Entrepreneur and former “Real Housewives” star Bethenny Frankel ripped ex-royal Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle over Markle’s claims of victimhood.
“Cry me a river…the plight of being a game show host, fairly unknown actress, to suffering in a palace, w tiaras & 7 figure weddings for TWO WHOLE YEARS to being a household name w [Oprah] on speed dial, fetching 7 [million] for interviews, hundreds of millions in media deals,” Frankel posted to Twitter on Sunday morning.
Frankel’s post was published hours before an in-person interview aired on CBS News with Markle and her husband Duke of Sussex Prince Harry, hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The reality TV star’s tweet came in reaction to screenshots of tabloid headlines suggesting the ex-royals were treated poorly by Buckingham Palace staff and senior royals.
Actress Chrishell Stause commented on Frankel being “white” and accused her of comparing her struggles to Markle.
“Not a white housewife comparing her struggle to Meghan’s,” Stause wrote. “A woman of color joining the Royal Family. It’s the delusion for me. Everyone is working overtime trying to silence her. Let us hear what she has to say!”
Actress Laci Mosley similarly went for a racial hit against Frankel: “Hey Beth, What’s up with this White lady nonsense?” she wrote. “Seems like coded racism and jealousy. Minding your business is always an option! You can start minding your business any time now! – A random Black lady saying to you what your friends should have said before you tweeted.”
Actor Matt Doyle told Frankel to “shut up” and called her tweet “trash.”
Daily Wire host Candace Owens, however, agreed with Frankel. “Couldn’t agree more,” she wrote. “Moaning Markle needs to stop playing the part of victim. She remains an unconvincing, d-list actress.”
Following the backlash, Frankel posted a tweet on Monday apologizing for hurting or offending anyone.
“I watched [Meghan & Harry] sit down,” she wrote. “Emotional distress & racism must feel suffocating & powerless.”
“I’m a polarizing, unfiltered (often to a fault) flawed person [with] a voice,” Frankel added. “When I heard of the interview, during a pandemic, it felt like a surprising choice.”
“I’m sorry if it hurt or offended you.”
Still, Frankel was criticized for her apparent “privilege.”
“The privilege here is you never questioned using your voice,” wrote Stause. “And yet you used it on your huge platform to let it be known Meghan should be silenced. When I woke up to your asinine comparison, during a pandemic, it felt like a surprising choice.”
The interview with the couple made Madde big media waves, mostly over claims Markle made about alleged racism from within the royal family regarding her son’s skin tone, though she failed to identify many specifics.
“Markle made the explosive charge that someone inside the royal family had told her husband Prince Harry while she was pregnant with their son Archie that they were concerned about how dark the skin of the child would be,” The Daily Wire reported Monday.
Markle said her husband “had spoken to a close family member on the subject of their future child’s skin color,” according Oprah Magazine.
“That conversation I’m never going to share. But at the time, it was awkward, I was a bit shocked. I’m not comfortable sharing it,” the prince reportedly said.
“They were concerned that if he were too brown that that would be a problem?” Winfrey asked. Markle responded, “I wasn’t able to follow up. If that’s the assumption you’re making…that would be a safe one.”
Prince Harry and Markle announced in January 2020 of their upcoming split from the family to become “financially independent.”