People have defended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were subjected to false ʜᴀʀᴀssᴍᴇɴᴛ online.
Harry and Meghan were defended after being falsely ᴀᴄᴄᴜsᴇᴅ of ‘upstaging’ Princess Kate on the day of her ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ news.
Earlier this week (9 September), the Princess of Wales indicated that she will resume public activities after completing her chemotherapy ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ.
Kate noticed the previous nine months since her significant health concerns began as ‘very tough for us as a family’ and how the ‘ᴄᴀɴᴄᴇʀ path is complex, dangerous, and unpredictable for everyone’, with the experience giving her a ‘new perspective on everything’.
A message from Catherine, The Princess of Wales
As the summer comes to an end, I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment.
The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an… pic.twitter.com/9S1W8sDHUL
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) September 9, 2024
On the same day, more than an hour later, Netflix released a trailer for one of its most recent documentary series, POLO, with Prince Harry and Meghan serving as executive producers.
Regarding the fact that the two videos were released so close together, Piers Morgan, who has previously ᴄʀɪᴛɪᴄɪᴢᴇᴅ Meghan, wrote in The Sun: “One thing is indisputable, and it’s that the separate announcements perfectly encapsulated the very different lives of these two couples now.
“One, featuring the heir to the throne and his health-stricken wife, was an extraordinarily moving, humble, and profoundly inspiring insight into what it’s like to have a life-threatening illness when you have a loving young family, regardless of wealth or status.
“The other, featuring two spoiled brat renegades who ditched royal duty and service for a life of self-enriching Hollywood glitz and glamour, was a nauseatingly ill-timed self-promotional plug for a series about a sport so elite only millionaires can play it.”
He further claimed: “Regardless of whether Meghan and Harry deliberately rushed out their promo to try to spoil Kate and William’s big announcement, or just to capitalise on the megaton-sized global attention it instantly received, it landed like a plop of unwanted pigeon poop on a pavement.”
And his ᴅᴀᴍɴɪɴɢ sentiments were shared with fellow trolls online, with one hitting out: “@netflix I don’t know who is the bigger piece of crap you or Harry and Meghan for trying to upstage Princess of Wales. #JusticeforPrincessofWales, #cancelnetflix.”
Following a flurry of similar comments based on no proof and pure personal prejudice, a slew of others jumped forward to defend the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“Soooo clearly someone knew Harry’s trailer was dropping because these things are planned in advance,” someone speculated.
“Harry’s doc wasn’t the only doc that dropped by Netflix that day So someone from the palace and inside leaked it to get ahead then to say Harry and Meghan were jealous!!!”
A third emphasised: “Didn’t Netflix make the documentary announcement? “Why would Netflix care whether Kate completed her therapy or not? And how would Harry and Meghan know that Kate is releasing the video today of all days?”
POLO is a new documentary series that follows elite global players and offers an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the fast-paced world of the sport. From Archewell Productions and Boardwalk Pictures. Premiering this December. pic.twitter.com/92vu4xYW8u
— Netflix (@netflix) September 9, 2024
While a fourth repeated that Netflix ‘are the ones that choose to promote their own series’ and there’s ‘nothing H&M can do about it’, adding that it was ‘probably previously set to be done for that day’.
Given that Netflix published the documentary, not Harry and Meghan, the inductive leap some are making online is weird, especially because the couple appeared unaware that Kate’s movie would be aired on the same day.