By the end of their African tour last year, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were clearly done dealing with the British press outlets the same old way as other royal households. The Sussexes launched two lawsuits, sort of. Meghan separately sued the Mail on Sunday for publishing parts of her letter to her father. Harry joined an ongoing lawsuit against the Daily Mirror and other British tabloids for all of the wiretapping and illegal recording they had done on him for years. By the time Harry and Meghan announced their Sussexit in January, they clearly formed a plan to reject the “Royal Rota” almost entirely – the rota consisting of the Mail, Sun, Mirror, Express, etc. And now they’re making it even clearer:
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have told the editors of British tabloid newspapers that they will never again deal with their outlets, in an unprecedented direct attack on a large part of the media that leaves little chance of repairing the relationship. On Sunday night Prince Harry and Meghan sent a letter to the editors of the Sun, Daily Mail, Mirror and Express saying that from now on they would not respond to any inquiries from journalists working for the outlets. Instead there will be a policy of “zero engagement”, except when necessary through the couple’s lawyers.
In a strongly worded attack, the duke and duchess said they refused to “offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion” and accused the outlets of running stories that are “distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason”. The move is designed to signal to the wider public not to trust any of the reporting about the couple carried by British tabloids. It comes as Meghan prepares to take on the Mail on Sunday in a court case over its decision to print a letter she sent to her estranged father, with a virtual hearing scheduled to take place on Friday.
In the letter Harry and Meghan tell the editors that they believe a free press is a cornerstone to any democracy that can “shine light on dark places, telling stories that would otherwise go untold, standing up for what’s right, challenging power, and holding those who abuse the system to account”. The message from their representatives says: “It is gravely concerning that an influential slice of the media, over many years, has sought to insulate themselves from taking accountability for what they say or print – even when they know it to be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason. When power is enjoyed without responsibility, the trust we all place in this much-needed industry is degraded.
“There is a real human cost to this way of doing business and it affects every corner of society. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know – as well as complete strangers – have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue.”
Addressing the editors directly, the letter continues: “With that said, please note that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be engaging with your outlet. There will be no corroboration and zero engagement. This is also a policy being instated for their communications team, in order to protect that team from the side of the industry that readers never see. This policy is not about avoiding criticism. It’s not about shutting down public conversation or censoring accurate reporting. Media have every right to report on and indeed have an opinion on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, good or bad. But it can’t be based on a lie.”
The couple’s representatives said they are happy to engage with other outlets, especially grassroots and new media outlets, “to spotlight issues and causes that so desperately need acknowledging … What they won’t do is offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.”
I think this is mostly a good thing, although unconventional. By saying that they will not engage with those tabloids – the Mail, Sun, Mirror and Express – it seems to mean that they will not even bother to deny the most unhinged stories or issue any kind of statement or confirmation if one of those tabloids gets something right. No engagement means no engagement. And while those some tabloids will complain about it, there’s really nothing new here, or nothing to be done? Those tabloids lost access in January, and their lack of access was confirmed when the Sussexit was formalized on April 1st. This is basically just a reminder from Harry and Meghan: by the way, we f–king hate you guys. That being said… of course those same tabloids are going to run crazy stories about Harry and Meghan. Because… the tabloids were rarely getting information from House Sussex anyway, they were getting info from Clarence House, Buckingham Palace and Willileaks at Kensington Palace.
NEW: In a Sunday night letter, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have written to editors of the four major British tabloids – The Sun, Daily Express, Daily Mirror and Daily Mail – promising never to work with them again, barring all access into the future. The letter in full: pic.twitter.com/V4CWc8jKu5
— Mark Di Stefano (@MarkDiStef) April 19, 2020
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Hahahahaha hahahahaha
Fantastic move.
My absolute favorite part–“The couple’s representatives said they are happy to engage with other outlets, especially grassroots and new media outlets, “to spotlight issues and causes that so desperately need acknowledging … What they won’t do is offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.”
We’re delighted to work with REAL journalists who write credibly…just not YOU because you’re the worst. 🙂
Right?!!!! So good.
I just saw on DailyCancelled that they are calling it censorship. I busted out laughing.
Yeah, no. Not censorship. They can write whatever they want. They just will not be engaged with. Must suck to be them. LOL
It seems fantastic, for sure. The Sussexes have stopped dealing with the gutter press, but I very much doubt that the gutter press has stopped dealing with them. It beggars belief that many, many people still love reading (and believing) their rubbish stories.
Wow! They laid the hammer down! I loved every word of this statement. Won’t threadjack about their response to the lawsuit that came out today, but those papers are going down!
What a Monday.
Couldn’t agree more RoyalWatcher and Kaiser. I think they just said loud and clear —- once again —- that no one who is on their team — communications, family, friend or source —- will ever be speaking to them as well. My favorite take: The only ones that will engage with them is their lawyers. This letter will get even more press than their official spokesman saying weeks ago that going forward no one spoke for them except them. Even after that the RR was “quoting” royal sources and palace spokesmen….knowing that it clearly wasn’t coming from them. I also think it says loud and clear that they have no intention of rolling back into the royal family fold a year from now. Why would they go back to having to deal with any of this!
Unfortunately I think the papers will be just fine – they can still run scurrilous stories without M&H “engaging” with them. If anything, this will probably make them write more out of spite!
Yes, but we will now know for sure that they are faking their sources.
hahahaha, great statement!
Question for those in the know: Why does the rota only consist of crappy tabloids? Considering how seriously they take themselves, wouldn’t the BRF prefer working with real journalists? I can’t understand why they privilege such crap-tacular publications…
I think it’s because they’re the outlets that cover the royals the most. Correct me if I’m wrong since I’m an American, but The Guardian mentions them occasionally, when something important happens, and I believe The Times operates that way as well.
The only comparison I can really think of is that here in the US, if I wanted to read about Jennifer Aniston, I would buy US or In Touch magazines, not the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal. But again I’m not British so it’s only my guess and others here might know more.
What’s curious to me is how much more influence the tabloids seem to have in the UK. The real news here never covers the nonsense printed in the tabloids like US or The Enquirer or whatever, but in the UK their royal stories tend to gain more traction in the mainstream media.
Your last paragraph is part of the reason for this statement, I think. I couldn’t name you one person who writes for the Enquirer. You would certainly never see one of those “reporters” on a morning show to provide “insight” on a current event, no matter how gossip-based that event is, unless the “reporter” is outing the Enquirer for “catch and kill” or something.
Tabloids in the UK aren’t exactly analogous to tabloids in the US. The Daily Mail is a hugely influential, major daily newspaper which millions of people read. They cover all the major news events that all other papers cover; not just celeb and royal gossip. It’s not considered to be on a par with the National Enquirer. They have a heavy right wing bias, but unfortunately millions of people do consider them a “proper” newspaper.
And the newspaper culture in the UK is very different than in the US. The UK has always had a very rich culture of printing newspapers. Newspapers were always far more influential and a much bigger part of British culture, than in America, and until print media started to die, Britain had far, far more national newspapers than America. Even today the press here are so powerful, which I don’t get the sense is true of America.
Here in the UK, the equivalent of the National Enquirer is celebrity gossip magazines, like Heat and Closer. Those publications cover the royals too, but no one pays them much attention.
The Mail is dangerous because it’s a major newspaper acting like a celeb gossip rag, but with extra racism and right wing extremism.
@Meganbot – I get that, mostly. I think your last paragraph is exactly the problem in this kind of situation.
In my Spanish speaking country, you can see sensationalist headlines and articles translated from those tabloids. They are doing that for the clicks, of course. Recently they said something about Meghan’s listed occupation, and how it was newly
revealed in their child’s birth certificate. As if the document wasn’t obtained almost a year ago. They target unsuspecting people who will buy what they sell and it is all rooted in tabloids. Then they bet they will keep consuming those lies. Thet also happens with American tabloids.
Agree Becks1 And the fact that these British tabloids break the law constantly by continued phone hacking. They also knowingly print lies and make stuff up, which no truly legitimate news source gets away with.
FWIW, I was in London the week Prince Andrew “retired” and it was on the front page of the Times, along with an inner section with a detailed bio whose thesis was basically “Here’s how he’s always behaved and why he turned out to be such an idiot.” It was highly entertaining.
I was just thinking this myself as I was reading this article. I wonder if it’s because they are really the only ones interested in the royals on such an obsessive level. Other real/more legitimate newspapers are probably writing about more important things. So the relationship between the BRF and tabloids, traditionally, was mutually beneficial…they needed the tabloids to get their faces in front of the masses and tabloids wanted to make money. However things are completely out of control now and I’m convinced the tabloids have a huge amount of tangible dirt on Will’s Wandering Willy and so now they can basically blackmail him into continuing with the Rota. Otherwise why wouldn’t all royals want to do away with that terrible system?!
Blackmail? Of course! I assume William, Kate, Carole, and Andrew are now cut off from info about Harry and Meghan, so they will have no tidbits to leak to the media. How ever will they make their blackmail payments now? Heh-heh.
I agree. Most of those rota reporters and commentators have been doing it for years, the amount of info they have amassed must be huge. And in one weird way, Harry’s freedom to walk is a consequence of always being the one thrown under the bus. Awful as it was, no-one has any secrets to threaten him with- they’ve already lambasted him with hunting, fascist costumes, naked partying, drug use and outed his location to the enemy while on active military service. It’s hard to see what they could top that with. He can walk away clean – he’s already lived everything down. He doesn’t have anything to fear from them- they are the ones now to be afraid of him.
It’s because it’s really the tabloids that care about the RF. Same with celebrity scandals. More serious news outlets e.g. the Independent or Financial Times will only report on the RF if there was some serious issue e.g. Prince Andrew’s Epstein scandal or financial mismanagement.
They wouldn’t bother covering ‘Royal Shock! Meghan breaks protocol over wearing summer wedge sandals on the beach’.
I would love to understand this as well. Why doesn’t the RF work with newspapers like the Guardian or some that have been cited in multiple threads on CB? I do understand that the Economist or the FT or the Times have very different objectives but there must be reputable newspapers in the UK that aren’t tabloids that would cover them unless those papers don’t agree with the existence of a RF which I would understand to be honest……….
The RF do work with them I think, and certainly the broadsheets do cover them. It’s just that half a page on p7 of the Times on Camilla opening a hospital or something isn’t an especially rewarding relationship for either side.
@vs: because more serious news outlets are more critical of the monarchy as an institution. They aren’t going to do a 6 page dedication to how clever Kate was for wearing 40 shades of green on the Ireland Tour.
They report on the royals on actual facts, but its not going to be sycophantic. I think they’re coverage of Meghan seems more sympathetic because they have actually been just reporting facts, that’s it. Not reporting rumours from ‘royal palace sources’. And many opinion pieces in the Guardian and Independent have actually been kind to her because they call out the misogyny and racism.
I remember Richard Palmer criticised the Guardian’s defence of Meghan because they were a ‘republican newspaper’. How that deflects from the bullying, I don’t know?
I just don’t think the RF want to risk more factual reporting as those papers are harder to manipulate and more reluctant to do quid pro quo deals with.
@MeganBot2020 —– “It’s just that half a page on p7 of the Times on Camilla opening a hospital or something isn’t an especially rewarding relationship for either side”
To be honest, why should opening a hospital even be on a newspaper? who really cares? her opening it doesn’t mean the hospital wouldn’t function without it, right? so does a royal need to open a hospital? it is so weird really and so useless
For all their self proclaimed BS about how they are royalty not celebrities, the Firm sold itself out to the tabloid press decades ago. Now, they are in to deep and the press has willingly suppressed too much for them that, if published, could probably seriously damage the lot of them. For all intents and purposes they have become celebrities because they all leak to their favorite tabloid and in return get favorable press. For all the hate spewed forth about Meghan’s Hollywood roots, she is the only one that doesn’t engage in this sick, symbiotic relationship.
Legacy. The rota was set up in the 60’s or 70’s and the papers were less trashy back then. The Daily Mail has always been more supportive of the Tories as well.
I was really surprised when I found out which outlets made up the RR
They do sometimes work with real journalists, but dealing with the rags is a two-way street for the BRF. It allows people like Cain to use the rags as a conduit for lying about his own brother or smearing his own SIL, under the guise of it being “news”, while deflecting from his own bad behaviour, screwing around on Cannot. They can all be opportunity back stabbers via the rags, while keeping their hands clean.
I think one aspect to look at is the history of those tabloids mentioned. Some of them dating back to the 1800s. These uk tabloids have existed for so long (well over a hundred years) there’s a sense of invincibility to them. They also have developed a long standing relationship with the royal family over many decades even before Queen Elizabeth II reign. The internet could and should have killed them off, but they seem to have only gotten stronger especially the daily mail which is the most read new outlet in the world, unfortunately. They have too much power, hence why the rest of the RF literally give them an access all areas pass to their colons in order to survive.
So very proud of harry and Meghan for standing up to them.
“Why does the rota only consist of crappy tabloids” — um, just guessing here, but is it because the royal family don’t really do anything that is important or meaningful? There are celebrities in the world who are famous for some type of accomplishment (athletes, actors, singers, etc.). But the royal family hasn’t “accomplished” anything, they are basically famous for being famous. Which puts them on the level of reality-show celebrities. Who else *but* the tabloids would cover them?
The Royal Rota was created in the 70s (over50 years ago) before the worldwide wide web removed boundaries to sharing stories. Overtime the members of the Rota just stopped reporting anything of value and quality but the Monarch is an old creaky institution that changes at slower than a snail’s pace. It typically refuses to engage with good or bad stories anyway unless it is about an official event and then they speak up. The Royal Rta outlets are Murdoch Media outlets. Murdoch is like that dye that seems to seep all through the roots and extends his influence. He has outlets all around the world and has too strong a reach.
While I agree with them, I think this timing is totally wrong.
When would be a good time, in your view?
It’s because their court case is starting Friday. So actually, the timing is exactly right! They are getting out ahead of the courtcase and letting those tabloids know not to bother trying to get any statement or confirmation of anything from them, now or ever! Plus, Meghan’s rebuttal (not sure of the real legal term) just came out this morning in preparation for the courtcase, so again, the timing is exactly right.
Timing is wrong…….I wish people would contact those newspapers and tell them their coverage of H&M in a time of crisis is wrong………someone on twitter posted the coverage of H&M in Mar and Apr despite the COVID-19, those tabloid trash are only talking about H&M despite what’s going in the world!!!
Gosh, so are you! Shouldn’t you be reading something more serious?
@Some chick —– I think you should re-read my post. where did I say I read their garbage? I don’t read those trash, I do know they exist because someone took the initiative to refute their “timing is wrong BS”……….so please in terms of reading something more serious, take a seat
I did think that as well. And it seems weird since they have already made it clear that they detest the tabloids and want nothing to do with them. Its not like the public Meghan to do an exclusive with the Sun or have a ‘Meghan’s cuties’ calendar with exclusive pics of Archie.
The only reasons I can think of is:
a) they are sick of the tabloids contacting them to confirm random stories (I don’t really know the ins and outs of reporting stories, so this is a random guess), or
b) this is part of the legal proceedings? Like to prove in court that they have warned the tabloids time and again that they want nothing to do with them, so the papers can’t argue back that they are need to give H&M charity endeavours ‘publicity’.
It seems more like a legal thing, but I’m no lawyer, so not sure.
Agree they way treat her and archie is terrible. Also check byline investigation in twitter where you get better picture with documents from this case in twitter.
I love byline investigates. They have all the facts… and it’s funny how the tabloids NEVER mention them. I’ve donated to their go fund me.
They might have released it early as a distraction because Harry got a bit of heat for something he said on a podcast regarding the current situation in the UK.
No, not a distraction from. It’s to point how the tabloids distort statements and outright lie. And the way they twisted what Harry said on the podcast is but one example.
Something he said that these very publications took completely out of context to once again vilify him unfairly.
I am not siding with the tabloids or saying he said anything problematic, but the story got a bit of traction yesterday and if they had that letter ready, they might have released it a day or two earlier than planned to stop Piers and his henchmen from screaming themselves horse over that podcast.
@peralime – It is impossible to stop Piers and his henchmen from screaming themselves horse. Piers and his posse of henchmen will always find something to scream themselves horse over because that is what they get paid to do.
Harry and Meghan have done more for the people of the UK and especially the COVID victims than anyone else in that country! Now he is in LA and the US is better for it. I hope Gavin Newsom brings them in to be part of a task force. He could use someone with their great instincts and influence with the people.
I’m sorry, but it is flat out ridiculous to claim that Meghan and Harry have done more for COVID victims than anyone else in the country. Off the top of my head, doctors, nurses and paramedics spring to mind. Thousands and thousands of them.
It’s tone deaf to do this now! Honestly we are in a pandemic I really don’t care if Harry and Meghan, Tom Cruise or William and Kate don’t like their coverage. They don’t matter, all that matters is what is happening in the pandemic,
I also don’t like this picking and choosing who are legit and it seemingly based on who is positive about them that reminds me of a demented Orange bafoon.
They were going to do this pandemic or not. No one is forcing you to read about the Sussexes. So stop complaining about the fact that you’re willingly listening and reading about the Sussexes
Sofia their is no reason to be rude to me. I have a right to my opinion and I think this is a tone deaf time to release the statement. I honestly don’t care about any celebrities feelings right now when it comes to coverage like people are dying and losing jobs and worried about food. I just can’t bring myself to care if Tom Cruise or a royal feels bad about how they are written about.
I fully support the lawsuit and think positively about Meghan (honestly less and less Harry) but I also think its ok to say they would be better served to not deal with this right now and focus on the great work they have been doing.
They have a court date coming up. They had to do this. It’s what their lawyers probably told them and that’s the decision they have made.
It’s fine if you don’t agree with it but please stop acting like they had a choice. It was either now or 4 days later. Do you see the pandemic getting better? No.
Also the tabloids are still writing about them. Have you directed any outrage towards the people who they are directing this to or not?
They had a choice- they did not have to release or send a letter they could have put this in court documents. And neither of us know if their lawyer told them they to do this.
And said court documents would have been released while there was a pandemic going on. And you would still have the same comment whining about timing while no one is forcing you to read about any celebrity.
Also the tabloids are still writing about them. Have you directed any outrage towards the people who they are directing this to or not?
Have you complained to the tabloids how tone deaf is to be publishing about the couple so much? How tone deaf is to publish Anne’s interview at the moment?
The timing is around their lawsuit, and since I don’t Read tabloids I don’t know if they’ve claimed to have Sussexes’ sources, which they are cutting from the root.
They have not made anything public relating to their future, actually, just this.
@Amy, I don’t see anyone saying this is “tone deaf” other than the usual suspects. Life still goes on while we are in a pandemic . And I’m sure more controversial things than this will come out unless there is some type of gag order in place.
@sophia if court documents come out then the come out that is not the same thing as releasing a statement! And you know it.
@Ennie- i don’t have any positive thing to say about the tabloids. And people are giving interviews that isn’t tone deaf its just something to read as long as they aren’t complaining they are picked on and treated worse then anyone. WHEN PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR ABILITY TO AFFORD THEIR HOME AND FOOD. Also they have released info about their future, which is their right just as it is my right to think its the wrong time. This is a statement saying they won’t be dealing with this group of press people and will pick who they want to deal with. It’s not a good look sorry.
is there anyone else you can think of who says he picks and chooses what to believe?
@iamsam I don’t know how the usual suspects are and i don’t care to get into the conspiracy theory and attacking people. I think it is tone deaf right now when we need facts and information and a focus to be on the global healthcare crisis and economic disaster to release a statement saying we aren’t dealing with you any more because your mean we will pick our channels we talk to. Which whether the intent or not reads as we only want glowing press.
You do realize that Harry and Meghan did not make this public, they just sent these documents to the papers. The papers made this public and went whining to the public. So why are you not mad at the papers? They are the ones giving this traction while Harry and Meghan are out delivering meals.
@Amy
If you don’t care about celebrities’ feelings rn and don’t want to hear about Harry and Meghan, then why come to a gossip site and click and comment on H & M stories? You know you can easily avoid them. No one is making you read or comment on this and no one is asking for your opinion either so you don’t have to come here and share it if you’re so tired of celebrities and H & M especially, you can easily go to other sites focusing on reporting on the pandemic and give your opinion there. You can give yourself a break and read other stories on this site, or just don’t come to this site at all for a while if you’re that tired of celebrities. It’s really not that complicated.
Oh please Amy don’t lie to yourself. If this had come out during Friday’s court session you would be here complaining as well. Please just go back to the Daily Fail comment section.
Well @mtec I am on here to read about fluff and i am doing it because I am in the global epicenter of the pandemic, and can’t really go outside since a makeshift hospital is basically outside my door. So i am sorry if I came to a site for distraction and thought well this is a stupid thing for them to do. I most have missed where I wasn’t allowed an opinion. And if you read other stories I am not seeing stories of Reese, or Tom or Brangelina whining about the press being unfair right now. Those are the stories other celebrities have out.
And @sophia while no i wouldn’t its court documents and not a public statement. I don’t have to kiss their rings, I am not a subject of the common wealth. I can point out when I think they are wrong. Just like I can with any other celebrity and while it sickens me to compare the royal family to elected officials them as well. Also I have never read the Daily Mail or any other British tabloid. And while I appreciate the Trumpian spirit your showing, I will told to go away because I don’t agree with you.
You know what is so amazing I was such a fan of these two I thought they were doing great work and then their stans would attack anytime you’d say anything negative or not even negative just less then lavishing praise and it has made them less enjoyable to watch. Which is sad because they have done great things. But it is ok to think this is wrong or a dress was ugly or Harry occasionally acts like a spoiled child. Those things should not have you attacked.
@Amy: This is the only site where Meghan fans can comment without being accused of being “sugars” and ass kissers. We can comment without having a 101 other comments saying she’s a narcissist or that she’s a social climber.
You have plenty of sites where you can criticise H&M. Us fans do not have plenty of sites where we can praise them. So don’t get mad when you’re called out when it seems like you’re being negative. Some of us don’t want that here.
And please continue to accuse me of having Trump sentiments when that man hates women of colour like me.
Amy – I think you are confused because the Sussexes literally did NOT release this as a statement or release it personally to the press. Their legal team sent letters to the 4 papers mentioned in the letter and THOSE tabloids decided to release it to the public. Please don’t blame the Sussexes for something they did not do!
Of course you’re entitled to your opinion, but I think this is why you’re getting so much pushback.
Plus you keep mentioning people are in need of food and job security but again, the Sussexes are literally volunteering to help deliver food to those in need. Their courtcase will go on based on the schedule of the courts so they are trying to continue with their charity work but also take care of their other business…just as we all have to do during this awful time.
Interesting seeing all this back and forth in this thread. Every time they do something not “ fun” , the first criticism is that the timing is wrong. Looking at this thread, there are some people really invested in the Harry and Meghan fairytale, in the sense that they want to see the hand holding, the great projects, and the fashion. Even those khaki pants she wore this weekend have already sold out. However, when it comes to the messy unpleasantness they have to deal with, they don’t want to hear it. It’s too much hard and unpleasant reality. These same people complaining about timing and how they look doing this would rush to see pictures or Archie, or their new house, and they wouldn’t say it’s not the best timing during the pandemic. These two have complicated lives and it’s stressful hearing about this, in a stressful time. We don’t know what their strategy is and who is advising them on this but don’t think this is spontaneous. Even when they are directly talking, such as Harry’s podcast, the tabloids will lift snippets from it and completely distort it, even with evidence to the contrary.They are in a unique position in that they need to court the press and want legitimate press, but at the same time repudiate certain parts of the tabloid press. So to some people, it’s disappointing that the Sussexes can’t be the feel-good escapism in these difficult times, and they are trying to protect themselves so they can move forward.
@Amy – Not to burst your bubble, but the entire legal industry is working from home right now. Courts are holding telephonic hearings, depositions are taking place by videoconference. It’s very true that there are people who have lost their jobs and are facing dire straits. It’s also true that the government, law firms, tech companies, finance, most white collar jobs still expect their employees to work from 9-5, even overtime if the situation warrants it. While your comments about covid are very much relevant, each industry is experiencing a different set of circumstances, and it looks like the British courts are proceeding exactly like courts here in the US.
My teams have two appellate briefs due this week, there is a multistate investigation for one client which opened recently, negotiations are ongoing with opposing counsel, mediation brief due, last week was a presentation to the FTC, tomorrow calls with the OCC. So the timing of the letter release is not ideal, but a court date is a court date. It’s possible that both parties asked the judge to postpone the hearings due to the pandemic and this unprecedented situation, as some of my matters have tried to negotiate. Some negotiations have been successful, other judges don’t give a fuck and expect us to continue business as usual. Legal strategy is legal strategy and in this case, I think her team made the right call.
@royalwatcher They absolutely released it to the press. They emailed it from their Sussex Royal email in fact, which is absolutely hilarious. Still clinging on to that.
@Amy, what is more important now than the horrible nightmare Harry and Meghan have gone through? Nobody can really understand what type of hell they are living under. I’m so thankful people here realize who the real victims are in this.
This pandemic will still be with us in 2020, so does that mean that we should do nothing unless it’s about Covid 19?
This letter shouldn’t have anything to do with the lawsuit. The lawsuit coming up is the one about release of her father’s letter and it was only to one of the tabloids in the letter. The other lawsuit is about wiretapping of previous conversations and in US terms is a class action suit (many plaintiffs) and a ways away from trial if it even goes there. Whether they interact in the future with any of these tabloids is immaterial to both lawsuits. In this case the law isn’t about what you do in the future. Either it’s illegal to publish her letter and they illegally wiretapped – a bit more complicated suit as this one was criminally prosecuted before so it’s more a they didn’t really stop wiretapping or not. Their future press coverage doesn’t matter.
I find this letter interesting and agree the timing is a bit odd pr wise. Yes it is carona and all aspects everywhere now, as it probably should be. However, the letter is interesting cause they really didn’t have to send them anything just not respond. I do wonder the royal rota is similar to the white house press pool. The main reason for it is so only one outlet comes in to certain events and shares with the other outlet it’s so they aren’t bombarded with too many cameras all the time. Curious why no one tried to kick out some of the more unsavory outlets. I mean the President does it all the time. Trump especially, but all of them have done it at one point or another.
What bothers me the most in all this is that Tom gets praised for his behavior like Meghan “deserved” what she got. Tom went to the media to bash his daughter which is just really low.
Tell that to the court that set the calendar, reimburse H&M for money they would lose if they abandon the case because you feel it’s not the right time
No one is saying to drop the case, people are saying don’t make this statement.
Agree Amy. We’re in the middle of a life threatening virus, and all they can talk about is themselves.
All they can talk about is themselves @Maria? When Harry and Meghan have been all over the place talking about and working with organizations that help people during this time? Girl your agenda is showing and it’s not a good look.
Honestly Amy, it’s their life and they can do this if they want. You don’t have to like it. They didn’t ask for your permission to release it. The world will still spin and life goes on. I guess it’s never a good time to stand up to bullies.
@Amy
I did not say you are not allowed your opinion, but your opinion seems to be whining about H &M “whining.” You’re acting as if they are doing you personally wrong by imposing their “feelings” on to you, and like you’re obligated to hear it an comment on it. So what I meant is you are not obligated to give your opinion on any celebrity nor their feelings, especially when you claim that you don’t care about them, no one is making you read stories about their feelings, you are choosing to do that.
Your opinion is whining about having to care about their feelings, and being tired of their feelings about their coverage.—when you can simply just not read it. There are plenty of other stories out there for you to engage with.
But whining about other people “whining” seems a bit hypocritical.
@Amy, war and pestilence was carrying on before and will carry on after. Currently, we now have a pandemic going on on top of that. During this time, you have decided to come to this site for a little relief as we all have. However, H&M who are also going through this pandemic have decided to release a statement as they probably been advised to do by their legal team. There would always be a reason not to drop this statement but they have to follow their legal plan. You don’t have to like it, but let’s not act like it’s some huge error, because it’s not. It’s just a statement.
@Maria – maybe you should direct your ire to those 4 tabloids who, during this pandemic, have written more than 50 articles about the Sussexes over the past couple of weeks (and probably many more as of this morning)! It’s funny how I never see people “so disappointed in the Sussexes” making this point or being mad at the tabloids for not focusing 100% on the pandemic.
The statement is related to the case, they are preempting the tabloids.
Your responses are so hypocritical, did you say the same thing when the Foursome was printing article after article about H&M even though people were dying. People died this weekend yet the Express printed 50 stories about H&M. If there was such a concern about the timing, they tabloids would have ignored it and written about the all the deaths
Again this has nothing to do with the two lawsuits. First clue is the letter is sent to several corporations, some which are not involved in either lawsuit. Unlike Perry Mason, in a true lawsuit the law is the most important thing and not sure how telling tabloid outlets you don’t ever want to deal with them in the future would be pertinent in a lawsuit about past prior acts by the tabloids. It’s kind of obvious from the get go you as the plaintiff are upset with the defendant, otherwise you wouldn’t sue. It is irrelevant. So I wouldn’t worry about their lawyers fees or anything. This is a PR letter. My question is as the letter goes into their people won’t respond either. Have these outlets tried to badger their current press people. What’ exactly made this happen now. Just curious.
Finally, yes a lot of courts are open. Although if you want to commit a crime or file a lawsuit in DC you will probably be delayed quite a bit as we only have 5 virtual courts in DC open.
The lawsuit is irrelevant to this but they have a right to send this letter. It was not a public statement but once again the media made the letter a story. It is not Harry and Meghan’s fault they published it and didn’t cover a COVID story in lieu. The UK media can ignore things if they wish, like William’s affair, but they always choose to cover and criticize what the Sussexes do. This is the media’s fault. The letter was never directly released to the public.
I agree Eleonor. I also feel like announcing no engagement is kinda engaging. I dunno. I’m sure I’ll catch hell for the comment. I used to love them, but I feel like they really can’t help themselves feeling the need to constantly make statements and that they want it both ways.
Well if people constantly didn’t drag their character they wouldn’t need to make statements.
People were leaving terrible comments on the Project Angel Food Instagram. Just because they’re dealing with Harry and Meghan doesn’t mean they deserve to get their name dragged through the mud. It’s affecting innocent people who have nothing to do with this. If they can’t defend themselves or don’t have the manpower then the Sussexes should try
@hmmt – I see this sentiment on a couple of other blogs I read regularly – regarding the statements that aren’t particularly necessary and the feeling that they only want positive press coverage.
While I personally believe they are just seeking fair coverage, it will be interesting to see how it plays out. As mentioned above, it is the more tabloid-y outlets that cover royals, they are going to need some type of sustained coverage when they launch their new endeavor – they use social media very well, but again that is going to require some coverage.
@Maria
Agree Maria, “we’re are in the middle of a life threatening virus”, yet all YOU do is seek out stories about Meghan to criticize her.
Whether you like it or not, not everything stops because of this virus. H & M lawsuits with the tabloids are still happening and they are addressing it how they need to.
The Disney doc needs to be promoted, just like any other shows still happening right now, and that’s why the interview happened.
We can’t all be focusing on the virus 24/7 either and that can’t be the only thing we’re worried about. Elephants needs conservation efforts, and that is something that’s also important and the work on that shouldn’t stop just because we’re dealing with something else. The more promotion is done for this documentary, the better for the elephants. They need help now, not just after the virus (whenever that’ll be). We’re allowed to care about more than one thing at a time, and people are allowed to deal with their legal issues whenever they need to.
One thing makes me pause. The but. The sentence before is generally negated by ‘but’…paraphrase…any coverage; good or bad, but, it must not be based on a lie. The ‘but’ is superfluous.
It also confirms that they were in contact with these tabloids up to this point.
@Hmmt: It’s called being preemptive, not “constantly making statements”. They have released only the basics to keep people in the loop about their post-pandemic plans. The information on their lawsuit would have been public knowledge anyway so it’s best to draw a line in the sand first. Legal cases of this magnitude can’t just be postponed because “optics”, life goes on and most work can be done remotely.
@Susan: How do you know they were in contact with these tabloids up to this point? What information were they sharing? The only contact they likely had post-Sussexit was through their legal advisers to cease and desist.
“It also confirms that they were in contact with these tabloids up to this point.” Well, OK, if that’s how you see it, @Susan. But, it’s extremely vague how you got there with that conclusion. Care to explain?
Legally speaking, the timing is perfect. This is Meghan and Harry’s way of taking control of the narrative and preempting any arguments these outlets might publish to try and paint H&M as unbalanced, unreasonable, etc. The press would undoubtedly try to paint themselves as the victims and claim that they are simply upholding the tradition of investigative journalism. Meghan and Harry’s statements cut those arguments off at the knees.
H&M’s letter reminds the public of the years of abuse they had to endure at the hands of these publications. It preempts arguments that H&M are against freedom of the press, criticism, “honest reporting” by making it clear they welcome engagement with the press which highlights real issues in the real world. It forces these outlets to answer to (or ignore, and therefore leave gaping silence) the fact that the media has and continues to exploit their unique position of power by making up stories for the sake of profit. The letter lays out argument that this issue is not merely one of personal injury but about a larger issue of holding the press accountable for the slanderous, malicious statements that they make which has not only effected H&M, but many other individuals who have not had the opportunity or means to fight against these long standing print institutions.
I have not read Meghan’s rebuttal released today, but it would not surprise me if this statement highlights some of the key arguments, especially since the average person is not versed in the highly specialized form of legal writing. The letter It brings attention to the court hearing, increasing the stakes for those who are involved with the court case.
In my opinion, this statement changes, or at least introduces new themes to the discussion. There is a difference between a narrative of “H&M have a personal grievance with the press” to “these institutions have abused the power afforded by their unique position in society;” that these publications have a responsibility to the people and in fact degrade the integrity of democracy in spreading misinformation.
The papers will probably ignore that part, but the courts will not- which in this case is really what matters. I imagine this lawsuit might have far-reaching consequences should the courts rule in favor of Meghan.
Any British attorneys, please feel free to chime in and correct me, as I am looking at this purely from a US legal perspective.
@Amy and others personally attacked on this site for airing their opinions: I am sorry that you have been subjected to rabid, vicious responses which presume wrongdoing or, bizarrely, assign ill motives on your part.
@Lara: Thank you. Yours is the type of informative and well-reasoned response to something, with which you disagree, that I like to see on this site. Kudos.
@Eleanor, when is it ever a good time, to defend yourself? Wait till Covid is over? Meanwhile the tabloids are freely abusing and smearing them; (Harry’s Podcast) every blessed day, without considering COVID-19. Besides this is tied to Friday court hearing. What is good for the gander,is also good for the goose. The Royal Family, has sold its soul to the devil for popularity, at the expense of their own intergrity. Rhianon Mills’s mantra, The Sussexes have overshadowed so and so……!.Get stuffed, I say!
Good for them. I wish others would follow in their footsteps.
Seriously, they did this because when they were working royals there was an expectation that they would work with the royal rota. They are just saying that they won’t do that since they don’t have to as they are not representing The Queen anymore.
Other celebrities never had to engage with any particular media outlet anyway so there is no reason for them to say this. They just ignore them which, imo, would be been a better course for the Sussexs too.
@DD,I think going forward they will not engage, and the previous engagement was either through the rota or to refute inaccuracies (not that those tabloids care about that). It’s not as if they have been responding to these stories that much. I think after some of the recent headlines and with the court hearing this week, they released that statement to say that they won’t be responding to the spin of those tabloids. To me this means that if they print lies, which they will continue to do, their lawyers will be sending them cease and desists. However, they will be speaking to other media sources regarding this case and other things, so we shouldn’t assume they won’t say anything, just not to those 4 publications. There are a lot of publications in between tabloids and serious newspapers like the Guardian,and tabloids like the Mirror. Don’t know how any thinking person can read the Sun. It is so bad and dumbed down.
Ha! I love this very formal f-off to the tabloids. Zing!
this is just business as usual for the sussexes as they never spoke to the tabloids anyway, so this is just a notice to the public that formalizes it. It pretty much says to the rota, don’t call us, and let’s the public know at the same time anything we hear from the tabloids is not official. it’s from Willileaks
the rota was the royal family’s weapon of choice and that is what they wanted to escape.
To me this seems like a pretty standard statement as they are currently in the midst of a lawsuit. I will be very interested to see how that suit progresses. I don’t practice in the UK and admittedly don’t know much about their legal system, but I was a bit surprised when they decided to sue. While I think Meghan’s father is complete garbage, giving him and the story more exposure might backfire on them.
Why do you think it will backfire on the Sussexes? I can only see it backfiring on DadMarkle and the tabloids themselves, as everything the Sussexes claimed all along (they offered to help him many times) will now come out in the open and confirm what they’ve said. I’ve already seen the text messages from Meghan and Harry and they are begging him to let them help and to not go to the media. I think it only strengthens the Sussexes position as well as their decision to no longer work with tabloid slime because they lie and cannot be trusted.
I think you correct. I saw that too in byline Twitter. I think dad markle got paid by William office to speak to media . I think that’s why the brothers are at worst. Plus if the case doesnt go favour to media especially the sun because rupert press is getting lot of heat for his obvious fake news of Corona 19 , I think then dan will have exclusively William affair story to distract the people from their failed lawsuit.
Again, I don’t practice in the UK, but there are certain laws that protect journalistic sources, in the UK it is the Contempt of Court Act of 1981. When this originally came out, a lot of commenters were excited because they thought that William and Kate would be outed as sources. That won’t happen. Their attorneys have enough past case law on their side that it will never get that far. The other issue is the court of public opinion. While many people here, myself included, feel like Megan’s father is incredibly toxic, a large percentage of people, who might have a similar situation in their own life, will feel like you should never turn your back on your family. The press will turn this case into Meghan vs. her father instead of Meghan and Harry vs. The Daily Mail.
I was surprised they did it too. The simple fact is that it puts Meghan’s personal relationship with her father in the courts and in the public domain. If she says something is a lie they have a right to discovery of documents that might prove its true etc. And the press can legitimately report about it all because it is in Court. The upside of getting a judgment against the rags doesn’t seem worth the additional exposure
@Flamingo I disagree with your statement about the public feeling like Meghan is turning her back on her father. Outside of the bots on the Daily Mail and the other trolls, most people feel Meghan’s father is abusive trash. I don’t think any sane person believes you have to maintain contact with an abuser.
I think people do see through her father unless they are among those who constantly criticize Meghan. What sort of man sells out his daughter and runs to the media and gets paid for it. He admitted he collected some money.
Thank you, MsIam! Exactly!
Harry & Meghan are courageous in launching this battle. Absolutely courageous. They understand that it will not be easy, and they did not enter into this lightly. They did it after much thought and advance preparation. They will not take abuse sitting down! Moreover, their battle with the terrible tabloids is not just about them. It’s about doing what’s right to help others who have been abused by the out-of-control tabloids, and not just themselves!
There’s nothing wrong with the timing of their release to these tabloids reinforcing and reiterating that they will no longer deal with them. Anyone who think M&H are tone deaf really need to take a good long look in the mirror and chill.
And @Mary, I don’t see anyone ‘attacking’ Amy for her views. Everyone who bothered to respond to @Amy’s whining have been exceedingly polite! And kudos to them, because my immediate reaction was not going to be polite. As another poster said earlier, this is the only positive forum/ blog site where truth and fair viewpoints about the Sussexes are able to be aired.
Plenty of fair criticism of M&H is aired here too, but they truthfully aren’t doing anything that deserves to be generating OTT criticism. Therefore, the petty, short-sighted, or flat-out trollish views will and should definitely be pushed back on. As others said earlier, if you want to be negative just because, there exists plenty of places to go for that. If you simply disagree, then state it in a reasonable fashion, because going overboard makes your ire suspect.
Also, everyone who has claimed the Sussexes are only looking for positive coverage of themselves, you are proving that you don’t know how to read or else you have trouble with reading comprehension.
Meghan’s father has literally done a documentary. He’s done the most. Apparently the Daily Mail has a reporter literally stationed in Mexico to chaperone him. He has no big secrets or exclusives. In the documentary he had to resort to showing Meghan’s childhood photos. He’s done the most and it’s boring now.
When it was first mentioned that Meghan going to sue, there was all this talk of how she would have to be face-to-face with her father. Now they’re gonna do it remotely!
Tom Markle was already being mentioned as a witness for the newspapers so if he is prepared to say that the papers lied about what he said then it dismantles part of the defence that the papers wanted to put forth.
I don’t disagree that Tom Markle is not the most stable witness out there, but if he is already providing inconsistent information then he is no help in the papers defence at all.
Ultimately it’s on the newspapers to know whether or not they could print a private letter and so Tom Markle cooperating with the Sussexes to show the papers were even more brazen in obtaining the letter and what they promised him only makes things worse for the ones who printed it.
And perhaps he is working to slowly rebuild a relationship. Or he’s looking to avoid any liability himself. Hard to say.
How dare they! This is outrageous! Actually, it is hilarious! It is in writing, and the four can only bitch, whine, and complain while continuing to publish their sick, demented stories.
I think it is a good move on the part of Harry and Meghan, and it will pay off in the long run.
I don’t think they gain anything by this. The tabs aren’t going to stop calling for comment because they sent a letter telling them not to. This just creates another opportunity for the tabs to write nasty stories about them.
but that’s ok, they have never stopped writing nasty stories anyway; It is up to those who read and believe those nasty stories……. none of those stories are coming from H&M; so if anyone believes them what does that say about the person?
The goal is not to stop them from printing trash. It’s to make people realize that it is trash unless it comes from the Sussexes. The Rota have no legitimate sources unless it’s someone H&M have directly told. Then that helps to out the spies.
@mac, I disagree. Maybe not by the statement itself since their views are well known. Part of me does thinks that they are messing with the tabs when they release statements like this. Basically saying we’ll talk to the media, EXCEPT for you 4, and you 4 only. Then it’s all over the front page, piers is frothing again, people are going on about the poor Queen and how evil Meghan is, how arrogant Harry is, rinse repeat. There is nothing new in this statement or the reaction. But the court hearing is starting on Friday and Sussexes are saying those particular papers will be in contact with their legal teams.
@Mac said:
“I don’t think they gain anything by this. The tabs aren’t going to stop calling for comment because they sent a letter telling them not to. This just creates another opportunity for the tabs to write nasty stories about them.”
Your comment holds no water because the tabloids have never let up in writing all kinds of negative, nasty, baseless stories about the Sussexes. The Sussexes are fighting back in a court of law, and they are doing so responsibly and with the advice of their attorneys. It’s useless for the tabs to continue calling for comment. The tabs always take every opportunity to write nasty stories about anyone and everyone from here to kingdom come regardless.
At least M&H are fighting back and fighting for what’s right. Even if that’s fighting against a huge, overwhelming tide, M&H are showing grit and courage, and they are in the right. The tabs and their owners, two-bit scam writers and avid readers will face karma and will have hell to pay in this world and the next.
They are declaring that they will no longer be victims of the gutter press. They are also declaring that anything printed about them in these papers should be assumed to be false. This is a power play and I love it!
@Msiam and Giddy: I think if you’re the type of person (not you personally! I mean in general) who regularly reads and believes the trash these tabloids print, you’re probably not going to read and believe the full statement put out by the Sussexes.
And if by some chance they do read the entire thing, they’ll just claim that Harry & Meghan want to be in control of the narrative and avoid getting any criticism.They will never, ever accept or admit that what was done to Meghan was racist abuse and that almost all of it was untrue.
This letter won’t change the minds of people like that and make them realize all of a sudden that the papers have been attacking Harry and Meghan with lies all along, you know? I just don’t see what they have to gain from sending this letter out, especially right now.
^^ @Lorelei, Meghan and Harry aren’t addressing the ignorant and/or racist readers of these tabloids. Plus, I doubt that we have statistics on everyone who casually or avidly reads these publications.
I don’t read them or click on them. But obviously some of the stories written often trickle into other online or print publications in slightly watered down form, even when the gist is inaccurate or trivial. So, with this fight, perhaps eventually other publications will be more careful before picking up and disseminating any Sussex stories from these tabs.
Neutral readers and Sussex supporters who have good reading comprehension and open, thinking minds will certainly understand even more that these tabs are making everything up when they claim to have insight from Sussex friends. And if they claim to know something based on palace sources, then we’ll know that’s either made up too or coming from KP or elsewhere, but not from the Sussexes or from anyone directly or intimately associated with them.
No, they are declaring that they won’t work with them. The press will still write about them.
I am laughing imaging the meltdowns that I’m sure Palmer, English and the like are having right now, lol.
I think this is good for several reasons, but I also think it reinforces that they plan to be more global in their focus. They want to remind everyone that these sources are tabloids. People keep saying “you have tabloids in the US too” but no one is buying the Enquirer for any kind of news. There’s just no pretense there.
I remember how smug English was when Harry had to do his last event with the Royal Rota. She tweeted something really passive aggressive like ‘Harry is going to have to see the whole Royal Rota :)’.
It reminded me of bullies waiting outside the school gates for their victim.
That was the same even that Emily Andrews literally screamed questions at Harry as he walked off. Gayle King commented on how that was NOT the right way to get someone to answer your questions.
They really got high on the power that these people had no option to deal with them… and now they’re gone.
Wootton is now going after Omid claiming he is their PR agent, as if he isn’t getting Willieleaks himself.
Wootton’s meltdown on twitter is something else. I thought Piers was the more unhinged when it came to the Sussexes
Wootton is so incandescent with rage over this, he and the half-sister, Scammy, are tweet-consoling each other.
Wootton trying to attack Omid is so laughable. Everyone knows how professional, fair and good at his job Omid is. Everyone with good sense that is. Omid already has two platforms where he covers news in the U.S. — Harper’s Bazaar and ABC network. Wootton is just petulant and jealous.
Obviously, all the other RR are scrambling trying to edge their way into the American media market in order to continue their negative piling on M&H in a slightly toned down way, but still negative slanted, in order to continue trying to control the narrative surrounding the Sussexes. I’ve already been seeing this happening with Robert Jobson, Camilla Tominey, and Katie Nicholl.
@songbird: Omid was the only one with an explanation on why the letter was released; he was the only RR with inside information.
I read the Private Eye, which is a British publication that focuses a lot on the British Media itself. A while ago they reported that Emily Andrews and Dan Wootton hated eachother (which explains her leaving) and that Dan is looking to become a ‘talking head’ about the Royal on the US circuit.
He’s probably so mad that Omid has his feet firmly in the US coverage and he was successful by being honest, factual and kind.
The Guardian article bizarrely calling this an “attack”… No, it’s drawing a line in the sand.
This will let everybody know that they don’t consider the tabloids serious news outlets, which is what will really sting. It also saves them a lot of time.
The tabloids will carry on inventing stuff but no-one in good faith will be able to give their stories credibility.
It also is the clearest signal yet that they will not return to The Firm while the RR system is in place, if at all.
There will be opprobrium to weather in the short term, but in the end this will pay off for them. They want the focus on their work, and the tabloids didn’t do that. Their readers will abjure everything H&M but they were never going to support or contribute to the causes they hold dear anyway. So no loss there.
Imagine the tabloids putting an article out about saying “ a friend of the couple” revealed to us. I’m sure any sane person that has read their statement will automatically ignore because their statement says they are not working with the tabloids, nor their team. It also makes the journalists and reporters appear stupid for putting out gossips. It will embolden fans against trolls and make defending them easier, because there’ll always be this letter to refer to against any defaming article.
It also sends a clear message to other media outlets who keep taking what the tabloids are printing and —with minor tweaking — using it to run stories Sloppy journalism seems to have become a real problem in magazines like HELLO, Marie Claire, Vanity Fair, etc.
JA – this is an excellent point! It’s a clear warning to other newspapers to not use these 4 tabloids as a source for any article they write because it won’t be factual.
@ Bella, Even venerated papers write provocative headlines. The Guardian is an interesting paper. They’ve had the British government try to actively kill and censor their stories, and they have clout that extends beyond their readership. They’re allies of people like Glenn Greenwald ,who is someone I like less and less, and they have a clear leftist and anti-royal stance. The tabloids over there have such huge circulation and can definitely manipulate perception, such as Brexit and the Sussexes leaving. At the end, I think the Sussexes will just have to wash their hands of the UK and the British press. I think they are really hoping for some type of accountability or apology from these tabloids but that is never going to happen. They will never admit, unless compelled by the courts, that they have wronged this couple. It really is unfortunate, and so infuriating that to those who can see what really went down, that some people chalk this up to them wanting publicity or fame. No one wants this.
I think they would like an apology, if it was sincere, but I don’t think that is why they are doing this. I think this is seen more in the light of a crusade, Harry is cleaning up a stain on British media which as he indicated, has brought many lives to ruin for no moral purpose, and they would like them to answer for that, and limit their power to continue doing it going forward. Not everyone has the clout or resources to fight back, in the way that Harry can. I might be wrong, of course, but I think Harry and Meghan see this as a part of their service to their people as much as the charity work.
They are fed up and I don’t blame them. We all knew they wouldn’t touch the tabloids with a 10 foot pole but now it’s in writing and hopefully shuts up the “Meghan leaks to the tabloids!” – no she doesn’t and she’s told you now in writing she doesn’t (although it won’t stop people from creating their own narrative)
This also feels like a subtle middle finger to William – “whatever info gets put out about us, the Sussexes, is legit not from us, so it’s not credible” Hahaha sorrynotsorry Will!
H and M pulled off a “Sunday Night Massacre” on the trashy British tabloids…hahahahaha. Sure, there’ll be more challenges ahead, but they will get through it. I’m loving their ‘post-freedom actions’. People must be losing their minds in palaces all across Britain. Lol.
“This is also a policy being instated for their communications team, in order to protect that team from the side of the industry that readers never see.”
I think this line is key – it speaks to the leaks from other royals and their teams – and is essentially a preview of the sh*t that’s about to go on in terms of uncovering what goes on behind palace walls. (And I Am Here For It)
I Am Here For It Also!
This was a great statement and the Fail is crying fake tears about how the Sussex’s won’t talk to them anymore. It’s also great timing considering that her case against them all starts this week.
I also love the subtle digs at those within the RF that have sold themselves to the tabloids for clickbait so that they won’t report on rose bush trimming and other dodgy stuff. Karma is coming for them all.
The Sussex’s have basically said that anything these trash prints about them is not true, never has been and never will be.
Crocodile tears. I have said in my above comment soon we will get the exclusively from the sun about William affair. The tides are changing.
^^ Right @Aria and @Digital Unicorn! It all needs to come out. ITA with everyone else who sees what’s going on here.
Personally, I’m getting fed up with the rest of the royals preening and writing open letters and trying to catch up with what M&H have been doing. I give Prince Charles a lot of credit for the good work he has done for so many years, but he’s still overly entitled and selfish. He could have stood up for Harry and Meghan, and given Wills/Cain the warning to back off and straighten up. But no, PC and QE-II dithered and dathered in stiff upper lip stance, listening to all the wrong advice from their ‘gray men.’
Now, it’s too late! The British royal family has been caught with their pants down. The fairytale that never existed is over. They look foolish to anyone who understands the truth, with all the ‘open letter’ writing which I’ve never seen them doing until Meghan did it. Meghan brought a fresh work ethic, hands-on ideas, and great enthusiasm and leadership to the royal family. And the senior members of the family allowed the stuck-in-the-mud ‘gray men’ and errant House of Willileaks to stab the Sussexes in the back and throw Meghan to the tabloid wolves while she was pregnant.
Pedo Andy’s people did the same. And apparently that was either okay with blind Betty or she didn’t wish to deal with it head-on to support her grandson and her granddaughter-in-law. Yet, she was front-and-center in visibly supporting her wayward old fart of a son, as if her doing so was going to magically erase his mistakes.
The royals squandered all of the goodwill that the 2018 royal wedding brought to them, and then some! They squandered all of the enthusiasm, good will, and hard work M&H were itching to bring to the Commonwealth and to all of their patronages and charities. The senior royals and the foolish ‘gray men’ have missed the boat big time, and they have chosen to back the wrong show pony.
This entire deceptive production will soon be over. And it can’t happen a moment too soon. I’m so disgusted with all the embiggening attempts of the tepid crew remaining on ‘royal duty.’ Suddenly, they are all rushing to be relevant and to emulate Sussex interests, approaches and ideas, while also trying to dismiss and disparage them.
I’m upset because I had bought into the romantic and heroic royal image-making lock stock and barrel. The royal firm’s mistreatment of Meghan and Harry, coupled with the institution’s disturbing cooperation with the tabloids (especially Cain/ KP leaks) has uncovered a multitude of sins.
Which is hysterical Digital Unicorn, because We all know the Sussexes have NOT been talking to them, but still the tabloids frame this as if their direct line to the Sussexes has now been clipped. Instead, the Sussexes have just reiterated that the RR are liars. It’s interesting that the RR bullies always paint themselves as the innocent victims. They can throw a punch, but they sure can’t take one. I also agree with Lori about the specific statement included about protecting their communications team. I found that very interesting.
@JA Lowcountry Lady said:
“… the RR bullies always paint themselves as the innocent victims. They can throw a punch, but they sure can’t take one…”
^^ Right! This is always the case with bullies! They can dish it but they can’t take it when they receive a huge dose of their very own medicine!
I can’t believe there’s a type of royal watcher who prefers when everyone toes the line. Meghan and Harry make it so much more interesting!
Those people want the country to move back to the 1800’s.
I think there is a financial aspect to this as well. These tabloids combined write hundreds of articles about the Sussexes including several articles a day. If each of those articles ended with “Reps for the Sussexes were contacted for response ….” That’s a lot of work being billed to whoever handles their PR.
Yes, agreed. Not to mention that it is a waste of time. The phone call to ask for comment/rebuttal is just going through the motions – they publish anything they think will get the clicks, regardless of whether it is true or fair. Examples are the Meg’s commandments and the I do Redo story. Both known to be false before publication.
Strong legal boundary well stated. Zero tolerance, zero engagement with both a toxic family and toxic media.
Not sure what legal effect under English law this would have? In fact, it would give the rags additional defences in defamation and privacy actions (not that H&M would bring any anyway). Not saying they shouldn’t send it, but legally I think it doesn’t set any boundaries at all.
It’s interesting- whilst press are meant to give right of reply to articles, for Meghan’s fathers letter the Fail didn’t before publishing it, likely knowing she would apply for an injunction to stop publication. And even where they have responded on articles, it has rarely made a difference as been published with a small disclaimer with damage done as people only focus on the headlines usually in those trashy papers.
Journalists from all walks seem to feel sorry for the Tabloid 4 lol so I definitely don’t think there will be uncritical coverage by any of the new outlets they engage with but they’ve said it’s the deliberate lies etc that is the problem. if Meghan’s pleadings in her case are any indication, I can see why
This is very well done. It is professional and dispassionate. Good for them! They have good instincts and good advisers and are not playing around. We knew this, but it never hurts to send a formal Bleep you to get it in the record 🙂
I thought it was fairly straightforward, with a lot of repetition from the previous statements regarding the press. However, the reaction is sooooo overblown. You’d think the Sussexes told each and everyone of those editors that their mama was ugly, and they were going shopping with their credit cards. As usual, the same hysterical reaction as usual. Ugh, typical. Next will be the incandescent with rage articles and how misguided they are.
What benefit is this for H&M though? Doesn’t this just mean the tabloids can print whatever they want now with “The Duke & Duchess could not be reached for comment?” Wouldn’t that protect the tabloids, like “we tried to get them to confirm or deny it so [tabloid shrug]?” Legal Celebitchies, please dumb this down for me.
It means any trash that they write consisting of “Roya sources say…” “friends of the Sussex’s say…” can now officially be deemed utter lies. Nobody from the Sussex camp is talking to the British tabs at all, and it says so in black and white now.
Given that we know some of these RR’s have direct access to members of the BRF *cough*mobile numbers for Cain and Unable*cough* I think we know who some of the ‘royal sources’ are.
Ah. Thank you!
I bet they’ll still use the “royal sources tell us…” garbage, because that gives them cover to print whatever they want. The Sussexes themselves might not deal with these papers anymore, but that doesn’t mean the RF and all of their courtiers, aides, insiders, etc. won’t still pass gossip on anonymously. So they’ll just keep printing lies anyway.
It’s so gross and I hope Harry and Meghan win every lawsuit.
Why? If a friend of them talks to the paper, they can still say that. This letter from M&H doesn’t stop that. Royal sources and royal friends still exist. There has never been a story that says “Harry and Meghan personally confirmed this”. That’s the only thing that couldn’t be said now.
The tabloids have been printing whatever they want, don’t tell me you have been believing all of these Meghan stories?
This tells me that that 1 year review definitely means nothing. if anything to asses the security situation but they’re not going back for any reason.
Yeah, they are never coming back unless it’s for a funeral or some big event. And I’m sure they will still do stuff with their patronages, even if it’s by Skype or Zoom. But coming back to live full time? Nah.
But Russell Meyers was adamant that Harry would definitely come back by September (with or without Meghan). These haters are going to be absolutely devastated if they don’t get their Prince back 🙁
Because what harry did was unprecedented by royal men putting wife above all. Also this might toe the line for press a little I guess. When we saw how they react to William lawyer letters and this might be as well if the case goes which direction. I think most of middleton clan are in this because last week I saw a bizarre video on how pippa will retire from public life to have more children and focus on family. Let’s wait and watch .
@Aria: I’ve stopped reading DM a long time ago, but I’ve noticed that the readers/ commenters really hate Pippa. They love Kate, but hate Pippa. It’s perplexing. I just don’t think they like happy women.
I dont think pippa retire because of dailymail hate but I think she and carole have involved in leaking to press because in Sussex smear campaign so many house are involved. When you go back and read dailymail and its comment about Kate like 2016 they literally trashed her but this change because Meghan is american and she is half black. Also tumblr Kate stan is very weird too. I dont live in western world but I read and saw many documentary about the kids of mixed race because they have hard time to fit in. I saw many black american woman bash Meghan and claim she is not black because is half white and white woman hate her because she is half black . That’s the messed up situation. Also many rr woman and especially white woman cant stomach that their favorite ginger married half and that too divorcee .
Agree.
I’m curious about how they’ll try and spin this into a freedom of the press issue. All the Sussexes said is that they won’t talk to certain outlets anymore. This is hardly censorship.
The more I’m learning about the dysfunctional co-dependence of the BRF and parts of the British press the more I’m pissed off that this isn’t The Big Story. Get on it, Guardian! (I’m a subscriber)
Well according to Richard Palmer, if Harry and Meghan doesn’t have strong ‘critical’ press coverage, their charity work will not have any legitimacy! As if people are going to measure a charity’s success based on what the Express thinks of it!
I don’t know how much is just bullshit and how much of this stuff these RR actually believe. These people are incredibly messed up. After the South Africa documentary they were talking on a podcast and insinuating that Harry hasn’t been the same since he came back from the Army.
They literally tried to spin it as if the reason why Harry is behaving like this is because Harry has PTSD / mental health issues. And NO account for their own bullying and lies.
I agree. There is a HUGE story there sitting all by itself in the center of a large room just waiting for someone to grab it. I can’t believe it’s still sitting there untouched. If I was a journalist, I would be pulling a complete Ronan Farrow on these clowns.
Someone on Twitter today did just that. They sent a tweet directly to Ronan Farrow, along with a screenshot of various tabloid headlines of late, if I remember right. He would be the perfect person to delve into this mess.
➕💯 Spikey. I’m a subscriber to The Guardian as well and the relationship between the RR and the Firm definitely needs a proper journalistic light shone into it. Something nasty there in Mordor that needs to be revealed. The RR has the Firm firmly by the balls and have been applying some serious pressure lately. And yes, L84Tea —- where’s the British equivalent of our Ronan Farrow? Someone should be all over this untold story.
Richard Palmer’s point about scrutiny is a joke. When it comes to the RF, there is either sycophantic, wholly uncritical coverage of their engagements or initiatives, or in M&H’s case, sensationalism and distortions about them personally, while virtually ignoring the actual initiative, or just trashing the work.
Lol royal reporters will talk about scrutiny but then never run investigations into the queen’s finances and offshore accounts or how Andrew and the other royals have profiteered off their royal status and official positions. Or how non royals can get monetary benefits from royal connections like Zara, Peter, Fergie, the Middletons.
Instead we get hard hitting journalism like Meghan wanting candles for her wedding.
One thing I have noticed in the UK is, newspapers are really struggling at the moment. The sales have dropped and there has been a coordinated effort by the reporters (if you can call them that) e.g. Dan Wootton to reach out to the public and ask them to buy papers ‘to support British journalism’. I’m really surprised by this since I thought that most had moved their revenue to online click-bait.
The Sunday Times had an important story about Boris Johnson’s response to Covid-19 behind a paywall, so some people made it free to access and some journalists/ reporters took it really badly. Demanding that people should pay them to read the article.
There seems to be a real panic among the British Media. Which is weird because most are owned by Billionaires who I would have thought would be able to bail them out, especially Murdoch. Unless they get paid shit and have no job security.
The other thing I have noticed is just how hated the British Press are by the public. Every time a reporter asks the public to buy their newspaper, they get a lot of backlash and a lot of receipts of how their papers have written inflammatory things; anti-NHS, anti-immigrant, anti-welfare etc in the past.
I have disliked the British Media for a long time, but seeing the treatment of Meghan has really opened my eyes. It was especially disheartening to see whenever they would write an article about her, the fake story would spread like wildfire. The papers still have a huge audience and a lot of influence, but they are also very hated and distrusted by a lot of people too.
Now that their golden goose has cut them off, it must be an even bigger blow.
@Ruby, such good points. Glad you gave it a larger context.
Bwahaha I love it! Good for them!
So much for those “insider sources close to the Sussexes.” Those papers will never again be able to claim this without either exposing themselves as liars or exposing the Royal Family as the source of the leak.
@ Izzy-this makes total sense to me now! Many thanks for breaking it down for an old who hasn’t had any real caffeine in almost two (!!) years 💕💕
ETA-no sarcasm intended whatsoever.
I’m 60, barely awake and CAFFEINE FREE (which is great for my body & soul but not for my reading comprehension nor reasoning ability 😜).
“In a strongly worded attack, the duke and duchess said they refused to ‘offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion’ and accused the outlets of running stories that are ‘distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason’.
BOOM!!! Jaw on the floor. They are not playing anymore.
They need to read the room. I mean, with all that’s going on in the world, do they really think anyone cares about this? Who is advising them?!?
Clearly the tabloids do since they’re still writing stories about the Sussexes
Yeah cause the tabloids were giving a play by play of the pandemic before this and H&M interrupted their 5 star reporting *eye roll*
The associate editor of the Mirror responded to this saying that no one cares and people started pulling out all the receipts of all the the Mirror articles about Harry and Meghan. There wrote about 7 articles just in the last 48 hours!
People don’t expect better from the tabloids, or I dont, but I am surprised that the Sussex chose to send this letter now. Don’t get me wrong, I can see the decision being made and followed through just without the letter. No one thought that they were working with anyone in those papers since the step down anyway. If it was to make a legitimate point, I think it would have gotten more attention post-Covid.
@Gina,
really?
Read the room? They have to do this probably for the court dates, but also because in many tabloids claim “sources close to the Sussexes” speak to them.
I go on twitter lurking and I can tell you that the haters have not let go on them, on the contrary they are organized and come here and then complain, and berate the couple, calling them all sorts of names, the quarantine has done nothing to stop them.
I think some of them feel “close” to those tabloid writers and haters disguising themselves as royal reporters and critics. Its nauseating. They lap on them as ticks.
For real, I don’t have an opinion on the Cambridges, I don’t like them anymore,
But I very seldom go into their threads, and never attack them. I understand they will be reported on, they are the only younger royals active in the firm as for now. They are too … bland, they seem like they do what they do because they have to, while the Sussexes put more of their heart on it, you know?
I also hate unfairness, and that makes me root for them. I really don’t know why some people become so vitriolic about them.
I’ve actually been quite suprised on twitter. The usual haters are always going to hate, but I felt that the general consensus has been quite supportive of them against the tabloids. Truth is, people can complain about the optics and ‘court of popular opinion’. End of the day, this shit going to REAL court and it will be very interesting what things will come out…
Thanks @Ennie for your response.
@Darling Diana said:
“… I think it [Sussex letter to tabloids] would have gotten more attention post-Covid.”
When is post-Covid going to be happening Darling Diana? The court case is not waiting till then, whenever that’s supposed to be.
As others have already noted, the tabloids are still writing loads of negative stories about the Sussexes. Nothing has changed in that respect. Some things can not be put aside during this health crisis. Life goes on and unpleasant things like this court battle still need to be faced and dealt with smartly and aggressively.
The tabloid writers who haven’t stopped writing about them even in the middle of a pandemic. I saw Twitter receipts of how many times the Sussexes have been in the British media since the pandemic began. Tell this to the tabloid writers who will not shut up about Harry and Meghan and still claim they are irrelevant.
I wish you would have the same energy for the British media. They did not get the memo that we are in the middle of a freaking pandemic.
They make literal millions writing about Meghan and Harry. They won’t get anywhere near those numbers writing about the pandemic, so unless it’s a sensationalist headline they will stick with their moneymakers.
I really really hope they know what they’re doing. I agree the content seems standard, given the proceedings beginning this week, but the tone.. the tone they strike in all their written correspondence is so indignant and (hate to say it) self-righteous. If they are really speaking through their lawyers or their official PR, why is the language always so bombastic? They provide so much fodder for (mis)interpretation every time they accompany official guidance with a diatribe, and it could really be so simple.
But what do I know? Just that rooting for them is kind of exhausting.
Then don’t root for them
Instead root for the other couple who’s one half has used his status as Future Future King to demand a press blackout of them reporting on an alleged affair which there is no proof of.
And who has been very “self-righteous” in blaming Africa for the world’s overpopulation all the while his wife is pregnant with #3
It’s pretty parochial to think that one’s support for H&M is a dichotomy between them and the Cambridges. I root for them because I like Meghan. I admire her attitude and disposition, and I want her to succeed because no one as decent as her should be victim of such incessant and vitriolic smears. And for what it’s worth, I despise the BRF as an institution.
That being said, their approach is perplexing. They’ve swung the pendulum completely from “don’t explain” to over-explaining everything, and I just really believe that less is more at this current juncture.
It’s okay to critique people you like.
Harry and Meghan have never claimed to do the whole “never complain” approach.
In fact the BRF don’t do it either. They denied Kate having botox and hair extensions. They threatened with an EU law of “right to privacy” over an alleged affair. Charles’ office released a comment saying Camilla will be Princess Consort over some random article.
Plus people are attacking charities they work with. These are innocent people who have nothing to do with this. It’s not fair for those people to have their name dragged through the mud because they work with the Sussexes because some tabloids hate them and therefore anything the Sussexes touch
The tone is not unusual in lawyer letters. It’s quite typical, actually.
My thoughts exactly. What I find interesting is that this letter was sent directly to the editors, rather than the newspapers’ counsel. I can only imagine how contentious the emails between the lawyers on each side have been. The uncompromising language makes me think that some agreements hammered out by the lawyers prior to the hearing were breached by the newspapers (or counsel) and now any hopes of ending this (somewhat) amicably between parties are off the table.
@Suzy said:
“… their approach is perplexing. They’ve swung the pendulum completely from ‘don’t explain’ to over-explaining everything, and I just really believe that less is more at this current juncture. It’s okay to critique people you like.”
Sorry but your critiques denote some kind of misbegotten frustration that you seem to be taking out on the Sussexes, instead of taking it out on the truly offendng parties: the British tabloid media, the royal reporters, and negative instigators against the Sussexes within the royal firm.
Your claim that the Sussexes are taking a perplexing approach doesn’t stand up. It sounds as if you are reading and believing in some of the negative stories over-saturated in the media against the Sussexes. There’s never been any ‘don’t explain’ approach taken by M&H.
You are the one who is certainly perplexed, and your critiques are perplexing because they don’t make a lot of sense under the circumstances of what the Sussexes have been dealing with. I think M&H have been diligently handling these abusive attacks against the odds, with as much dignity and grace as possible.
The only pendulum I see swinging is a big old karmic b**ch loaded for bear and headed straight for the antiquated royal firm, rotten tabloids, and lazy, useless, greedy royal rota leeches.
@Suzy if some of the things that were written about the Sussexes was written about me, I would have gone nuclear long before now. I don’t think it is “self-righteous “ to object to people lying and twisting your words, especially after two plus years. The Sussexes have shown admirable restraint in all of this. How long do they have to be a punching bag for the media? Especially since the media makes money from them, it’s not like the media is performing a public service, it’s gossip. Even if you want to argue that the royals get public funding, well the Sussexes don’t anymore. It’s despicable and someone should have held them accountable long before this. I find it disturbing when people try to restrain others from objecting to their own abuse.
@Suzy said:
“… the tone they strike in all their written correspondence is so indignant and (hate to say it) self-righteous. If they are really speaking through their lawyers or their official PR, why is the language always so bombastic? They provide so much fodder for (mis)interpretation every time they accompany official guidance with a diatribe, and it could really be so simple. But what do I know? Just that rooting for them is kind of exhausting.”
Uh Suzy, I think your tone is sounding a bit OTT, and I don’t hate saying so either. Do you know the definition of bombastic? It means ‘grandiloquent, inflated, pretentious,’ and ‘using language meant to impress.’ Nothing the Sussexes have released can be accurately described in these terms.
So you’re right. What do you know? Apparently, not much when it comes to the battle the Sussexes are fighting. If you’re so exhausted with ‘rooting’ 🙄, surely you have enough wits about you to suss out a remedy for your exhaustion, pdq. 😜
I’m also wondering if there was a recent trigger for this letter to the editors. Their Jan statement already suggested they were done with a lot of these tabloids. Maybe because the court hearing for Meghan’s case is on Friday& kicks off legal cases against publishers of all 4 of these particular tabloids, they are making it clear that communication is through lawyers only& those papers have no direct ‘’sources’ in their camp for further stories on them?
Maybe the volume of stories from these outlets especially is impossible to address now they don’t have a whole BP press team. And even if they respond with comments to an article, it gets published anyway as this article on a Sun story illustrates https://www.byline.com/column/68/article/2513 or sometimes has a rebuttal statement at the bottom of an inflammatory article which nobody reads.
The press press have published stories constantly on them during the pandemic so people have to take it up with press also on timing. nobody raised timing concerns on Anne’s Vanity Fair interview coming out during this time.
Not really censorship. They aren’t saying you can’t report on us just that they won’t respond to them except through legal action if necessary. they are like Zara etc now- they aren’t public figures anymore so can choose who they wish to speak to. Nobody would say Zara can’t do an exclusive interview with Hello magazine to promote her charity work etc
I agree. I think it’s either because they are sick of responding to confirm non-stories, or its a legal issue.
I do also wonder if the Telegraph reporting on their new foundation that triggered it. I’m sure H&M would liked to have announce it properly AFTER the pandemic was over with a proper launch.
The way the RRs reported it, they made out that this information just magically fell on their laps and H&M kindly confirmed it. Whereas in reality they were trawling through trademarks to get an exclusive.
Camilla Tominey, who loves to bash Meghan, was suspiciously quiet about the Telegraph reporting, which made me think whether they knew it was a step too far. Since it wasn’t silly gossip based on rumours, but actually messing with their future endeavours.
The lawsuit is coming up and I bet Toxic Tom will called by the judge. Let see Bad Dad hold up under cross examination especially when the letter becomes unredacted. If the letter and other evidence show Markle was a monster parent when Meghan was young that’s it for the Mail. The tabloids will turn on him and blame him for shelling out millions; they’ll claim he lied to them. As for timing this may have been on the court docket for the case to be heard and the Sussexes can’t change the date.
BOOM🔥 that’s how you do it! They brilliantly timed this in the same week as the court hearing to bring back the focus on the harassment by British tabloids. I’m so happy that they named the four and clearly stated how they wont respond or share information with them thus completely shutting down lies about the fake “sussexs sources” and telling American media to not re spread it
Bravo Harry & Meghan Bravo!!! I’m so thrilled that someone finally has the balls to stand up to the British gutter press!! As their press release said, this isn’t about just them but about so many who have had their lives ruined by false stories and daily abuse. What I would really like to see is an in-depth report into the British tabloid culture and how they have been allowed to ruin the lives of so many.
Omis Scobie has an excellent write up explaining why now:
“And for those asking why now? As I mention in the article, Friday is the first hearing in Meghan’s case against Associated Newspapers (Mail on Sunday) over the publication of a private letter written to her father. The couple felt it was necessary to set out a new clear agenda.“
https://twitter.com/scobie
The fact that there’s a hearing this week doesn’t explain why they released this statement. If Meghan’s court case is strong, she’ll win and the facts will come out. It’s a bit puzzling.
They didn’t release a statement. Their lawyers sent a letter to those 4 tabloids and the tabloids released the content of the letter.
Royalwatcher, I think they knew it would be printed by the tabloids. They obviously had their reasons but Omid really didn’t explain.
^^ Omid is only reporting, not trying to ‘explain’ the Sussexes’ entire reasoning and motivations for their every action. He has an inside track to Sussex sources because he’s a fair, objective, professional journalist, not because he’s intimately connected with M&H. Nor does Omid sit in on their legal strategy sessions.
This is a legal matter, so unless any of us are legal experts on cases of this kind, we are not treading much solid ground with overly opinionated critiques that over-question their timing and strategy, or by engaging in ‘perplexed’ whining and feigning being exhausted ‘rooting’ for them.
I personally do not see any downside to the Sussex letter to these four tabloids. As others have stated, it re-emphasizes what the case is about and more strongly sets the battle lines that were already drawn.
This was also a legal maneuver. By writing and releasing this letter, when the DM or The Sun or whoever writes a story and uses “a source close to the Sussexes” in their stories like they do all the time, H&M have kept the door open for future lawsuits. Because now the DM can’t lie and say “oh, we had access to x,y,z.”
Have you seen – also in the Guardian – the quoted texts from court papers which expose Toxic Markle’s tissue of lies about the wedding?! A HUGE amount of ammo to use against the Wail!
Thanks Andrew’s Nemesis. I’ll check that article out. I love the snarky, fact based reporting of The Guardian. [On a personal note, I hope your dad is doing better and you are getting stronger as well.]
Those texts are certainly damning. The whiners on twitter are insisting that they are fake – because H&M’s legal team are going to let them march into court with demonstrable lies as an offense. Morons. I wonder how they never get tired of just being wrong.
Good! All the Royal Experts who ‘warned’ Meghan that going to court would do more damage than good can now see all the lies come out. I certainly hope they can find out who those supposed ‘Royal Palace Sources are…
This is like the royal version of Taylor Swift’s “We are never ever getting back together”. Sing it, Sussexes!
I wonder if they will do the same thing to the tabloids in the US when they start saying untrue things about them. It’s going to happen eventually.
You’re being deliberately dense. The US tabloids have never talked about or treated H&M the way the BM has. The US tabloids are tacky and trashy, but nobody actually considers them a credible source. The US tabloids have also never lead a smear campaign on the Sussexes or acted like jilted ex-lovers the way the UK tabs have. Apples to oranges.
Exactly this. ABC’s World News Tonight or CNN are not going to be quoting the National flipping Enquirer or US Magazine.
Give it time o sweet one. You must be too young to have ever seen the tabloids when Diana was alive. All the tabloids on both sides of the pond had a field day with that poor lady. How do we know that the people of the UK consider their tabloids a credible source? They may think of them the same way we think of ours. It’s just my opinion just like you have yours.
@michelle – we know that “legitimate” news sources in the UK parrot the BS that the tabloids peddle. So, you’re watching BBC news and they report on something that originated from the daily fail, you are being mislead and you are not aware that the info originated with a tabloid. As I said above, legitimate US news sources do not regurgitate the nonsense from US or National Enquirer – so the tabloids in the US may be hard on her too, but that isn’t the same as having tabloid nonsense being reported as fact.
In case no one every explained it to you, calling another adult you don’t know “o sweet one” is super condescending and rude.
@Michelle, um, I am a grown woman in my 40’s and I absolutely remember everything about Charles and Di. Nice try though. Besides, we are not talking about Diana. We’re talking about Harry and Meghan.
Diana was on more People magazine covers than anyone else during the 80s and 90s and they were almost always positive. US tabloids did not treat Diana as badly as the UK ones did. Now if you had said Camilla I might have believed you because she was criticized a lot for being the other woman. Not Diana though. American media loved her.
@Michelle – no need to talk down to people. L84Tea is right. I’m in my late sixties and I remember the Diana years well. The American tabloids didn’t print nearly the amount of fallacious crap the English ones did, nor did they hack her phone, stalk her obsessively or try to buy information from her friends.
Your condescension is completely unwarranted.
@GuestWho If someone can say I am being ‘deliberately dense’ I can certainly reply with ‘o sweet one’. As I stated before, just my opinion on things. I am not saying that yours or mine are right or wrong. Enjoy your day!
Everyone “kvetching” about the timing of this statement ought to read the texts included in the latest legal filing. If they are legit, then the MOS, the DM, Tom Sr and Piers Moran are in deep, deep trouble.
This statement is legal way of saying “and the horse you road in on”.
Where are people seeing the legal filings to the case?
Hi, L84Tea
Try @BylineInvestigates on Twitter.
Byline investigates and Scobie on twitter both have a synopsis of the tweets in the legal docs.
Thanks!
It would be sweet, sweet karma if Meghan ends Piers ability to broadcast.
Oh please make that happen, karma gods!!!
Piers Morgan should have been criminally charged for the hacking he did. Murdoch et al got away with way too much and the Levenson inquiry was toothless. UK media needs a serious overhaul and a removal of the Murdoch ownership. It’s insane that he is allowed to own so much of the media in so many countries.
Good, about damn time. Just like what happended to Jacintha Saldanha, this bullying won’t stop until they are dead. All the hardwork they put towards their charity is degraded by these monsters.
Harry is also in the middle of a phone hacking case; Byline have good details on that too.
We already knew Meghan and Harry weren’t playing with the Royal Rota back in January with all the info published on their Sussex Royal website. I support Harry and Meghan and I think it’s admirable they are trying to carve a life away from the BRF and to strike out on their own. And I do enjoy harshly delivered statements excoriating the British tabloids but I don’t know if sending this out into the world was really necessary? It’s basically reiterating what we already knew? (I get it, the British tabloid media is dense!)
Dense is the kindest thing you could say about the British media. Ignorant, racist, derisive, cruel, dishonest, all better things to say about British tabloid media.
But the Sussexes didn’t send it out into the world. Their lawyers sent it to the tabloids and they released it. So that’s all on the tabloids, not the Sussexes!
Hmmm…I think Sussex are anxious to quiet the BM, and thats why this was released. I think with all the changes they made, they thought the public would stop hating, but this is going to take a while. The Sussex should quietly wait it out. Just go about their own daily duties, and ignore the world for now.
The Sussex’s are not anxious to quiet the BM. Meghan backed the Evening Standard food program just last week. They also didn’t mention the Telegraph in their list of tabloids they will not deal with.
The Sussex’s have just dropped text messages that they sent to Evil Papa Smurf in the lead up to the wedding that PROVES he was lying through his teeth about EVERYTHING. They tried to call and text but he IGNORED them.
This week is going to be epic. We are going to see how badly her father and the Markles worked with the press to smear and make money off her. I want to see them dropping the receipts on Cain and Unable as they were def in on encouraging the press to use her family.
One text that Harry said asked if it was Thomas that said that because it didn’t sound like him. It makes me think that Piers wrote the article and was really exaggerating or making it all up. Very interesting. This court case is going to good.
Can I also mention that I am irritated by the BBC News website headline, which mentions “co-operation” rather than “engagement” or “dealing with”.
I think the real target for the letter is the Royal family itelf. It’s an accepted belief that there are people within that family, whether it’s courtiers, aides, Charles, or William, who have been selling out the Sussexes. Many of the tabloids could ostensibly call a tip from William a “source close to the Sussexes.” This message, on top of the other message in which they state that no one from any palace can speak for them, reiterate that the Sussexes know exactly who have been selling them out. What I’m curious to know is if there are behind the scenes begging going on from the RF to the tabloids to settle the lawsuit. The Sussexes biggest trump card is that they know exactly where all the bodies are buried. What’s to stop the tabloids from writing about the Cambridges now? Tabloids are starving and need clicks. If they can’t get the clicks from the Sussexes, they will turn on the RF itself. We’ve already seen that these idiots have no concept of long-term thinking–a story about William’s gardening proclivities would get a lot of clicks right now. People who would tap a dead girls phone have no loyalty to a future future king.
Piers has shown he is an opportunist with no loyalty to anyone.
I bet we’ll see Will give a sit down interview to Piers one day.
William will be fawned over. William may not cooperate though because Piers wrote indiscreetly about his lunch with William and Diana and quoted everything William said.
The journalists and insiders, already know a lot more about what is going to be revealed. The Sky News Royal reporter said that ‘explosive’ information is likely to be revealed by both sides, and l believe her. The outcome of the court case is going to settle the direction of many things.
trust and believe that any release the Sussexes make has been vetted and approved by their attorneys. i’d bet this was even instructed by the attorneys to release on this day for a purpose.
exactly! The Sussex’s didn’t wake up this morning and say “hey, let’s release a letter” that just wouldn’t happen, not now, not ever. They are receiving solid advice from their team and in the end they will prevail.
I agree. Meghan is very, very smart and makes a point of working with smart, professional people. There is no way she would jeopardise her case by going off script at this juncture. She is always 10 steps ahead- by the time we see or hear anything, she has already moved on. If this was released now, it was a necessary part of the plan. Just a query, I have no legal knowledge- can the Mail etc report on the case as it progresses, given that they are involved?
@RoyalBlue
Exactly. I don’t get why people can’t understand something as simple as that.
They can. I think the latest troll talking point is “the timing of the letter! “. “ I just love Meghan and Harry, but they shouldn’t have released the letter, it’s a pandemic!” Like what has one got to do with the other? The pandemic has not stopped the media from twisting the Sussexes words or hounding them about where they live, has it?
The court hearing is this week so they had to say something ahead of this. It is basically a reprint of their statements made after the South Africa tour and after the January step down. If the tabloid press had treated them like the other Royals, without such focused targeting and harassment with sexist and racist undertones, we wouldn’t be here. They didn’t ask for this and they see, in or out the Royal family, that this is a personal vendetta on these particular tabloids part. As for those talking about timing, the tabloids have printed and paid more attention to the Sussexes than to the dismal government response to the Coronavirus pandemic the past few months. They’ve downplayed the poor preparation and lies by omission of the government, and downplayed the seriousness early on. As the rest of the Royal family, they have completely lost the plot on this and are just background wallpaper because they want the anodyne praise and puff pieces. They left the Sussexes out to dry and are stuck with those tabloids. Those tabloids have barely touched the Andrew story and while they devoted pages and pages to Frogmore cottage costs, you have never seen them question royal expenditures, even now with the economic crises caused by this pandemic. There are bigger press implications. However, when a paper prints more lies and half truths, than accurately report, even the simplest thing, how does that serve the best interests of the public? How can they cry censorship when barely issue retractions to obvious lies. I don’t know how they live like this. I know we’d love to just have cute Harry and Meghan stories, I certainly would, but they have some really complicated and messy sh*t to deal with right now. Like they said, it’s not the easy thing to do but they feel this is what’s right for them. I don’t expect this trial to be in their favor or go this way, but at least they will get to present their side unfiltered and see some of the real motivation between these tabloids gunning for them from the very beginning.
It would be so wonderful if they gave a bunch of exclusives to British and American papers who are friendly to them, maybe some pictures of Archie or something. Those tabloids suck.
If they do that they will be accused of being media whores and attention seekers. Trust me on that.
To the British Tabloids….GET OVER YOURSELVES. They don’t want you to engage with them. Write about Will/Kate….LOL you know they’re boring that’s why you’re OBSESSED with the Sussex’s
I wonder how Harry feels knowing his family members all ran to the same outlets to give interviews and access. Katie Nicholl is mentioned in Harry’s phone hacking but his aunt gave her a sit down interview, Zara gave an interview to Piers Morgan and Will and Kate continue to engage the Sun and DM.
Harry’s royal beef has always been with the royal rota and the way the control and manipulate the RF. He will not play their games but his family has sided with the tabloids. Sad state.
People are crying about the timing is because with the pandemic they hoped the case would be dropped. Wrong.
The texts are really damning. It shows the Fail if you bring Bad Dad as a witness the lawyers will go after him under oath. They know Markle will be a mess on the stand. So far no comment from the Fail.
I smell a settlement in the air.
I wonder though if the Sussex’s will settle or take this all the way?
Yeah, those texts were released as a warning shot to the press – we have the receipts and we will release them into the public domain.
If a settlement is reached it will mean that the Fail and its sister rags will have to admit the lying and manipulation of Evil Papa Smurf. I know he is her father but she has to know that he can never ever be trusted or be a part of her life now – he’s proven that he will sell her out. He’s a nasty old man who, yes was also egged on/used by the press, CHOSE to sell her out to trashy newspapers for money and attention.
Personally, I want to see the Sussex’s take it all the way – I want them to bring Morgan down and ruin the Fail once and for all. I want them to expose who in the RF was selling them out.
I dont think they’ll settle. It’ll be interesting to see which direction this does all go.
Definitely puts an end to all of the “sources say” stories that these tabloids thrive on. No more Willileaks, no more palace couriers, no more friends of H/M say this or that…they have effectively cut off all of them. Well done, Harry & Meghan!
This will not stop the media from writing lies and this will not stop the dense readers from believing what’s written.
Harry and Meghan laid down the hammer.
Good Luck, Harry and Meghan.
The tabloid press is an international issue.
It’s interesting that in the U.S. we’ve heard so little in the past couple of years about the way the National Enquirer’s parent organization pushed the Trump agenda.
In late 2018 AMI admitted that in 2016 it did a “catch and kill” with Karen McDougal, a Playboy playmate who was involved with Trump. They also pushed a lot of anti-Hillary Clinton stories (she has pneumonia, etc. etc.).
I wish the Sussexes well with their lawsuit and trust they are getting excellent legal advice.
Just came to say that William’s private secretary, Simon Case, has left KP to return to Boris. Interesting timing.
The Cambridge’s have been quietly bleeding staff over the last few years, but you don’t see the media talking to much about it. I wonder why.
interesting 🤔
A couple of things.
What’s a ‘sugar’ ?
This reminds me of the Gift of Fear wherein you’re advised to clearly and decisively tell someone to cease contact so as to establish that any further contact was unwelcome. After all We’ve often described the tabloids as abusive. So we’re done with you and now we’re shunning you.
I agree though it’s a legal manoeuvre to do with the coming court proceedings.
God I hope it comes out who has been leaking about them from within the Royal family.
I’m curious
When Beyoncé (or other black female celebs) distances herself from the press like this, is reclusive or very strict about public boundaries, a lot of the comments on here are either outright racist or low-key and hateful. She is referred to as arrogant self absorbed and when she tries to present herself in the way she feels comfortable, where she is able to speak on her terms, again she is referred to as controlling and variations of uppity.
So what would it take to respect that black women of all shades and backgrounds have a right to set hard boundaries? Becuause otherwise we will be constantly violated (not that that stops people).
Does Beyoncé have to be even lighter than she already is? Start dressing modestly? Speak with clipped, clear tones and use language that some people on here think means she is intelligent? Does she have to stop talking about sex and stop using country southern and regular black folk language?
Coz everyone loves it when Meghan takes a stand to protect herself as a black/biracial woman from racist attacks from a media that is *institutionally* racist and I’m struggling to see the difference? Beyoncé is also a humanitarian with a less than perfect husband, she also has kids and struggles to protect them from brutal racist attacks from the public, she also speaks out for and defends young poc and has for decades…so…I guess it’s just that she’s not classy enough for some of you. Not the right kind of black huh?
And please don’t start naming respectable black women that you like, that’s even worse. I would just like people to consider the kinds of black women they afford generosity and kindness to
+1000.
@Dev, Thank you. Women, black women, have the right to set boundaries and say no. They don’t need to apologize for preserving themselves. They want these woman to do the most for us, while expecting the least from them in regards to character.
I realize I am in a minority but honestly if they don’t want to engage, just don’t. They left so they had options. Well, they can no comment the tabloids all they want now….A formal letter calling specific tabloids out just seems like it will feed the frenzy. Let the lawsuit stand on its own and continue to do the media they want to do.
I get that they are still mad and hurt by everything that went down… but I don’t think this will stop the tabloids from making things up and running clickbait stories… it’s how they make money. It may feel satisfying…but it just fuels the fire.
I’m not a media person though so maybe there is a logic to trying to frame stories that will come from the lawsuit.
I read yesterday that a reporter from the Express stated if everything really comes out in these lawsuits-the royal family would be very badly damaged. I have seen this statement 3 or 4 times in the past 6 months-it makes me wonder when Thomas Markle said that the royal family owes him-if this is anyways true I wonder who put him up to this from the royal family-People said Harry had receipts-maybe so. They have been trying so hard since last year to force them to drop the lawsuits. Besides Meghan and Harry already stated when stepping down they would only work with grassroots outlets and outlets who cover them and their work fairly. God bless and keep the Sussex family close.
They are doing this for Archie.
If they did not fight now and win, Archie future will be even worse than them.
I pray H&M win this war and sue them till the RR broke and no one will hire them.
@Thirtynine, I agree with you that this is PHarry’s crusade . It is his way of giving justice for the death of his mother and all the women and men who have died and lost their sense of self because of the baseless, relentless bullying and shaming of the British media. He has the global influence to effect change because of who he is. He may not be king but if this is his purpose in life then he’s working toward his purpose.
I say good for them. I haven’t read all the comments so I don’t know if anyone has already covered this, but tabloid/billionaire-owned “journalism” is very destructive to society and politics in Britain guys! I’m happy these super high profile people are taking them on, and moreover very happy for them to have actually named the specific papers. Yes!! It’s so important to separate these tabloids from the actual journalism in the UK. Very different things and it’s scary when people are like I’m not going to believe any papers because it’s all fake etc. No, it’s important to distinguish the gutter press from the rest, especially in times of upheaval as we are experiencing now. And lastly, I see a lot of “their timing sucks” commentary. I disagree because 1. These tabloids haven’t stopped running outrageous untrue stories about the couple no matter what is happening in the world right now 2. It is even more important to fight against lies in this great age of misinformation. If people start to realise, because of H&M, that this type of “journalism” isn’t to be trusted, then that would be a great thing.
Good on them for making the wellbeing of their family a priority. It seems like it is not only the Sussexes who have chosen to disengage with the British tabloids, just 8% of the population believes that the media in general has any credibility. The sun.co.uk has reported losses of £48 million, daily Fail and dailyexpress.co.uk also incurred losses. There is #buyanewspaper campaign and the Tories bought advertising to boost revenue.
It seems difficult for tabloids to use their own advice to Harry and Meghan. This is a reminder that public funds should be diverted to the NHS and not used to help corporations who do not pay any taxes.