“The View” co-hosts discussed the recent Meghan Markle and Prince Harry interview with Oprah on Monday’s episode of the talk show. Co-host Meghan McCain discussed how she felt while watching the interview and said that she relates to Markle’s struggle with regards to being in the public eye.
In the widely-anticipated interview, Markle stated that she had contemplated suicide since becoming a part of the royal family. She also said that there were concerns in the royal circle over what the skin color of her son, Archie, would be after he was born since Markle is mixed-race.
McCain began, saying the interview “was really hard to watch. They were talking like ex-cult members that had somehow fled and made it out. It reminded me of people who had somehow escaped Scientology…The comments about Archie’s skin color are going to be comments that haunt them forever. I would have preferred to know who it was … If we’re talking about William or Charles — the British public has a right to know if their future king feels this kind of racism.”
McCain said that there could be serious geo-political ramifications due to the fact that the many of the commonwealth countries include racial minorities as the majority of the population. “We are living in different times. And you have to think if you’re a person living under the commonwealth of this kind of leadership, what is it going to mean?” McCain stated that the monarchy might be brought down by the American Markle.
“One of the other points that I thought was particularly heartbreaking and poignant was her talking about how she wasn’t protected and that the leaks internally from Buckingham Palace that were used, specifically, to paint her out to be a villain and make her look bad,” said McCain, according to HuffPost.
McCain clarified that while she wasn’t directly comparing her life experiences to Markle’s, she does understand how difficult it can be to deal with the media in the public eye.
“I’ve never been in a place where I’ve contemplated suicide, thank God,” McCain acknowledged. “But I do think when you’re in places ― whether it be work or a family like the royal family ― and you are not protected and people are trafficking in gossip with the intention to make you look bad and hurt your reputation, I can see how they felt like there was no other option for them and their family to put them in a safe space specifically when she was pregnant and she had a new, young child.”
“I do know what it feels like to be on a TV show or a political campaign where people are leaking stories about you with the sole intention to make you look bad,” she said. “And let me tell you, it will do a number on your mental health like you can’t believe. It will make you feel isolated. It will make you feel paranoid, and I think it’s a specific way women are abused in the media.”
“I think we need to reassess what is allowed in different places and what is considered abuse,” she said.
On Sunday, McCain also tweeted a Gif of the play Hamilton, with the caption, “Monarchy has been an archaic and toxic concept since 1776.”
Monarchy has been an archaic and toxic concept since 1776. pic.twitter.com/HskkdczDt6
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) March 8, 2021