not a royalist at all, but I liked the queen and a guy who could treat his father and grandmother like he did is always going to be unlikeable.

I think they will have a very difficult time achieving the kind of success and popularity they crave. They're not short of resources and could live a very comfortable life with their kids but it doesn't seem to be enough.

She is not a princess. She come's across as a little desperate now - cosplaying Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath in her latest show.

😂 really? This isn’t twilight and I’m not 13 years old. I am team neither. Not sure how you’d choose?!

Well if you are such a big fan, you'd surely know that she is not "princess Meghan" for a start! 😁

Well her partner before Harry was a chef?? 😁

I don’t think she should be above criticism nor should she receive the level or criticism she gets.

What annoys me is that on any Meghan thread, it devolves into the same critiques: so on the “Meghan back on Instagram” thread instead of critiquing that she launched without her blue tick, with the wrong royal title in her bio, and posted the show trailer twice because she mucked it up initially, it once again revolved around the same few unhinged Meghan haters shrieking “bUt ShE tOuChEd HeR bUmP” then ironically accusing anyone defending her of working as a cabal to gaslight them.

I’d love a Meghan-neutral space to discuss stuff, much as Reddit has different Meghan boards for the fanatics, the neutrals and the fucking lunatics those who aren’t keen. Because I guarantee this thread is just going to be 40 pages of mudslinging and anyone who says anything other than slagging her off will be accused of being Sussex Squad, even if you don’t know what that even is. (I like to imagine it as a bit like the Spice Girls fan club and you get a membership card and special edition CD singles.)

So 2021 of you! Topical too considering there is discussion of a blasphemy law in Parliament. Always good to monitor other people's language and perhaps report anything inappropriate.

Amituofo, choccy

Her show deserves to be critiqued in the same way any show is critiqued.
I haven't see the trailer or anything, but I am assuming it is going to be uninteresting and not very authentic, simply because they seem to be jumping from one thing to another trying to get lucky with success, rather than actually having real expertise in anything. If people don't want to watch, it will be because she doesn't have anything to say that people want to listen to. That's the same for everyone and many people get rejections and poor reviews which may affect their mental health.

Emma Thynn seems lovely, she did well (and was booted out too early i felt) on celebrity Masterchef, and was nice on Strictly. She seems a top lass you could have a grand night out with. Meghan, not so much.

Yet you felt moved to comment on this thread...