Everybody has an opinion on the “royal scandal” tabloids are calling “Megxit,” mostly because news channels and sites have been repeatedly hitting us over the heads with the story the past few days. This article is less about Harry and Meghan’s announcement itself and more about the “coverage” the press has been giving it.
That’s a ton of quotation marks around a bunch of stuff that usually doesn’t have those marks. What that means outside of my “polite” writing voice is this: All those journalists are doing an awful job of covering this story.
Saying this is a bold take for a college kid who’s been doing this writing thing officially for less than six months, so let me explain myself a little.
As most of you know, Prince Harry’s mother Princess Diana was harassed by paparazzi constantly, and it was widely assumed that her death was caused by some sort of chase that ended in the crash that killed her, as well as her lover and their driver. These theories have been investigated since then, but the most important takeaway from this is how bad the harassment was.
Prince Harry is (rightly) sensitive about how the media treats his loved ones, and things have only gotten worse since he married American actress, Meghan Markle.
All that is to say, I believe Harry’s move to step back from the spotlight is completely valid. However, what I think about another person’s personal decision to protect their loved ones shouldn’t matter. What I have to say about a couple’s decision to cut off toxic aspects of their life doesn’t mean anything, especially because I don’t actually know these people.
However, every talk-show, news site and comedian seem to have something to say about this. Is it a desperate attempt to increase their popularity by capitalizing on someone else’s pain? Is it simply their ignorance of how deeply this issue with the press runs for the couple? Or is it a belief that they are inherently better equipped to explain the story than a tabloid you buy in a supermarket check-out aisle?
I can’t really say.
I do, however, have a couple “artifacts” to provide you with examples of what I mean, so that you can form your own opinion on the matter.
Example One:
An Instagram post from an account called “Betches Media Daily”
Personally, I believe this was an attempt to bring humor to this whole event, but I think it missed the mark by trivializing the real issue (media harassment), thus adding to said problem.
They also mentioned The Crown, a television show based on drama within the royal family, which strikes me as dismissive.
Example Two:
The first time I saw this I audibly asked, “What the actual f*ck?” The seventh time I saw this, while adding the photo to this article, I once again audibly asked myself that. Everything about this photo is offensive, but the wheelchair won out as the worst part of this image. Amy Schumer also recently opened up about having fertility struggles with IVF and asked for advice and sympathy while doing so. The fact that sympathy and understanding is expected of people responding to her despite her making fun of Harry and Meghan’s struggle is hypocritical at best. I also stopped following Amy after that because I’m not a fan of people who think they should be above the same treatment they give to others.
Now, as a white, college-aged woman, I’m not going to get into the race aspect of this issue, although I do think that some of the negative press surrounding Meghan has its roots in racism. I do, however, wonder if the reason she is treated with more criticism than Kate Middleton is because of the color of Meghan’s skin.
Example Three:
As usual, a woman of color is compared to an animal, which I’ve gotta say, is pretty problematic.
While it’s true that Meghan and Harry are public figures and are watched closely by media and fans alike, I argue that the media’s coverage of them is just plain mean. Is being mean the only way to get attention? Why do we hold children to a higher standard than our press? As a future teacher, I cannot fathom how we can tell children it is wrong to bully other students yet laugh along when a comedian or talk-show host acts the same way.
The world is a sad enough place already; we don’t need to belittle others (yes, even famous rich people) to make it brighter. While I know a college girl writing a single article won’t change how the world talks about public figures, I hope that enough people with similar ideas can at least make social media a little more positive every day.