Meghan Markle and Prince Harry celebrated their son Archie’s first birthday supporting a good cause: sharing an endearing video of mother and son reading a children’s story – Meghan reading and Archie adorably helping turn the pages – for Save The Children’s campaign Save With Stories.
But, apparently, not everyone thinks so.
Something Borrowed author, Emily Giffin, went on Instagram Story to criticize the Duchess of Sussex – calling her “phony” and “unmaternal,” and the video “uncomfortable to watch.”
She also hopped on the comments on a post by the Instagram fan account What Meghan Wants to blast the Duchess.
“Adorable child and book. But… Holy ‘me first.’ This is the Megan [sic] show,” Emily wrote. “Why didn’t she film and let Harry read? And why didn’t she take the moment at the end to say ‘He said daddy!’ Because that would make it about Harry for a split second. God forbid. Also, you want privacy for your child so you put out a video (by your authorized biographer) of him … wearing no pants?! Ooookay.”
Her comments got a lot of backlash from royal fans, and hours later, she again went on Instagram – her account has since been turned private – to explain herself, defend against allegations of racism, and apologize for the “negative impact.”
“I enjoy following celebrities and analyzing them with my readers. I post dozens of IG stories a day in a very honest, unfiltered way, as if I’m confiding directly with close friends,” Emily began. “Further, I’m very interested in the British monarchy. I always have been. See the link in my bio for an essay I wrote in the days before Meghan and Harry wed.”
“To be clear, I absolutely loved that a biracial, American woman was marrying into the Royal Family. It seemed a wonderful, happy thing for everyone. I celebrated their wedding by hosting a gathering here at my home and posting many, many photos. Further, I was appalled by any signs of racism against her,” she continued. “Over recent months my feelings about BOTH Harry and Meghan changed. But I can say from the bottom of my heart that my criticism of Meghan has never had anything to do with her race.”
“Further, I understood why she wanted to leave the monarchy and carve out her own path. I do, however, find fault with the way BOTH she and Harry handled things, and those feelings bled over in later posts, including the ones today. I can see how some of my posts may have felt mean-spirited, and could be construed as having racial undertones. It was not my intent, but I understand that intent and impact are two very different things. And I am truly sorry for that negative impact,” she concluded.
Others, however, are praising Meghan and Archie for supporting a good cause on his milestone birthday.
Jennifer Garner, who, along with Amy Adams, launched #SaveWithStories with No Kid Hungry and Save the Children to help kids struggling due to school closures amid the coronavirus pandemic, went on Instagram to thank the Duchess for thank the couple for choosing their initiative, and for sharing a rare video of Archie on his first birthday.
“Dear Meghan and Harry, Thank you for sharing your gorgeous son with the world and allowing us to join you in celebrating his first birthday,” Jennifer wrote. “We are humbled and grateful that you chose @savewithstories to mark this special day and in so doing have raised the visibility of @savethechildren’s work in the US and UK and have helped feed and educate children in desperate need of both.”
“More than anything watching you lovingly talk through the pictures while your clever Archie turns the pages lifts all of us up and reminds us that what may seem like a duck just might turn out to be a rabbit,” she continued, referring to the story that Meghan read: Duck! Rabbit!. “Thank you for this joyful and meaningful shift in perspective.”
