On Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex made her first post-Sussexit appearance at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre in Vancouver. There was no press in attendance, but Meghan had tea with some of the workers and volunteers, and she posed for a photo which was posted to the center’s Facebook page. If she was trying to signal what her new charitable-appearance model would be, she did it well. That visit was a preview of more charitable appearances. On Wednesday, Meghan stopped by the office of Justice For Girls, a non-profit with a big scope:
Justice for Girls was formed in 1999, in response to local, national, and international calls for “girl only” programs and services that acknowledge and address the specific needs and vulnerabilities of girls, particularly in relation to homelessness, poverty, and violence. We locate our work within the overall project of women’s equality. We believe it is necessary to eliminate violence and poverty in young women’s lives in order to bring about equality. Recognizing and addressing the intersecting/interlocking forms of oppression that young women face is fundamental to our work toward ending violence against girls and young women.
According to JFG’s social media (see below), Meghan stopped by to discuss climate justice for girls and the rights of Indigenous people. This is the kind of stuff Meghan has wanted to do this whole time – even if she can’t dedicate herself full-time to women’s shelters and girls-advocacy programs, she can use her star power to raise the profiles of charities and foundations and hopefully help bring in more money and more resources. Again, to the UK: you could have had a bad bitch. But you blew it. Also, on a superficial note, I love her cable-knit sweater.
Yesterday, The Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle visited to discuss climate justice for girls and the rights of Indigenous peoples. Was great to talk about the importance of a holistic approach to social justice, and the power of young women’s leadership. #DuchessOfSussex pic.twitter.com/M9LaqEELl7
— Justice For Girls (@JFG_Canada) January 16, 2020
JFG photos courtesy of JFG’s social media, additional photos courtesy of Backgrid.
I love seeing her in control of the narrative for a change. I also love that she gets to wear what she wants to wear. She looks so relaxed and comfortable in these pics.
Isn’t that the same outfit? I bet she did two engagements on Tuesday and just publicized them on two different days so that each charity would get a full days news cycle.
Love her work, but, I hate that sweater on her. It looks pulled out of shape and I just find it an unflattering color on her. And now that she and Harry are living their best lives, I feel it’s ok to critique her fashion. I hope she burns that sweater. 🤹♀️
It is, but she may have done a Daniel Radcliff. I read he would sometimes wear the same outfit for days so his photos were worth less money. She may be doing this so less emphasis is on what she is wearing. Or she did the visits on the same day
They look like the same outfit, although she’s wearing different necklaces. One has a round pendant, and the other has more of a trefoil desire. But everything else looks the same.
LOL Maybe this is her new “Canada” uniform: sweaters, boots, and skinny jeans.
The sweater is from her Suits wardrobe too! I love it, personally.
She may have a somewhat limited wardrobe with her….in Vancouver we are getting a furious snow dump and cold snap that certainly has me wearing my cozies more than once if I haven’t spilled my soup all down my bosom. And yesterday morn I fell, spent the day in the hospital getting x-rays on my knee. Luckily, it will heal…..in 6-8 weeks. The dogs and I are hooped…
That’s what I think as well. We had a snow day on Wednesday in Vancouver and the south coast of BC. Everything was shut down, including every single school and university, so I can’t help but doubt much was going on yesterday.
The tweet from JFG was posted on Wednesday and said she visited yesterday… so she was there Tuesday as well.
she visited both charities on the same day. the other visit was just publicized sooner.
The sweater may be a bit out of shape because it’s been in the wash but so what. I bet Meghan has packed most of her stuff up and shipped to Canada, they have been planning this for a long time. When I heard that the dogs were gone, I knew that they were not coming back. The six week break over Xmas was all a smokescreen for the real news that was coming.
The final settlement over their roles will be interesting.
I’m with you, Rachael. She looks like a teenager in the top photo. Ad I want her bangles.
Don’t burn the sweater! Give it to me!!’ I love it. And I think she is so cool and awesome to show us what she was and is capable of!! Great job.
And she’s doing exactly what a royal is supposed to do. Bringing to the light important organizations for the improvement of the common people. Or else, there will be no meaning on having this kind of institution. I mean, they are beyond rich, they don’t need to earn a living, they have more houses they can use, every little need is cared for… If you don’t produce anything, what’s the point?
Maybe we are so used with bows and curtsying and nice clothes and nices vacations and parties that sometimes we forget what they really have to do. And then, someone appears to remind them and the hell breaks loose.
We’ll be seeing more great sweaters on Meghan’s Canada side, I think!
Well that spendthrisft rumour aint gonna fly, her pea brained haters should probably look somewhere else.
I think they’re both going to be so much happier in Canada.
Good! I’m glad she’s out there working, not allowing those dusty old royals to dull her shine. I hope she puts them all to shame with her work ethic.
me too, me too, me too!!!
This is my 2020 energy!
As a Royal Canadian Legion member, I couldn’t care less about Harry and Meghan leaving as long as we don’t have to pay for the security. To the folks saying we should pay? Well let me take you on a walk to ALL the Reservations up North where there’s no drinking water, or affordable healthy food! Our own third world country! I’ll be damned if we pay millions for this!
Love it and here for it.
. She probably loves being able to do this with no press, low-key – it probably has the potential to be more meaningful than showing up with the royal rota, even if that may get more press initially.
Omid said once that she made a LOT of private visits before her wedding and I wonder how many private meetings were held after her wedding. It makes it obvious that she really didn’t like the emphasis on “number of engagements” and seems determined to make a difference in other ways.
Becks, I totally agree. Number of engagements is a poor measure of impact. As someone who works in the charitable sector, I look at the quality of the media/social media attention and how it impacts awareness and donations. A lot of planning goes into working with influencers so long term, meaningful engagement with them is preferable because the public can see when a connection to a cause is authentic or not.
I was getting ready for work this morning and the Morning TV hosts were discussing (somewhat annoyed) how Meghan had seemingly ‘moved on’ leaving Harry to ‘pick up the pieces’. They were referring to her work in Canada, whilst Harry is in the Uk ironing out the details of Sussexit. Also yesterday Phil Dampier tweeted that Meghan could be supporting the Monarchy by doing this sort of work in the UK ….
The RR’s and journo’s really are salty that they have lost their prize whipping girl. It is glorious to watch them all losing their minds,
She was doing this in the UK
Except every time she did she was apparently breaking non existent protocol, had 1 million articles written about body language, told she was only doing this for attention and told she was too “Hollywood”
And don’t forget how the nasties said she had it all planned and is “just playing another role because she is an actress, after all”.
Exactly 100 %. Why hang around UK and get nitpicked the rest of your days. She looks relaxed and happy. GREAT organizations, seems like? Time will tell. I applaud her keeping her chin up during all this mayhem.
Exactly. She tried to do this kind of work in the UK and was roundly informed she wasn’t wanted. You don’t get to stomp the cake into crumbs and then complain that you don’t have any left to eat.
I think part of the issue was that if she chose to publicize her charity visits in the UK, she would have to give the exclusive to the royal rota and why would she do that when they would likely just spin it into something horrible? Now that she doesn’t have to give the rota the exclusive, she can share things how and when she likes and can control the narrative.
And in addition to all the other comments, she couldn’t have associated with these charities specifically without being told she was making royalty ‘political.’ The DES Women’s Centre and a charity that openly includes the words “feminist” in its mission statement…! “Are the shades of Pemberly to be thus polluted?” etc., etc.
Hee hee. I love that you quoted Lady Catherine there. Brilliant.
Not surprised at all they did that. Very consistent with their agenda.
Sofia said it all. The point of everything is to beat them up until they stop moving. Literaly.
Shame on the RF. If they wanted to stop all this, they would. William certainly did when his “gardening” came to light.
The monarchy is it’s own worst enemy 🙂 Here I am up in the mountains in another cold winter wearing sweatshirts or ski sweaters. I am a Neighborhood Watch Captain, who keeps an eye on my block, have a page on safety tips, introduce myself to new residents. As I’ve said, Meghan and Harry are relatable. There is so much joy in service.
Good for her. I’m glad she ditched that stodgy bunch and can have some freedom again. And she doesn’t have to dress like a schoolteacher from 1984.
Yes!
I bet you one if the many, many straws that broke the camels back was being forced to wear grandma clothes, then being criticized endlessly for it.
I made the grave mistake of clicking on that picture and ending up on twitter. The comments there were so… hateful. Cold. Twisted. Are all of us here on celebitchy wrong? It seems like the entire world is hating on her and I just don’t get why. Either the rest of the internet knows something that we don’t know (not likely) or people are just vile out there. I don’t know what’s happening anymore. I am just really worried about the future in general and the safety of this seemingly lovely young woman in particular. <3
It’s a right wing coup / takeover and Meghan is subverting the agenda as part of the establishment who does not read from the hymn sheet.
Aside the racism she faces, she is being used as an example of when establishment figures do not tow the line as concerns pre-set right wing media narratives. Celebitchy is predominantly a left leaning site and that is the disparity you are witnessing.
Meghan is a perfect focus for right wingers who are terrified of losing power.
She’s a feminist woman of colour with her own opinions who was stepping into an archaic institution that represents the Empire and colonialism.
To them, as an individual she represents their invading enemy in the culture war they think they’re fighting. That’s why she’s had such a barrage of particularly vile hatred.
There are some really hateful comments on twitter. But, I am starting to be able to weed them out immediately bc you can tell when someone just hates her and there is nothing to be done about it. Some people just buy into the fake narrative from the news and sometimes you can convince them.
One of my old HS teachers was saying over the weekend that Meghan has received such positive press, how can she complain? Another former student and I shared with her some of the headlines, and that Buzzfeed article (which is what the Sussex Squad has been pointing out for the past year) – and she was shocked. She just had no idea. She doesn’t go on twitter and she doesn’t really follow the british tabloids or reporters or anything. So she just sees the US headlines which, yes, have been relatively good for Meghan,
So I don’t think we are wrong here. It just shows you how effective the smear campaign was.
@becks1- Is this the article that you are referring to?
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/meghan-markle-kate-middleton-double-standards-royal?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bffbbuzzfeed&ref=bffbbuzzfeed&fbclid=IwAR1rwjRV4bS_hEgepL2C63UdgS7G4tbcPiXav0v8D-7bw5q_COtXkEa7lFg
It’s such a great side to side comparison of how badly she has been treated by the UK press.
@Mel – yes, that one. I like that it has gotten so much traction, but those are all things that many of us have been pointing out for years now. The sad thing though is that you could probably find another 20 headlines that show the same contrast with almost no effort.
It’s a particularly good article because even though it’s easy to point out that headlines have been vastly more negative about Meghan than Kate, showing the contrast when they do the exact same thing takes away any plausible deniability that it’s just because Kate is somehow better than Meghan.
Directly comparable actions having very different reactions are a lot harder to explain away.
God good! That Buzzfeed article is hard to argue with!!
@Mel the sad thing about that Buzzfeed article is that it took a white woman to write it before it gained traction on twitter and then because blue ticks picked it up in the mainstream. Twitter SussexSquad essentially compiled those comparisons and Ellie ran with it.
My husband read that article yesterday and was like, “Holy shit!” He knew that the coverage had been biased (I had told him plenty) but he hadn’t realized how hypocritical it was as well. His favorite for most ridiculous flip-flop was the avocado comparison.
I’ve seen the comparison images from the BuzzFeed article on Twitter but I’m now just reading it. The last segment criticizing Meghan’s fashion sounds like a page straight out of Harry Potter. It sounds just like Professor Umbridge’s start of term speech that made them all realize she was going to be trouble. Not a good look for the author.
I’ve seen Washington DC Correspondents – White House and Capitol Hill ones – retweet that Buzzfeed article. It’s sad and kinda frustrating it took this long for people to notice all this (and that it took a buzzfeed article to do it when Sussex Squad fans, most of whom were black and biracial fwiu, were the first to collect all those articles and place them side by side to show the double standard), but at least more people are becoming aware of what has been going on.
I try to remember that Twitter is not real life. Only 22% of adults in the US use twitter and then only about 10% of that is actually commentating. So we’re seeing a specific subset of folks, and there are some Megan haters concentrated there.
I think most people think good for them for ‘leaving’. Although they are still going to be royals, just minor ones. At least that was the original announcement.
@Scal this is really good to know because it can be so disheartening reading comments etc. Kaiser already has the impression that ‘the UK’ hounded them out when it was trashy tabloid newspapers and even trashier commenters that are the worst. Most of the people I know here either love H+M or don’t have an opinion one way or the other. Them leaving is a massive loss to the RF and they’re going to feel it for years to come. I used to support the royals but after Sussexit and the Andrew stuff I’d be happy to abolish the monarchy
This all the way and I wish people would stop twisting it to make it seem like the majority. This is a minority of people doing a lot of damage. The tabloids, some low life day time TV and twitter are representative of a very specific subsections of people. Unfortunately this group is also easily manipulated by the media and have way too much time on their hands.
Interesting. I was on Twitter to follow politics in the US, haven’t used it for over a year. No, to Instagram or the Daily Mail. I have local, Kern and LA news in California I follow. I find it best for me not to stay away from negative press on good and decent people.
I am an odd political moderate in the midst of very conservative people in the US. Every single woman I talk to (at church, at my daughter’s school, and in my neighborhood) is appalled at how Meghan has been treated, is fully aware of how racist and hurtful the coverage has been, is angry about it, and is grateful Meghan is now in Canada. The most common comment I get goes like this:
“I thought she’d get less of that in the UK than here. I’m shocked and my heart is broken for her.”
I’ve gotten exactly those words in various combinations from LOTS of people.
The nasty comments do NOT represent majority opinion in the US. And Twitter is a cesspool of the most outspokenly heinous people on earth. Twitter is not representative of a majority in anything except amongst Twitter users, themselves.
I did the same thing yesterday on Instagram. I was shocked by the comments I read. There are so many unhinged people out there that just do NOT get it.
@soja – same. The comments were awful. I would dismiss it as bots or internet crazies, but I’ve heard people say similar things IRL.
Twitter is filled with bots which needs to be considered as well. There is an article out there showing that 70% of the negative comments came from 20% of the accounts. There needs to be a serious crackdown on bots and fake accounts, but one of the prime beneficiaries is the mango Mussolini and until twitter is serious about getting rid of bots, it will infect all discourse on twitter.
I used to love the site Blind Gossip, but it’s so anti-Meg that it is unbearable. I cannot believe how they write about her. They are never that awful about anyone else. The motivations they ascribe to her–and I am talking the authors not just the commenters—are unhinged. At this point, that site reads like a troll farm.
I think blind gossip and enty are also on the KP payroll. I stopped reading those sites. It’s funny how they seem to know so much about the royals and never post anything about William and Kate.
I really enjoyed Blind Gossip in the past too but the author’s level of Meghan hate is extreme. And the stories are clearly made up or out of the daily mail. It would surprise me if KP were involved (though anything is possible). And they don’t print unfavorable comments, at least they’ve never printed mine. And agree the motives they ascribe to her are bizarre.
That website is run by hardcore MAGA Trump supporters. Like, big time. Their followers are the same way. They don’t attempt to hide it. So it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that they hate Meghan.
I’ve actually heard that CDAN and Blind Gossip both got purchased by some Russian company. I for sure think Enty doesn’t really run CDAN anymore. Not sure about Blind Gossip, but I’ve seen it hinted before that they can be either made to keep quiet or even spin something which have elements of truth, but aren’t telling the whole truth. (I learned this related to something not having to do with the Royal Family btw – but it was British related).
And Blind Gossip will just straight up delete some already posted gossip (even if it’s confirmed) to try and clean up someone’s image. I have some receipts on that one.
When it comes to the Meghan blinds – especially the ones on Blind Gossip – someone is paying for the spin there. Blatantly.
Agree with the comment that the trolls seem to know a whole lot about KP but suspiciously never print anything about W&K
It never used to be this right wing and the gossip on it was pretty legit (some i had confirmed from insiders). But the last few years it’s been off the rails. Shame, such a good site. I wondered if a Murdoch company or the like had bought it.
A lot of them are bot accounts, too.
People are vile, some of it is bots or trolls but she’s a convenient way for those in power and the media (conservatives needless to say) to distract from (a) Andrew / sex trafficking / systemic violence against women and, on a larger scale, (b) Brexit! Instead of Brexit the main English media conversation can now be that hideous term Megxit. As a foreigner (American / former colonies) who’s of African descent (also former colonies / empire), who immigrated to the country, she’s a stand-in for all the hatred and fear people feel for the racialized other in the form of refugees or immigrants from former colonies. It just compounds. This is the legacy of their bloody imperial centuries-long project. They hate and fear the people they can no longer subjugate and exploit. It’s baked in. It’s in the fabric of their institutions.
Then because she was divorced, was in Hollywood, has a trashtastic paternal side, is fairly self-confident and well spoken and assertive, isn’t Kate’s sidekick / maid, and is so glowy and so beautiful, she attracts even more resentment, fear, and hatred. I love Meghan’s work and her progressiveness but a lot of people are threatened by that and it is not her fault. People are racist.
Also I always had goodwill for Will and Kate. I never hated them. Now I am appalled they didn’t help and protect Harry and Meghan but I did not start by default hating anyone. I don’t find it necessary to have a scapegoat a la “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” but a lot of people need someone to hate and demean. They love the “Royal Family” for whatever reason (classism!), and they have to hate anyone they perceive as a threat. Meghan was a threat because she was so good, dare I say, better. How dare a hardworking Black American nobody even approach being better at the “job” than our white English highbred or nouveau riche princesses?
This made my morning! This is so nice to see.
She looks so much happier and content lately. I really hope this change will give them some time to just breathe.
Britain really blew it losing these two.
She genuinely looks happy with doing these visits and learning about the causes of these charities. Hopefully she will be able to work uninterrupted as said on their website.
On a petty note: RR’s having to wake up in the wee hours in the morning to tweet about Meghan visits>>>
Ha ha ha! You’re right! They complained about Meg sending them emails at 5am and now 5 am will have to be their new normal wake up to keep up with her!! Tee hee
Good for her. She looks happy and comfortable and she has the potential to do even more really great work now.
I’m beginning to see the new narrative start to be pushed, that Meghan is the lazy one who didn’t want the responsibilities of being royal, just the perks (it’s being used to paint Kate as the sainted dutiful one by contrast).
Or, in other words, a rewrite of history and an instruction to not believe your lying eyes and ears. Expect more of that.
Like all minority women she has to work twice as hard now to prove to the racist classict scums that she’s not here to be a woman of leisure enjoying being a HRH. They will still think of ways to attack her (too Hollywood! No protocols! Dangerous flowers! Earth destroying avocados!) but I think she doesn’t want them to have the satisfaction of saying she doesn’t work.
I don’t think it was ever about her feelings about their opinions of her. She came there to work and chew bubblegum, and she’s all out of bubblegum.
If she really cared about their opinions of her, she’d become a shrinking violet, Kate 2.0 wallflower, and curtsey like mad.
She bought the same line as many – that charity work is really important to the BRF. So she jumped right in. And somehow got criticized for that. So I guess charity work isn’t as important as bowing and scraping – in exactly the right way.
It’s bonkers. I agree with the Lizzo quote.
This is how it’s done. Make connections, hilight good work, show up, be relatable. TBH, she’s a natural. I’m really looking forward to seeing what she and Harry do next.
Actual headline: “Meghan Markle drops into another Vancouver women’s group to discuss ‘climate justice for girls’ – as charity boss reveals duchess’ assistant sent ‘mysterious’ email asking if she could make ‘impromptu’ visit”
They are literally criticizing her for sending an email to a charity asking if she could stop by.
These haters need to be immediately quarantined by NHS and given rabies shots. They are foaming at the mouth with hate. It’s disgusting.
How dare she be proactive and show initiative!
There’s something seriously wrong with these people’s heads.
Also how mysterious can an email be if it has a specific ask resulting in a clear result (e.g. a visit).
Ah, but at what time was that email sent! #seriousjournalism
Also, I just finished The Circle on Netflix and now I’m all in for hashtags and emojis. Send!
The U.K. will forever regret their hate campaign against the Sussex’s. We all know their is so much more to come from them. Excited to be on the journey with them and support them in anyway I can!
Yeah, the unchecked and totally unveiled, out-and-proud racism is NOT a good look on the UK.
I’m glad they’re spotlighting the intersectionality of these issues. It was violence & poverty that left me homeless as a young woman. I chose the streets over an abusive home, and once you live on the streets, EVERYTHING costs money. I do PSAs on that often: Don’t tell people not to give homeless people money. Being dollared and dimed every time you have to use the bathroom, take a shower, do your laundry, print off resumes, bus fare, buy shoes that will hold up to street life, lockers to keep your stuff in during interviews, etc etc etc keeps you broke and down. It’s a vicious cycle.
Hey Sparkly … I am so sorry that this has been part of your experience. I hope you are doing well now. XO I give food and often money to people who ask. I have a friend who is a Pastor and she says you never know when that person might be looking to change their circumstances for the better. They might need some money to do that. I hadn’t thought about the expenses all day long though. Thanks for that … xo
I always give money to the homeless. Always. I’ve been “called out” (I hesitate to use that term) for this by people before who think I’m just wasting cash. The whole, “they might just spend it on drugs,” line is so heartwrenchingly common. I always ask the people who tell me this how they can be so sure that I wouldn’t wind up spending it on drugs or alcohol either, and why does the fact that I have a roof over my head make it okay? They usually sputter and say that homeless people don’t work, to which I point out that plenty of them do in fact work, but still can’t afford housing, so what then?
I will always give money. I still remember watching a homeless man desperately begging a woman for some change for the bus. She had made him come with her into a fast food restaurant where she was making a big, self-important deal about buying him a meal. He kept protesting, asking her for some bus fare, and she just kept ignoring him as she tried to get him a burger instead. He gave up and started going around, asking the customers if they had some change. It was awful to watch. I still regret not having any money to give him. Having the choice to spend your cash however you like is an affirmation of a person’s dignity, and you can’t put a price tag on that.
I’m so sorry you had to go through that, I hope things are much better for you now.
Thank you, everyone! I am very happy to own my own home and have the wonderful, loving family that I always wanted. I appreciate everyone’s good wishes. And I definitely appreciate knowing that sharing my experiences helps others learn, and then good comes of it.
@A (and all) – I actually found food to be the easiest thing to get for free, followed by offers of drugs and alcohol. People don’t realize how easy that is to get on the streets! Especially alcohol, which, sadly, many people have to use to help feel warm on cold nights. I did start smoking around that time tbh, because people would give them for free and it helped with the stress. Luckily I quit after a short time.
I’ve had altercations with people over food that I never asked for, too. A lady gave me a bag from McD’s, which I was very grateful for and appropriately fawning. Unfortunately, McD hamburgers give me diarrhea, and when you don’t have a home for privacy/hygiene and have to buy something every time you want to use a bathroom, that’s not a good thing to have. I did have my dog, because I wouldn’t leave her to abuse (my stepdad had already killed one of my pets) and I felt safer as a 19 yo on the streets when I had my dog to protect me. I always fed her before I ate, so I gave her the burger I could not eat and happily munched on the fries, and the lady was SO OFFENDED. She made a big fuss about my ungratefulness to anyone around to hear. She’d been walking to her car and stayed extra just to make a presentation of it. I had just been sitting down nearby to rest as I walked 4 miles with my pup and had never begged in my life. You have no place to go regain your dignity when people come at you like that.
Sparkly, I am so sorry that you had to go through that. I was homeless with 2 kids for a short while and it was the most difficult time of my life. I am so glad that you are in a better place and are happy.
Thank you, MeghanNotMarkle! I hope you guys are too. <3
Nothing against her and Harry personally and as a Canadian I say they are more than welcome in principle. But I have to reserve final judgement until we know for sure that Canadian tax payers would not be covering their bills.
As of this morning no one has an answer to the question of whether they will hire private security or if the federal government (tax payers) will pay the bill.
I think it would be in very poor taste, and would be self sabotage, if they plan on having Canada cover their expenses, which is why I don’t think it will happen. They appear to be too smart for that. But crazier things have happened before so I am still not sure if I am for this move or not.
I understand but we have to wait because Canada has to deal with Iran now and security issues take a while to plan.
No one has an answer on security because it’s still being worked out
As the initial statement said, these are complex issues that will take time to work out.
It most likely won’t be sorted out in weeks or days
I’d be okay paying 50% for the first year for when she’s out in public, because there have been death threats, and whilst they get things sorted out if some crazy managed to take her out on Canada’s watch, well, that would just be awful. Or maybe till the elections in the US are done, and there is a different president. So if an RCMP stands by her during public site visits, I’m okay with 50% till they get themselves organized…till January, 2021
As others have pointed out yesterday, H&M won’t be able to just have private security because private security firms aren’t connected to real law enforcement or intelligence services. It’s more likely that Canada will agree to cover X cost for security and in return H&M have to invest X amount in Canada.
We also have fairly strict gun laws here. Security guards don’t get to be armed.
Canada is in the midst of a horrific situation where 57 of our citizens were shot down out of the air. Can you understand the diplomatic nightmare Trudeau is dealing with when we don’t even have a relationship with Iran and have to fight to get people on the ground who can investigate and get answers. How do you get mangled bits of bodies DNA identified and home to their families? What kind of reparation is Iran prepared to pay to those families? It’s a nightmare and that is why the security issue is going to languish for a while. So what if 2 or 3 bucks eventually manages to be allotted out of my tax return to security? This seems to be a silly bandwagon that a whole bunch of uninformed people have jumped on without knowing anything about it.
They sound like a Twitter crowd.
If you read my original post you will see that I am more than happy to wait for clarification to on the subject. But no, I am not happy to pay anything to support them because I don’t think it’s justified personally.
Also Iran has nothing to do with it.
I think at present, while the details are being worked out, their security expenses are still being covered by the Duchy of Cornwall. I imagine that the Duchy (and Charles) will continue to pay for their security expenses during the transition period, after which they’ll start paying for it themselves. That’s just me spitballing though.
At any rate, the RCMP regularly fires on indigenous protesters and commits acts of violence and police brutality and covers up sexual assault and harassment against other officers in their own ranks. They do all of this while on the tax payer money. They get paid by the hard earned money of their fellow citizens to do nothing but twiddle their thumbs while a serial killer murdered 20 odd women in BC and indigenous women were dealing with violence at an alarming rate. And yet, no one questions any of this, but people will rise up in arms at the mere suggestion that there might be tax payer money going towards funding security for Meghan and Harry. Interesting.
I love this! She looks wonderful and is using her profile to highlight the work of some stellar organizations. I wonder how she is selecting them and if her time volunteering in women’s shelters in Toronto has given her some good contacts to national actors in the space? I say this as someone who sat on a policy board at a Rape Crisis Centre in one of Canada’s major cities because when I moved to Toronto, I found I had mutual contacts with a ton of people in that space so I am wondering if she was able to leverage the insights of some of her contacts to hit the ground running and connect with amazing causes?
I can’t wait for their foundation to launch because I am eager to see what Harry and Meghan can do with a little more breathing room for their work. I am really happy they are away from the horrid British press and it must seem like such a relief for her right now. I’m sure the British press will continue to lie but now that Harry and Meghan can control their own narratives more it must be less of a worry.
Good for her! I’m sure not being restricted in the causes she feels passionate about and can shine a light on is such a weight off, on top of not being restricted in her attire. Like what was commented above, she looks comfortable and more relaxed (and forget the sweater, as nice as it is, I want those boots!).
Can anyone explain me why her story was reversed. Usually the gf treatment is hateful yet she got great press and after the wedding and specially during the pregnancy the press went ballistic.
Lillie it was jealousy and racism. At first, she wasn’t loved and threatening … then the cookbook. Then she was opinionated and smart and assertive … not quiet and demure. She worked and made William look awful. He was furious. Hence the smear campaign. She was beloved and lovely and working hard. Basically she outshone everyone in a family known for horrid, petty jealousy.
I wouldn’t say she got great press. The media were pretty hateful from the moment it was discovered they were dating onwards. There was a very slight let up on the actual day of the wedding, but barely.
There was a definite increase though, around their tour. It’s been speculated that it could have been because of her pregnancy (effectively linking get to the RF forever) or the balcony moment (can’t risk them overtaking the heir), but from there it’s just spiralled.
IMO it was cause the UK press thought it was a fling and Harry would never marry her for *reasons*
Exactly!
‘Straight out of Compton’ headlines and jokes she’d pull a knife or gun on Kate are ‘great press’? In which MAGAT universe?
The amazing, and by amazing I mean despicable, thing about the British press is that they came out with their guns blazing the minute the relationship was announced, and surely, one might have think they could not go any lower than comparing Meg’s mom to a gang member basically… And yet, they have managed to exceed my worst expectations in terms of racism and misogynoir.
She got horrible gf treatment as soon as it went public. Harry wrote the first letter to tell the press to back off before engagement announcements, because that was when I became certain they planned to marry. He let them know from the start that he wasn’t allowing that horrible abuse, and they quadrupled down on it and got infinitely worse in part because they didn’t like being called out.
Also, I really LOVE her new Canada look!!!! I hope she has a puffy jacket. XO Ooooooh, a red one.
She lived in Canada for seven years, this is not a new look for her, I’m sure there are pictures of her in Canada with Doria wearing this coat carrying a yoga mat.
Yes, Meghan is back to the casual chic look she does so well.
Go on Duchess! You are inspiring.
I thought the hate and smearing was bad before. But now? I can only imagine how excruciatingly painful it is for Meghan as she’s “damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t”. Where is all the vitriol coming from? Too many ignoramuses and racists with internet access? Why can’t they be stopped? Why do people think it’s okay to say and write some of the things they do? Would they do this to Meghan’s face?!? And what would they say if they were in her place?
I have lots of questions and few answers. And, I’m probably more bothered by all of this than I should be. T—p bothers me. The constant lies. The garbage stories. The rise of the right across the world. So much we can’t control and yet… Many of us have access to computers and many of us have a choice in how we use them… So why do so many choose to use this freedom for awfulness?
Meghan has already told us how isolated she felt. That not many people asked her if she was okay. And now she’s retreated across the ocean and has chosen to put her energy into her charitable work. I don’t think this is only because the work is meaningful to her. I think it is also likely that she continues to struggle herself – and one of the best ways to combat this is to focus attention on others.
I was heartened to see this story (https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/an-easy-choice-bc-charter-turns-down-paparazzi-seeking-photos-of-harry-and-meghans-pad/ar-BBYXzZ7?li=AAggFp5) yesterday and I hope there will be more of these small but shining moments for H & M.
“Where is all the vitriol coming from? Too many ignoramuses and racists with internet access? … So why do so many choose to use this freedom for awfulness?”
1. Racism and sexism
2. People like to move as a group, and the narrative is being driven by the same group that already hated her (see point 1).
3. No one likes changing their mind. New information that conflicts with an opinion is discarded by most people.
It’s sad for Meghan and Harry, but I agree that this is disastrous for the world.
Thanks Betsy, I hear you on all points. FWIW, I think that Meghan is doing the right things.
I think Piers Morgan is a great example of point 3. He is impossible.
“Where is all the vitriol coming from? Too many ignoramuses and racists with internet access? … So why do so many choose to use this freedom for awfulness?”
Because the British people especially, in this instance, are being sold a lie. They’ve been sold a particular lie over the last few years, which states that if the country would just get rid of the immigrants, the migrant workers, the brown people, the black people, the Europeans, and everyone else, they’ll be better for it. Get rid of anyone who isn’t white and British and everything will soon be okay. Jobs will come back, communities ravaged by poverty caused by austerity will flourish again as soon as all of those non-British leeches get “sent back to where they came from.” Because it’s all their fault, they’re pouring in through the borders and because of freedom of movement, they’re stealing all the jobs and sitting at home and doing nothing and stealing all the benefits too, all while the hard working, poor white Little Englander has to struggle because he had the misfortune of having to stand near a black person and maybe listen to a someone having a conversation that’s not in English while waiting in line at the Tesco.
But the funny thing is, for all their shrieking about how Meghan and Harry should just pack up and leave if they don’t like it in Britain, they’re equally as pissed about them doing just that. “How dare these people do the thing that we’ve been telling them to do all this time??? How dare they renege on their commitment to being the punching bag for our cultural anxieties???? Don’t know they know anything about loyalty!??!” they yell, and huff and type out angrily on Twitter. Because the truth of the matter is, these people need them, even if they won’t admit it. They need them in the same way the racists and the ethnonationalists in Britain need minorities, if only to serve as a scapegoat for their anger. Because the truth is, even if all of the minorities were to pack up their bags and leave Britain tomorrow, these people still wouldn’t be happy. They’d be left with the truth, which is that the minorities weren’t the problem, in the same way Meghan and Harry weren’t the problem. The problem was always their own selves.
I’m a Brit and this is so spot on I want to quote it on every platform available. The right wing politicians and press have managed to hoodwink the British people so well that they don’t understand that Westminster hates anything outside London and Aristos and don’t give a damn if the public all withers away. I knew we were damned when an ex-miner told the BBC that ‘it had been terrible for ages so he was voting Tory for change’ – despite the fact that the Tories have been the ones in power for 10 years.
The public has genuinely been gaslit into being morons by the media. It’s horrific.
If that women’s center works and shelters women who are fleeing domestic violence, press would not have been welcome at all because of potential danger to the women served at the center. That’s also why she’s posing only with staff and volunteers and not the women using the center.
Very good point.
I’m looking forward to the clever ideas she comes up with to help these charities. With the Together cookbook, she helped raise more than GBP500,000 for the Hubb kitchen. Through her clothing collection, SmartWorks got more than a year’s worth of clothing to help underprivileged women trying to enter/re-enter the workforce. Her advocacy is super creative and leads to tangible results.
Again, she’s great and looks great! I also love that sweater so much!
I loved her pre-Duchess style so I am excited to see her free to wear what she wants again, and free to do what she wants too.
It was mentioned Meghan had an interest in politics. She could become a congresswoman in LA County. We’d love to have her and she would have no problem finding volunteers to work on her campaign.
Kaiser, the sweater is old. She actually wore it on Suits.
I’m so glad she is able to do what she’s wanted to do when she wanted without worrying about stepping on anyone’s toes. The Rota wake up to her endeavors, instead of painting a narrative before, during and after them.
I wonder if she often bought one for her, one for her character as some actresses do. If they like the style the show stylist, or they themselves, created for the character, they’d shop for personal and work wardrobes at the same time.
Glad someone has stolen that Jen and Brad thunder. Go girl. The media is gonna go full bloom in Harry and Megan,
I sure hope not but its likely we will be paying for their security so my hope is they will help charities in all parts of Canada not just the Vancouver area. Go to Saskatoon in -40. Saskatoon is beautiful by the way. Go to rural areas. Go to the Yukon. Go to the Maritimes. Explore Canada if you want to live here. There is much more to Canada than Vancouver and Toronto. It would be all Canadian taxpayers paying.
I would be fascinated to travel to all those places. My guess is she will, though this week she’s probably just eager to have her family back in one house.
I would be fascinated to travel to all those places. My guess is she will, though this week she’s probably just eager to have her family back in one house.
It would be a smart for them to encourage Canada-wide travel in Harry’s Travalyst initiative too. The point of that work is to increase travel to less-busy, smaller destinations often overlooked by tourists.
Ugh as a Canadian I’m getting really sick of every article on Meghan ending up with these stupid “my taxes blargh blargh blargh security” comments – please just stop. I’m Canadian and frankly I’d much rather my taxes went to H&M’s security rather than to our increasingly militarized police force. Maybe if the RCMP had less money they wouldn’t be blocking supplies/access for the Wet’suwet’en.
I’m starting to feel that “my taxes” is another racism dogwhistle, maybe those commentators would be happier on the daily fail site with your fellow trolls…
I said this yesterday but it is amazing how many Canadians all of a sudden want their taxes to go to Indigenous communities vs Meghan and Harry’s security.
They been pretty damn quiet about directing monies to Indigenous people for the last 153 years. And even quieter about profiting from stealing their land, resources and lives.
If settlers start demanding Indigenous Canadians are treated as fair and full members of our country over this, I’ll be ecstatic for my tax money to go to them.
@yokohno the majority of my post was about the diversity and beauty of Canada. Comments on here often end up calling people racist too. That is a stretch. I have a Cree sister in law, niece and great nieces all of whom I dearly love.
@ Charfromdarock
There are plenty of Canadians who have been fighting for Indigenous rights for many, many years. I don’t know where you are getting your info from. Also, as Canadians, we have the right to complain about where our tax dollars go. M & H are way low on the list of priorities for tax dollars…sorry. It has nothing to do with her being Black (of course there are always some racists). I’m a brown immigrant myself and I can think of a million better things for tax dollars to be spent on. By the way the RCMP has been protecting Meghan since she landed in Canada. They have quite a few of the officers watching outside her house.
@Lindas….i see what you did there…”I can’t be racist, my best friend is Black.” SMH.
@Charmfromdarock. It’s the same in the US. Whenever US money is allotted towards refugees or anything “left leaning” suddenly people are concerned about homeless veterans. Wheres the fundraising and protesting when it’s not political topic? People I know personally who have never contributed a dime or a second of their time to any causes are suddenly online activists come any talk of tax payers money being spent.
Not saying that’s the case with all canadian celebitchy commentors. I know some people put their money where there mouth is. But many people do not and only think about these things when it’s a headline.
@Charfromdarock, I noticed the same thing. I can’t help wondering how it is that things are so bad for Indigenous Canadians when there’s apparently so much concern for them. I don’t know where all that undrinkable water, unlivable housing, poor education is coming from apparently scores of ‘Canadian taxpayers’ are committed to making sure their tax dollars go to help the indigenous population.
I spoke to a friend of mine who does a lot of work with indigenous Canadians and she hasn’t seen a sudden influx of money but maybe the cheque is in the mail.
Or we could spend the tax money on health care and education maybe? When my dad was sick the cancer center in our city was simply overwhelmed. Sometimes we would go in for a blood transfusion and have to wait nearly an hour for a bed or a nurse to be free. One time he ended up having it done in a chair because there were no beds available. What I saw those two years made me make a private donation to the hospital after he passed.
Since then there have been even more budget cuts and its even worse in education where two relatives of mine have been let go from their positions as teachers due to downsizing.
Man I even know a person who works two jobs and still needs to go to the food bank sometimes.
Granted all of this is in Ontario.
Now none of this applies to me. I have a good job and am blessed to be in a good position financially, but the point is, yes, there are better places to put our tax money then paying the security bill for rich people who have chosen to move to our country (people who I happily welcome with open arms mind you, but people who can afford to pay their own way and should do so).
Now before you accuse me of being a secret racist, ask yourself, would you be perfectly fine paying more in taxes (not for education or healthcare) but for private security for say, William and Kate, if they decided to live in Canada six months of the year
Thank you. This taxes stuff is being blown out of proportion and will be used as ammunition against them, as if they have not suffered enough.
@Tpoe, if you’re from Ontario and complaining about the state of your healthcare, then your problem isn’t the fact that your tax payer money is funding Meghan and Harry’s security. Your problem is the fact that your provincial government is making sh-tty decisions and defunding public services at an alarming rate. If you think that’s a problem that can be solved by diverting the few million MIGHT possibly go towards H&M’s security, then yes, you are being purposefully obtuse and pointing a finger at an issue that has absolutely nothing to do with the causes of the problem at hand, which is Doug Ford and his pack of f-cking thieves that he’s staffed the cabinet with. The fact that you conveniently omitted that information from your comment, didn’t talk about how consecutive Liberal and Conservative provincial governments have been doing f-ck all to fund our schools and health care, going all the way back to Mike Harris, is very very telling to me. You might not be a secret racist, but you’re not ignorant either. You’re choosing facts to suit your own narrative, and that’s very obvious.
@ME, again, I think it’s enormously interesting how you repeatedly complain about tax payer money funding the RCMP protection for Meghan and Harry, but you don’t have the same type of ire for tax payer money funding the RCMP to shoot at indigenous protesters. I can guarantee that they’re getting paid FAR more to either ignore and fail to protect indigenous people in Canada, if not actively harm them, than they’ll ever be paid for protecting Meghan and Harry. But somehow, for someone who cares so deeply about the indigenous, this somehow never seems to be a problem for you. People are well within their rights to call you out for your repeated hypocrisy on this front. The First Nations people in Canada don’t need your two faced support. You either care for them wholeheartedly, which means opposing any cent of tax payer money that goes towards actively hurting their communities, or you don’t. You don’t get to pick and choose based on your own personal tastes.
This made me smile. I’m glad she’s doing what she enjoys, she just seems a lot more happier and carefree.
Sending them all the positive vibes out there.
Sending some with you. I hope she reads this page so she can feel our vibes 🙂
Can someone explain to me what the constitutional issues are regarding her visits? That seems to be the latest gripe against her. She didn’t get permission from either the Queen or Canadian government to undertake meetings in Canada. I’m at a loss because she’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex regardless of her senior royal status. My God, they just want to strip her of everything and punish her for existing.
This is one article that tries to explain some of the issues I think you’re asking about. The issue is larger than Harry and Meghan, but about Canada’s distant relationship to the Crown and what having any members of the BRF living here means for Canada as a sovereign country with the Queen as head of state. I’m not sure if this article helps though.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/editorials/article-harry-and-meghan-and-why-members-of-the-royal-family-cant-live-in/
Simply put, the extended Royal Family have no specific legal status in Canada, If Harry and Meghan do decide to live at least part-time in Canada, they would have “no ability to exercise any constitutional function of the monarch” as only the Queen is recognized as having the capacity to act formally. If Harry and Meghan follow through with their plan and step down as “senior royals” their royal titles can remain intact. They actually speak about it on their website: “There is precedent for this structure and applies to other current members of the Royal Family who support the monarch and also have full time jobs external to their commitment to the monarchy.” For example, if Beatrice and Eugenie don’t work on a commercial basis, i.e. they don’t seek payment for sponsorship deals with brands, they can retain their titles. If, however, they plan to work with brands as influencers, there’s a strong chance they’ll have to give up their titles unless the Queen makes an exception to the rule.
B & E’s daddy however, can do what he wants.
@Lady D – let’s hope it doesn’t involve diddling with underage girls.
She looks relaxed, radiant and I love that she is letting the charities do their own press on her behalf. I AM SO HERE FOR THIS.
We got your back Meghan!
(Hoping she checks in to Celebitchy daily).
Lots on here sure don’t😕 so tired of hearing from outraged taxpayers worrying about nothing.
Looks like she came to Canada and ‘hit the ground running’.
I think the fact Meghan is doing so many events in Canada is kind of preparing Canadians for when it’s announced Trudeau would cover the costs of their security. And I think it’s a bad move, nothing against Harry & Meghan, but I do believe the conservatives would use this against him, even if some of the people who support them might be royalists, they support fiscal conservatism more than anything & although I’m not a fan of Trudeau & I wished that Singh won the election, Trudeau is still better than anything the Conservatives have to offer & Harry & Meghan could affect him in the next elections. Also, I don’t know how many Canadians would support Meghan & Harry being their Kate & William, bc that’s what it looks like they’re going to become. I thought they would become private citizens, but it’s looking more like they’re going to try to become the Canadian royal family.
Meghan and Harry aren’t swanning into Canada with their Crown and Tiara glowing as you’re suggesting. They are NOT trying to become the Canadian royal family, they will actually have no royal-adjacent duties unless the Queen orders them to, in which case they will likely happen back in the UK or other commonwealth countries. They are both financially independent and have repeatedly stated that that’s what they will continue to be. Furthermore politics has no place in this argument, nor does who won the election, so I don’t understand your statement that they’re trying to be Canada’s Kate an William, they’d be run out of town if that were the case. They have made it quite clear that while they’re here they will be seeking out ways to highlight certain charities and continue the good work they started back in the UK.
People are so keen to jump all over whatever silly conspiracy theory is circulating around or float their own unhinged opinions about what their plans are. Why don’t we just wait and see what unfolds after Trudeau has worked through the more important issues at hand – the loss of 57 Canadian lives in a heartbreaking disaster.
I’m not Canadian so don’t know the politics behind this. However, Canada shares a border with the land of the 2nd Amendment and AR15s. If something happened to the Sussexes up there and it was because of a security issue, which nation would get the blame? As stated, these are complex issues and take time. The crown can afford the security and it shouldn’t be compromised due to sour grapes,especially from the same people who created this frenzy of hate and contributed to this situation in the first place. Honestly, if they take any funding from the crown, it should be security,because they will be stalked and they receive threats on a daily basis. They never indicated they expect the Canadian government to pay for anything.
Great comment, thanks.
You keep attacking the opinion that isn’t yours and justifying it with the Iran situation. Discussing whether or not our taxes will cover the costs for rich people who choose to live in our country is a valid discussion worth having and it has nothing whatsoever to do with Iran.
So private citizens can’t do charity work in Canada? Is that how it works? And if Trudeau loses the election then it’s Harry &Meghans fault because they visited charities like William and Kate? Man your arms must be 10 feet long from all of that reaching.
@Pamela, someone already mentioned that Prime Minister Trudeau is working on how to get the mangled bodies of 57 murdered Canadians home to their loved ones. I have a pretty good hunch he’s not sweating Harry and Meghan AT ALL. And the ‘Canadians’ who are up in arms about tax dollars being spent on the Sussex family have never and will never vote for him, so I doubt the PM is sweating those folks either. Those people voted for Scheer, and a fat lot of good it did them.
Also, Harry and Meghan could NEVER be the ‘Kate and William’ of Canada. They’re much too interesting and work much too hard.
@ kerwood you have been spot on with all your comments. This taxpayer “concern” is just dog whistling, especially when we have no idea who is paying for what.
The Conservatives will only use this as an attack against Trudeau, and people will see through it for the craven stupidity that it actually is. The Conservatives have no leg to stand on when it comes to this issue. They only care about it because it might hurt Trudeau, not because they give a sh-t about Canadian tax payers. We all know that they’d be eager and willing to roll out the red carpet for the royals if it were anyone else. They think people don’t see right through them when they choose to use these issues to score political points with their base. They’ll “protest” the idea of the government funding their security, but they somehow are very very silent when it comes to subsidizing the fossil fuel industry and lining the pockets of its CEOs.
Ohh the conservatives in Canada are scum. There’s no denying that. They are all about distraction and bs while they do their best to turn our country into Trump’s America. What’s worse is that they used to be just selfish, greedy and racist. Now they are selfish, greedy, racist and incompetent to boot (one need only look at the Ford government, which, I truly believe, through its incompetence, saved us from PM Scheer).
Sis is right back to work. Not sitting at home, she’s showing, not telling. Two women-centered organizations in a row. Making a statement.
I think anything in the next few months will be toward the foundation, and the types of organizations they want to work with. Also signalling that she is serious about the goals stated in their statement. I think what’s most frustrating for both fans and detractors is that they are both so hard to read in a lot of ways and we have no idea what they are doing until it’s done (both a positive and sometimes not so great). They’re still writing the playbook and there are no rules in place yet. Its both frustrating and exciting.
The more I see her, the more I like her.
I usually don’t comment on Meghan’s appearance because she seems more of a “substance” person, making her appearance immaterial. But I wanted to say, I think she looks fresh, energetic, and engaged. By comparison, look at how William and Kate appear at events — dull, bored, and tired. And I know I shouldn’t “judge” a woman by her appearance, but Kate’s own people said she wants to make her statements through her appearance, so I think it is fair to judge Kate by that standard.
All Kate is is her appearance, so it’s open season. She’s done nothing but show that her looks are all she has and all she plans to focus on. *shrug*
I don’t understand the hate for this woman. She is so into helping people. Too bad the British racist media can’t see what they are losing.
Sounds the the British “racist media” have some Canadian brethren.
The british want to cut this biracial princess out of history. It’s pathetic. Humans are pathetic.
It’s just racists the world over. I have some friends here (one white and one Puerto Rican) who have been just awful about Meghan and I’ve had to take some steps back from them. One actually called her a “tart” yesterday. My jaw hit the floor. I don’t understand that level of hate for another human being (other than 45. I can totally get on board there.)
Were her cookbook and clothing projects considered Royal work?
I believe it was. The money went to charity didn’t it?
Yes.
The HATE for this women is sickening to see. I cant believe that Canadian commentators are ignoring their statement+queens statement saying they’ll be OFF public funds (meaning both uk and commonwealth unless on tour or representing the queen).
Without even a confirmation, you people are unnecessarily going around b#%ng about something that might not happen!!! Its infuriating to see Canadian channels repeating trashy uk press’s lies and hosting people like katie Nichols to spread poison about Meghan😡
I know what you mean. But you have to trust in any group there’s always going to be atleast one good person that can see through the nonsense, and in Canada theres are a lot of them.
The CBC mentioned having a panel of Constititutional experts and royal insiders/experts on at the end of the week. If Katie Nicholls is one of them then CBC has lost a huge amount of credibility. Seriously, the only thing worse would be Piers Morgan or that guy at the Sun – Wooten?
She looks canadian. Good looking people!
Meghan looks so happy and natural in this environment. She can wear whatever she wants to wear, go wherever she wants to go, and promote ideas without such heavy restrictions. How anyone can hate on H&M for this is beyond me.