None of them had seen the interview, but that didn’t stop them ripping into Meghan and Harry
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey is the hottest topic in the English speaking world at the moment, and it hasn’t even aired yet.
Teaser trailers for the interview show short clips of the couple opening up about the mental toll of being the tabloids’ main target, the lack of support they received from the rest of the royal family, and why they decided to step down from senior royal duties for a quieter life in Los Angeles.
But, and I can’t emphasise this enough, nobody has seen it yet. Other than the people who filmed and recorded the interview, nobody has watched the full broadcast, which will air in the US on Sunday night and in the UK a day later on Monday.
But that quite crucial fact has not stopped royal rent-a-gobs from criticising Harry and Meghan’s answers that neither they nor we have heard.
YouTubers Josh Pieters and Archie Manners are two of the world’s best pranksters. You might remember them for stitching up K**** H****** by giving her the 2020 ‘Campaign to Unify the Nation Trophy’ award.
In their latest stunt, the pair staged a ‘post-match’ reflection video, calling on royal experts to critique Harry and Meghan’s answers in their Oprah interview – before it even airs.
In doing so, Pieters and Manners exposed the agenda behind much of the criticism Harry and Meghan face in the press. It doesn’t matter what they do or say, they will get both barrels from the British media for daring to stand up for their right to privacy.
The Queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter, editor of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams and CNN’s Victoria Arbiter all agreed to take part in the interview, despite not having watched it.
All four commentators brazenly came out with strong opinions about the interview, under the assumption this video would be published after it aired.
They accused Meghan of ‘acting’, which seems a bit rich given the context.
Fitzwilliams said “it was not a balanced interview,” saying Oprah was “totally sympathetic” to Harry and Meghan.
This will not surprise many who are familiar with the smear campaign the couple, especially Meghan, have faced from almost the entire British media in recent months. For others, it may be a wake up call.
