The Duchess of Sussex has criticised the “seemingly endless toxicity” of social media, revealing she was targeted with “bullying and abuse” while pregnant with Archie and Lilibet.
Meghan was the keynote speaker on a high-profile panel marking International Women’s Day at the annual SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.
She said she now keeps her distance from such comments for her wellbeing.
Prince Harry was in the front row of the audience watching the speech.
Meghan said people have “forgotten our humanity” in certain parts of the media and digital sphere.
“The bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and with Lili”, she explained.
“You just think about that and really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful – it is not catty, it is cruel.”
The event was titled Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On And Off The Screen.
The 42-year-old former Suits actress also discussed issues ranging from the importance of diverse representation to portrayals of motherhood in film and entertainment.
Meghan said she found it “disturbing” that women were “spewing” hatred at each other online, adding: “I cannot make sense of that.”
“If you’re reading something terrible about a woman, why are you sharing it with your friends?” she asked.
“If it was your friend, or your mum or your daughter, you wouldn’t do it.
“I think that is the piece that is so lost right now (with) what is happening in the digital space and in certain sections of the media – we have forgotten about our humanity and that has got to change.”
Meghan also recapped how, at the urging of fellow panelist Katie Couric, a letter she wrote to Procter & Gamble, the massive consumer goods company, at the age of 11, changed a sexist advertisement for dishwashing liquid.
Meghan claimed that experience taught her the value of advocacy and speaking out. She addressed a live audience, saying, “Your voice is not small; it just needs to be heard.”
On the panel as well is actress Brooke Shields. jokingly said, “This is one of the ways we’re different, I was playing a prostitute when I was 11,” alluding to her history as a child actor and her part in the 1978 movie Pretty Baby.
Rare appearances
The SXSW keynote panel event was also simultaneously streamed on YouTube, with most of the comments about Meghan being overwhelmingly positive.
The Duke of Sussex and Meghan have come under heavy criticism, particularly in the UK tabloid press, after they stepped back from the Royal Family.
The pair came under closer scrutiny after an insightful Oprah interview and a Netflix documentary.
The public appearances of the couple have decreased since they established the Archewell Foundation and relocated to California. Meghan last visited the UK in September of 2022.
Much conjecture has surfaced on the internet regarding a potential comeback to the UK to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games, which were established in 2014.
The Royal Family is going through a trying time as the King receives cancer treatment and the Princess of Wales is recovering from abdominal surgery in the UK. Meghan’s most recent appearance coincides with this.
They have been put further under the microscope by the appearance of Kate Middleton’s maternal uncle, Gary Goldsmith on Celebrity Big Brother.
Goldsmith has criticised Meghan on the ITV reality show and reportedly claimed that Prince William has offered an olive branch to his brother.
On Friday evening, he became the first housemate evicted from Celebrity Big Brother on ITV.
Earlier, Prince Harry’s memoir Spare was shortlisted for the British Book Awards in two categories.
BBC\MUKTV
