The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been pushing back on their harshest critics in recent days. I hope this is a new strategy we’ve seen in recent months, where the Sussexes and Archewell refuse to allow all of this nastiness to sit out there, festering in the public sphere. Justine Bateman outed herself as a hateful, MAGA-esque person after the election, pretending like the Biden administration was all about censoring her and her insurrectionist allies. Justine has found a new gravy train, in case you haven’t noticed – a has-been actress is now a self-styled MAGA cultural critic. She’s finding out that mentioning Harry and Meghan gets her the most attention too. Over the weekend, Justine saw the videos of Harry and Meghan visiting the Pasadena relief center and volunteering with wildfire evacuees, and Justine declared them “disaster tourists.” Sources close to the Sussexes already pushed back in People Mag, and now Page Six is running this exclusive:
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry feel Justine Bateman’s disparaging comments were “offensive” after they stepped up to help Los Angeles wildfire victims on Friday. The “Family Ties” alum labeled the couple “disaster tourists” as photos surfaced of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex distributing food and supplies to victims outside the Pasadena Convention Center.
“It’s offensive to Meghan and Harry that anybody would think this is merely a photo opportunity,” a source exclusively tells Page Six.
The pair currently live approximately 90 miles north of the city, however, our source says, “Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles so this is, and always will be, home to her.”
According to the insider, Markle, 43, is “not just a tourist” and “her heart is completely broken for all the lives that have been lost and for those whose homes have been destroyed in these fires.” Harry, 40, and Markle “invested significant time and resources, they have donated money and essential items.”
“They have also dedicated countless hours to volunteering, long before the media even caught wind of their involvement,” the source tells us.
Reps for the Sussexes and Bateman did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment. Bateman slammed the couple on X Saturday, writing that the couple “are no better than ambulance chasers.”
My thing is that if you want to be that person and try to critique the Sussexes’ volunteerism, why are you not applying the same critique to every celebrity volunteering or appearing on TV to talk about the Southern California fires? Lots of celebrities have spoken out about donating money or supporting their neighbors or taking people in. Meghan, a native Angeleno, brought her husband to her hometown and they volunteered at a relief center AND donated AND brought attention to World Central Kitchen’s work. Like… what are we doing here?
Photos & screencaps courtesy of Fox News, Cover Images, LA Fox affiliate and Sky News.
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- , New York, NY – 20180423 Celebrities arrive at the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Dinner hosted by Chanel at Balthazar. -PICTURED: Justine Bateman -PHOTO by: Kristin Callahan/ACE Pictures/INSTARimages.com -042318_ChanelArtist_K122 This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Justine Bateman Where: New York, New York, United States When: 23 Apr 2018 Credit: Kristin Callahan/ACE Pictures/INSTARimages.com
She got what she wanted, I’ve seen this story all over regular media
Attention for being an asshole during a crisis . How wonderful for her.
She’s a racist grifter, loser and opportunist so of course MAGA is her bag. The Sussexes are her new meal ticket.
You know what so funny and infuriating about her is that she has a book ” Fame: the hijacking of reality” which is well written and thought-out book. I really liked it and her because of that book, until all the MAGA crap.
But here she’s doing exactly what she criticizes about fame in her book. Did she even write that book? Or has she forgotten her own words? It’s like she’s upset that she’s not getting attention anymore and has to go on an unhinged rant about people HELPING to get attention.
How low do you have to get to find faults with helpers at times like these. Ugh so infuriating.
@ joany – whoa, I had no idea she wrote a book at all – I looked it up and found an EW interview with her about it. Honestly she sounds like fame f*ed her up coming and going — losing fame seems to still confuse and embitter her, which definitely puts insight into why H & M are so triggering for her. As to why she’s suddenly a flying monkey re: the Sussexes, someone must be giving her chump change – maybe there’s a drug problem or something, something is way off with her.
Wouldn’t her time be better spent out there in the LA community, helping others, vs hating on H&M?
This part.
Maybe this child of a lesser Bateman should get off her tuchus and start helping people in her community, if she’s so genuinely concerned.
And why isn’t Justine out there volunteering? That’s what she should be doing instead of criticizing anyone who does.
Ding ding ding ding ding! We have a winner!!!
Finally! I love that they clap back with facts. I wouldn’t hold back with the British press either. Not the family soap opera lies, because who has time for the Windsors, but the lies that impact their professional reputation and that of their partners.
This! I hope they stop trying to let stories “go away” and start fighting back! Fuck Justine Bateman
Good for Harry and Meghan. I am so sick of these dried up and out days old stale white bread going after Meghan as if she isn’t human with feelings too . I hope one day Meghan will just post a message saying and a big f you to all you salty haters . I know she won’t but a girl can dream . Notice how once Harry and Meghan clap back little white Karen all of a sudden can’t find her voice any more. Bullies will always back down once you stand your ground.
The derangers are huge fans. She is bitter her brother is much more of a success. And her big opportunity in the film satisfaction did not pan out. Sour grapes.
And her bitterness shows all over her face. She looks like she takes it off and balls it up on her nightstand each night.
Why is she talking about what they are doing rather than being out helping, herself?
I was just thinking the same thing. As much as I dislike criticism of womens’ looks, Justine has a clear case of hater face.
Hateful people just age much worse, you can be very physically attractive but eventually the outside will match the inside.
Do they even know who she is…. Her heyday was when Harry was a preschooler
According to Wikipedia, Justine was born in Rye,NY. Justine, Megyn Kelly, Meghan McCain-what do these women have in common besides the obvious. All of them are has beens and clout chasing because they are desperate for relevance.
And you’re right Kaiser. I’ve seen several celebrities out there volunteering and being interviewed. Where’s the performative outrage for that?
The Sussexes do not talk to Page Six.
I thought the same thing. Page 6 is anti Sussex and attracts derangers.
Eh they may have on this one because both of them care about WCK and are partners with Chef Jose Andres. That’s some mess that neither of them need when they want to help people who are displaced. Frankly Justine Bateman is a mess and I guess she’s she can get on Fox News and be a person that Trump points to as being an A lister who hates celebs that hate him.
I agree, they may have. We really don’t know. I know they once said they would never release information indirectly through “friends”, but that was years ago and we can see they have adjusted their media strategy lately. I mean, they can’t just come out and say OK we adopted a more layered comms strategy, so expect “sources” to say stuff about us. In that regard their original statement about never ever saying things through unnamed sources might have been a bit naive.
Scobie said something like this in Endgame which I think went over a lot of people’s heads – he referenced that Sussex statement re: their press policy and said something about how they may have come to regret being so strong about the “no inside source” part etc.
@Becks1 – glad you mentioned this about what Scobie said in Endgame. It struck me at the time as well, and I’ve been curious if anyone else would ever refer to it. Like @Smart&Mess says, it’s been my impression H&M have adjusted their strategy in the last year or so, and I keep meaning to go back to Endgame and find where Scobie mentioned it.
So I can believe they’ve adjusted their strategy for sure. It’s the page 6 being from murdoch part that throws me. I can believe they have sources that will talk to certain publications on their behalf. But page 6 is Murdoch and Harry is about to go to court with the Sun?
Right?
P6 is owned by Murdoch, the one who’s next to being taken down in court by Team Harry.
Has JB volunteered herself to help? Are only certain people eligible to help others in this catastrophe or just people that JB approves of? Anyway so pleased Meg and Harry have clapped back. It always strikes me as galling that cowards like Pisspoor Morgan and Amanda Platell have never FOUGHT for their country and criticise Harry ‘ s military service? I mean how very dare they criticise others years of service when all they have done is bitch in print without lifting a finger themselves.
JB has said people should pray, because she doesn’t trust any public entity handling donations responsibly.
Not that there aren’t orgs like WCK or the Pasadena Humane Society one could donate to.
But hey, at least she’s married to a banker who’s part of the corrupt staff at Deutsche Bank that supported Trump and his fraudulent loan(s) (applications).
Like…what are we even doing here? Beyond being massivel assholes…no freaking clue. We’re witnessing the absolute worst in people. People who have been emboldened by trump’s win.
William gets praised by some for
His so called work for the homeless. Says a speech looks concerns and hope back into the copter. Harry and Meghan stay and work
Why bother . She is a nobody. Don’t dignified her offensive comments with a reply to Page Six.
Who’s the source close to Harry and Meghan? The only conclusion I can come to is that MAGA Justine didn’t know that Meghan is from LA. I’m surprised that Justine’s spokesperson declined to comment.
Perhaps Justine’s spokesperson was too embarrassed to get involved.
If she has an, that person needs to be fired. 😂 She hasn’t worked in forever
Why would JB have a spokesperson? It’s not like she has a busy career. She does nothing.
The article actually says “reps,” not spokesperson – so, that could mean her agent or attorney.
I also saw some sh*t talk about Jennifer Garner, who was also there highlighting WCK’s work. I don’t know how much time she spent there volunteering, but why does it matter? These people are trying to do good work, helping the volunteer organizations to get some media attention, which would hopefully lead to more donations. Do we want rich people to help people in need or not? Because it seems like you are damned if you try to help or not. It is also always people who don’t do sh*t to help, sneering about people who do.
People who live outside of CA may donate to WCK because these celebs are there supporting it. They may have never heard of WCK. I support them myself and have loved Jose since he backed out of operating trump’s new restaurant in DC after he heard trump’s speech announcing his run for president in 2015 where he raged on about immigrants. That’s when I became aware of it.
Yeah, we are following these news, so we know about Jose and his work with WCK. But, a lot of people aren’t aware of it. When the magazines like People run a few articles because Jennifer or H&M are helping out together with WCK, more people get informed about how they can help.
It’s so interesting to see the force WCK has become. I’ve followed them for years as well. My sister in law was in Haiti during the 2010 earthquake which helped inspire JA to start it, while some years earlier when in DC for an event I had a memorable meal in the early days of one of his restaurants. So I already knew who he was when I happened to hear about WCK, and was impressed with what he had in mind. He has some high profile supporters now (remember WCK’s work during the pandemic) but they work all over the globe, in multiple places at once, and every donation matters regardless of size. If JA’s visibility on camera with H&M and Jennifer Garner makes more people aware of them, excellent. After all, isn’t that the line we’re always being fed about the point of having a royal patron? Supposed to bring visibility to an organization to attract support?
Hopefully Justine Bateman will drop back out of sight again very soon, but we’re likely to continue playing whack-a-mole with these various clout chasers for quite some time.
Yikes, I have never seen a good looking person hate on Meghan. It’s always the facially challenged.
Where is the lieeee 😂😂😂😂
She looks frightening.
She looks like a pill to me- miserable in her life, only briefly feels better when she disparages others. We see you for who you are, JB.
Ask her to look in a mirror and she’ll tell you she sees a queen.
Honestly if a cigarette were a person it would look like Justine Bateman. Like dried up paper. Now she getting all of this fire and hate dumped on her while Harry and Meghan will continue to soar. Was it worth it Justine? 🤔
LW that was both hilarious and true!
Whether that response actually came from a Sussex insider or not, I’m fine with it because its a very good clapback – its offensive, Meghan is from LA, and they’ve been volunteering and donating for hours/days before the cameras found them.
The press really fixates on them and then blames them for the press attention.
It’s Murdoch. There’s no insider. It’s fiction.
Eh, look at the way this statement is worded. Its very specific and very strong. Its not just “ugh they can’t stand Justine Bateman.” Its pretty much what a spokesperson would say on the record.
If it is something that Page 6 just completely made up, then like I said in my comment, I’m still fine with it because its a very good response and if Page 6 did make it up, then someone there realized how stupid JB’s comments were 🤷♀️
This is Rupert’s P6 talking out of both sides of its mouth (“a source exclusively tells Page Six” — “Reps for the Sussexes …did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment”). And using AI to get an utterly predictable response after sticking their finger in the Santa Ana wind and figuring out which way it was blowing for a hypocritic hater with black eyeliner rimming her peepholes.
I am not going to lie JB comments were disturbing and she deserves a lot of clap back for her vile and unwarranted attack on them. Her hubby works for that disgraced German bank that funds people like the criminal orange 🍊 man and human traffickers like JE, and she has been irrelevant since I was a teenager. This was pure attention seeking by JB, and truthfully I am sure she was compensated but they sure had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to fish her out because unless you lived in the 80’s and in the states you would not know who she is at all.
Agree with every single thing. It was pure attention seeking.. Sadly, though. Since much of the legacy media is owned by billionaires ie Murdoch, the story is amplified. I saw it in many regular media outlets – almost all tbh – with zero push back. In some countries, everyone believes the worst because they don’t understand manipulation
it’s telling that Bateman accused the Sussexes of using the fires for publicity but said nothing about James Woods going on CNN to cry about his house being burned down and using that as an excuse to attack Biden/Newsome when he was immediately called out for lying (then going on Fox to say it was miracle and praise MAGA/Trump)
I doubt the Sussexes did the clapback, but I think P6 saw Justine Bateman getting dragged on SM for her snide comments on the Sussexs and JB getting shots is good content (for P6). Not sure she responds or limits her comments though. Meghan McCain and Khloe Kardashian got beaten up online. Sad the LA fires is being used as a backdrop for tabloids to write about celebrity beefs, real or imagined.
The dm also is posting this story
I read elsewhere that Justine claimed M&H arrived with a TV crew (from TMZ no less) to tape their volunteer effort and THAT was the hook that got the haters worked up. I didn’t see or read about a crew in other reporting. Personally, I don’t care if they film it or not. They’re on the ground helping distraught people and WCK. It’s a pathetic cheap shot to criticize anyone who is there to help and is especially rich coming from JB while she’s lapping up attention at Fox News.
That was a mess and a lie. I shake my head at that woman. She’s been losing her crap over immigrants and I assume she sees Harry that way and then Black people. I am so glad she’s showing she’s a racist with her whole heart though.
There are news cameras everywhere covering these fires … H&M didn’t have to bring their own crew … They were with the mayor of Pasadena and Chef Jose Andres. Of course their work was captured on camera.
Justine ‘Look at Meeeee’ Bateman needs to have several seats. Was she out there giving her time and energy to help the people affected by this disaster? No. So she should shut her pie hole. Her bitterness and jealousy are only serving to show us how ugly she is inside and out.
She looks like she’s gone off the rails completely.
Get your family ties ass off the rage bait and go help you miserable idiot!
I find these Sussex trolls unbeliavably outrageous. People must be aware that there is a whole campaign against Harry and Meghan. It is incredible hwo trolls keep on criticizing this beautiful couple. And strangely enough Kate has now gone for the first time in a year to visit the hospital where “apparently” she was cured for cancer. What a coincidence, they could not allow meghan and harry to appear better people than they are. Truth of the matter God only knows if Kate really has cancer or if it was just to cover up a divorce. In any case, she could have done this step a long time ago, the fact that she has done it only now, after the sussexes showed their support for the California fires, speaks volumes about how (un) sincere and fake Kate is.
So now we know something Meghan has in common with Jason Bateman – a racist, bitter, much-less-successful older sister with MAGA media on speed dial. How charming.
What time today can we expect Justine to tear into Paris Hilton, Jimmy Kimmel and Steve Guttenberg? You know, the white disaster tourists. Then she can crawl back under that rock where she’s been living since the late 80’s.
As others have said, why is she not volunteering, rather than criticizing how others are volunteering from the comfort of their own home. That’s really putting oneself out there. I can’t believe no one has called her on it. And the last picture speaks volumes to me because around Meghan are her hubby Prince Harry, Chef Jose, and the Mayor in the picture and in the conversation she is having to HIGHLIGHT other people and victims of the fire. Whenever she is featured, she is busy featuring a cause or other people. I’m trying not to say anything about Justine’s face, because we all age, but she does not look happy or mentally well. It is upsetting to look at her. And yes, thank goodness the Sussexes are clapping back. I hope this helps some in the hate campaign. I heard British Vogue has an article coming out called Hate Campaign, of course, about Meghan. Can’t wait to read it.
It was incredibly offensive and dishonest. Glad they called it out. Bateman probably never gave the Sussexes a single thought until she saw the attention being nasty to them got Meghan McCain and decided to jump on that hate train. All these MAga types are just being cruel without offering to help out their community.
Ugh she is a sad miserable b!tch who is angry at the world. We shouldn’t give her anymore attention.
Justine Bateman… BARF. Her outsides match her insides.
1000%
Nah, I don’t believe it. This is just Page Six and the Murdoch media publishing lies and writing something negative about the Sussexes, because of Harry’s lawsuit, to bring them down a peg, the Sussexes don’t care. They probably don’t even know who JB is. They are booked and busy while the idle minds stay envious and jealous, while using them for attention and clicks.
I love Australia but the one thing, they gave the world Murdoch.
What a haggard looking see you next Tuesday.
So sad that a total has-been is getting attention like this.
I’m pretty neutral on Meghan but the amount of hate she gets is unbelievable.
She grew up in LA, of course that’s going to be emotional for her. I find it wild that the royals get to call attending charity events work, and complain about how hard they all work.
Like them or hate them the Sussexes have an income, do charity work they are not obligated to do, and make donations from their personal incomes.
It’s bizarre how many people make a living just hating on them.
So the Justine Bateman ‘disaster tourist’ story is nestling next to a story saying that M&H’s house is now very close to the evacuation area.
Surely one can’t be a ‘disaster tourist’ if one’s house is in the fire zone?
JB wasn’t even born in LA- maybe she was raised in LA but she’s still a transplant. M was born and raised in LA. M is not a tourist in her own hometown. JB is just a b(and I used to like her in family ties).