"I was the most bullied person in the world." Meghan Markle complained of 10 years of bullying.
Prince Harry's 44-year-old wife and former Hollywood actress Meghan Markle has complained about years of aggressive online bullying, calling herself "the most bullied person in the world."
"For 10 years, I was bullied and attacked on a daily basis. I was the most bullied person in the world," Markle said during a conference on social media and mental health held during her and the prince's visit to Australia (quoted by the Daily Mail).
Meghan also stated that tech companies have "no incentive to stop" online bullying and harassment. She also praised Australian authorities for introducing a ban on teen social media use, calling it "epic." "Australia led by example. You were the first country in the world to introduce this ban. Many countries have now followed suit, but it never should have come to this," the Duchess said.
Since Markle left her Hollywood career to marry Prince Harry, she has indeed been met with controversy. Many initially criticized the union of the American actress and one of the heirs to the British throne, suspecting Meghan of self-interest. Over time, rumors surfaced about the Duchess's difficult personality and high turnover within her team (it was alleged that she had driven assistants to tears and forced them to quit).
A new wave of hate against her began after she and Harry decided to abdicate their royal duties and move to the United States. Critics then accused Meghan of "destroying family ties." Soon after, she gave an interview to Oprah Winfrey, in which she accused the royal family of racism for discussing the skin color of her and Harry's son, Archie. She also claimed that her husband's family was indifferent to her mental health issues, essentially comparing herself to his late mother, Princess Diana, who had also complained about the same thing. The British dismissed this as "airing dirty laundry in public" for ratings.
But even the couple's "escape" to America hasn't spared Meghan from the hate. Online, she's been ridiculed for her attempts to build her own media empire with her husband (her failed cooking show "Love, Meghan" is a good example) and criticized for her hypocrisy and attempts to profit from her connections to the royal court and her own children. Markle herself has previously spoken out about the hate directed at her, calling it a coordinated campaign to smear her name.
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