After the launch of her show, With Love, Meghan on Netflix, Meghan Markle is in the spotlight again. Her racial identity has always been a focal point of her public narrative, and it is widely scrutinized.
From her early days as a biracial actress in Hollywood to becoming the Duchess of Sussex, much has changed for Markle. But there are some discrepancies in her past statements that are circulating on the internet again, so let’s see what exactly they are!
Meghan Markle on her early encounters with racism
In a 2012 video for the Erase the Hate campaign, Meghan Markle candidly shared her experience of growing up biracial (via ABC News). Most people would struggle to categorize her, which made her feel neglected, “like being a fly on the wall.”
She also spoke about hearing slurs, offensive remarks, and name-calling that had a strong impact on her. The actress further revealed that “certain people don’t look at me or see me as a black woman.” As per reports, her mother, Dorla Ragland, a black woman, was once called the N-word, a moment that deeply hurt her family.
This video resurfaced during the George Floyd tragedy in 2020, where Markle expressed her long-standing commitment to attaining racial justice. Yet, critics and netizens have questioned the legitimacy of her narrative due to the inconsistencies in her later statements.
Meghan Markle seemingly contradicts her own words
In her 2022 documentary, Harry & Meghan, the actress revisited her experience with racism and how she faced it much more after coming to the UK (via Independent). Markle also spoke about a moment of disgrace when they had to encounter someone who was blatantly racist.
We were in the parking lot leaving [a concert], and my mom honked her horn at this woman… and the woman turned around and screamed the n-word at my mom. We never talked about it… I’d never in my life heard someone say the n-word.
To social media users, these statements did not match what Markle said in her 2012 campaign video, where she mentioned hearing racial slurs, and a few of them posted about the same. Now, was the actress contradicting herself, lying, or is there just not enough context for us to pass judgment?
Regardless of what scenario is true, it’s undeniable that people of color face racism in many parts of the world, even the ones that are considered progressive. So, while critics continue to dissect her words for inconsistencies, we could benefit a lot more from them policing actual racists than celebrities on the internet.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
