As Los Angeles’ historic wildfire continues to wreak havoc on hundreds of thousands of lives, one of its lesser impacts has come in the form of pushing back the release of Meghan Markle‘s upcoming Netflix show.
The show, With Love, Meghan, was originally set to air on Jan. 15, but has since been delayed to Mar. 4. The show will consist of eight episodes, and will follow the Duchess of Sussex cooking food for her celebrity friends. Needless to say, many have preemptively dubbed the show as “out of touch,” but according to one Edward Coram James, CEO of PR firm Go Up, that’s precisely the vibe that Markle ought to lean into if she wants to put her struggles with persona juggling to bed.
Per Express, James noted how the Duchess of Sussex has found herself “stuck between two identities: the everywoman and the duchess. She needs to pick a lane.” The solution, in James’ eyes, is to own the fact that she is out of touch, and use that to her advantage.
If Meghan wants to be aspirational, she should embrace her ex-royal identity and lean into the glamour, the intrigue, and the exclusivity. Stop pretending to be relatable and instead own the fact that she has a life most people can’t imagine. Own the out-of-touch narrative but flip it: ‘I’ve lived in rarefied spaces, and I want to use that access to make a change.’
But even then, it will be no easy task for Markle to reclaim a narrative so often hijacked by the world around her. Just a few days ago, Markle and her husband Prince Harry were photographed in Pasadena, where they were meeting Los Angeles citizens who were displaced by the fires and handing out meals and supplies to those affected. They have reportedly contributed funds to recovery and rebuilding initiatives as well.
Social media users, however, weren’t convinced that their goodwill was genuine, and accused the couple of using the fires as an opportunity for a publicity stunt.
This, despite the fact that hyperfocusing on the intentions of celebrities is a complete and utter waste of time, especially in contexts like this, where some form of goodwill is occurring regardless of why people thought they made the trip.
Maybe the hugs they gave to affected civilians were all part of a PR stunt. Maybe the meals they handed out were all part of a PR stunt. Maybe the money they’re donating to relief efforts is all part of a PR stunt. But at the end of the day, someone got a hug, someone got a meal, and someone’s house was given more resources to rebuild with. That’s worth something.
If despising Meghan Markle and believing that she’s a horrible person is a very pressing item on your daily agenda, then go nuts, nobody is stopping you from hating her. But at the end of the day, she’s still done more for the Palisades evacuees than the overwhelming majority of her haters likely have, and really, it’s those lives — not Harry’s or Meghan’s — that we ought to be focused on.
Who knows? Maybe she’s helping people just to look good. Similarly, maybe her haters will now help people just to spite her. So long as those vices are begetting humanity, who cares?