Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sat down for an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey on Sunday night that revealed shocking details and left a lot for television viewers to unpack.
The hashtag #HarryandMeghanonOprah trended throughout the night on Twitter as the broadcast aired on CBS in the United States. Shortly after the interview, Serena Williams came to the defense of her “selfless friend” with a statement on Twitter and Instagram.
“I know first hand the sexism and racism institutions and the media use to vilify women and people of color to minimize us, to break us down and demonize us,” Williams wrote. “We must recognize our obligation to decry malicious, unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism. the mental health and consequences of systemic oppression and victimization are devastating, isolating and all too often lethal.”
Related Story: 5 Bombshells From Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Oprah Interview
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) March 8, 2021
Other social media users commented on a range of topics covered in the interview, from the royal family or “the firm” expressing concerns that Meghan’s unborn child might be “dark,” to mental health issues, and Black women saying they can relate to the former actress’ experiences of not being supported or heard.
New York Times national politics reporter @AsteadWesley tweeted about the appalling concerns members of the royal family allegedly expressed about the skin color Meghan’s unborn son Archie: “Imagine how racist you gotta be to be worried about your 3/4ths white baby’s skin tone.”
Twitter user @starsandgoggles wrote: “The Black community waiting to hear who in the family was asking about skin color #OprahMeghanHarry #HarryandMeghanonOprah #HarryandMeghan.”
@MrAhmednurAli tweeted: “I can’t help but think of how the promise of protection and the fostering of fake trust has been a tool of colonization throughout history. #HarryandMeghanonOprah.”
@ElleOnWords tweeted: “So a Black woman got a job white people didn’t want her to have. They then did their best to make sure she was unprepared for said job, hoping she would fail. But when she taught herself and managed to do the job AMAZINGLY, those white people got pissed. #HarryandMeghanonOprah.”
@rebel19 tweeted: “The takeaway for me is Meghan stepping into her Blackness, her personal fortitude, and calling out the gaslighting she experienced. Because I relate, and because Black women everywhere, and because give us our f—ing flowers. #HarryandMeghanonOprah.”
Twitter user @kimbertiiimber added: “It’s so haunting that ‘the firm’ treated Diana just like Meghan…and it’s the money Diana left to Harry that enabled them to escape. She’s still taking care of her baby from above. #HarryandMeghanonOprah.”
@itsafronomics wrote on Twitter: “Kate, a white woman, made Meghan, a bi-racial woman, cry and then allowed Meghan to get blamed, shamed, and named for it without batting an eye. And Kate still didn’t face any consequences. Sounds about white.#HarryandMeghanonOprah.”
Twitter user @itsxchelsea was perplexed as to why Meghan and Harry’s security detail was taken away: “How does the mistress Camilla get more security & a title than the BLOOD BORN ROYAL Archie ?!?#HarryandMeghanonOprah.“
Some viewers believed the tea that was spilled during the interview could bring down the whole monarchy.
@gcornish91 tweeted: “ONCE AGAIN AMERICA WILL DEFEAT THE BRITISH MONARCHY BY SPILLING TEA.”
Doctor @Cleavon_MD tweeted: “Meghan Markle was SUICIDAL and the royal family DENIED her mental health treatment, but she persevered and her openness will SAVE LIVES. Every 40 seconds, a person dies by suicide.”
And there’s apparently more tea brewing. Oprah said during the broadcast moments from the interview that did not make it into the two-hour broadcast would air Monday on CBS This Morning.
