Last week, I started reading this Tatler piece about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s exit from Canada and I never finished it because the essay/article is legitimately bonkers. It was written by Shinan Govani, who I guess is sort of a Toronto society-writer, like Canada’s version of Truman Capote, only terrible (and kind of racist). Govani’s claim to fame in this piece is that Meghan came to a party at his house before she met Prince Harry. And the purpose of this story is multi-fold: the Sussexes, according to Govani, should have stayed in Canada so they could be properly hidden, except everyone in Canada hated them and didn’t want them there, and LA will probably hate them too because Meghan is a gauche American or something. The whole piece is full of these absolutely bizarre quotes from various unnamed society people and his own bitchy asides. Here’s are a few parts which caught my eye (I stopped reading after the last part):

Regarding Meghan’s reputation in Canada: Those who knew Meghan best are often the most agnostic. ‘She is like liquorice. You either love her or you don’t’ is how someone who once moved in the same circles as her memorably put it.

The time Meghan came to his dinner party: During the casual dinner at my home – at which she had made a surprise appearance to join her then boyfriend, Vitiello, direct from shooting scenes on Suits – I recall turning in my kitchen to find her near the fridge, and our conversation moving to the time she had spent living in Buenos Aires. Something that has stayed with me, especially post-Megxit, is that Meghan is no stranger to picking up and reinventing herself, be it in Argentina, Canada, the UK, or now, LA. Both a go-getter as well as a shape-shifter, she returns now with more social mojo than she could have ever imagined then.

This part about her race is baffling: When people ask me about Meghan in the context of her first go-around in Canada, I waffle a bit. On the one hand, she was just another actress, part of an ensemble cast on a fringe cable network, working at a time when there were well over 400 shows every year in the entertainment ecosystem. Toronto, in particular, is used to American projects shooting in town. And to be perfectly frank, we did not pay her much attention. She was just there. Charming, sure, if a little coquettish, with one eye on being an ‘influencer’. But, swear to God, many of those in her social circles (even someone of colour, like myself) did not realise then that she was biracial, as it never came up and she did not ‘read’ that way.

[From Tatler]

“But, swear to God, many of those in her social circles (even someone of colour, like myself) did not realise then that she was biracial, as it never came up and she did not ‘read’ that way.” Fam, I’m laughing. This is the most pathetic excuse of the racist: “how could I be racist if I didn’t even know she’s black?” He wants us to know that she didn’t “act black” or “act biracial” and that Meghan never introduced herself to people as “Hello, I’m Meghan and I’m biracial.” He tried it.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Avalon Red.