TV Host Slammed for 'Scathing' Segment on Meghan Markle

Australia's '60 Minutes' did not paint a flattering picture of Prince Harry's wife
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 9, 2019 7:17 AM CDT
Harsh TV Spot on Meghan Markle: a 'No One' in 'Bad Clothes'
In this Dec. 1, 2017, file photo, Britain's Prince Harry and his then-fiancee, Meghan Markle, are seen in Nottingham, England.   (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

Elton John recently begged the public to lay off Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but what USA Today calls a "scathing piece" from Down Under shows not everyone is heeding his words. Australia's 60 Minutes aired a special Sunday hosted by Karl Stefanovic in which he and others criticized the royal couple, on everything from their request for privacy to Markle's attire and marital status before she met Harry. Patrick Jephson, Princess Diana's ex-private secretary, sniffed that Markle was "constitutionally irrelevant" and should do "less" as the spouse of the sixth in line to the throne, while controversial media personality Katie Hopkins was even harsher. "What is she really? She's a no one," Hopkins said. "She's a divorcee. ... She wears bad clothes; when did we ask for that?" Hopkins also blasted the couple for claiming concern on the environment while flying around in private jets, which Prince Harry has said is occasionally necessary to keep his family safe.

The backlash is now coming in not just about the content of the show in general, but about Stefanovic in particular. News.com.au notes the 45-year-old TV personality went through his own personal woes a couple of years back, including a split from his wife and getting fired from another show, and at the time he begged the public to leave him be—which makes it seem odd he blasted Markle and the prince for their desire for privacy. "Watching the hypocrisy of Karl Stefanovic scrutinizing a public person after pleading for his own privacy for two years—I mean, what is this?," one commenter noted online. Others called him "trashy" and "smug" and said he should be "ashamed" of himself for the attacks on Markle, per Yahoo Lifestyle. Buckingham Palace hasn't yet responded to the piece. (Markle was recently called a "diva" for a Wimbledon request.)

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