Meghan Markle hits back at THAT controversial interview with The Cut

Meghan Markle has hit back at her controversial interview with New York Magazine’s The Cut, claiming that she was too ‘trusting and open’ with the writer to whom she once again slated the royal family – while heavily hinting that the chat was never meant to address her feelings about the monarchy. 

The 41-year-old spoke out about the bitter backlash over the August cover interview in yet another magazine cover shoot, this time with Variety, which features a near-identical shot of Meghan on its front page to the one that was featured by The Cut two months ago.

In her latest sit-down, Meghan was questioned about the backlash over her piece in The Cut, in which she spoke out about her husband Prince Harry’s family, claiming that the pair were ‘happy’ to leave Britain and were ‘upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy… just by existing’ before they quit as senior royals.

When Variety writer Matt Donnelly noted that some people had ‘found [the interview] to be snarky,’ the Duchess of Sussex appeared to take aim at The Cut – and interviewer Allison P. Davis – claiming that she had been too ‘trusting’ and ‘open’ during the chat, adding that the interview was only ever meant to focus on her podcast, Archetypes, and her and Harry’s other projects. 

‘The [New York] story was intended to support “Archetypes” and focus on our projects,’ she said, before adding: ‘I’ve had some time to reflect on it. Part of me is just really trusting, really open — that’s how I move in the world.’ 

The 41-year-old claimed she was too ‘trusting’ and ‘open’ in her August interview with The Cut, in which she took several swipes at the royal family

When contacted by DailyMail.com, a spokesperson for The Cut declined to comment on Meghan’s new interview.  

Despite the bitter backlash against her chat with The Cut – which readers slammed as a ‘shameless vanity project’ while calling for Meghan to ‘move on’ from the royal family drama – the Duchess of Sussex insisted that she doesn’t want to lose the ‘trusting’ part of herself, adding that she can ‘survive’ the controversy.

‘I have to remember that I don’t ever want to become so jaded that that piece of me goes away. So despite any of those things? Onward. I can survive it,’ she said.

Although Meghan suggested that her chat with The Cut was only ever meant to focus on her podcast – which is part of the Sussexes’ $25 million Spotify deal – and the couple’s ‘other projects’, the final interview featured several scathing quotes from the Duchess about the royal family. 

Meghan said that she and Prince Harry were ‘happy’ to leave Britain and were ‘upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy… just by existing’ before they stepped down as frontline royals and moved to California. 

She also claimed that what she and Prince Harry asked for when they wanted financial freedom was not ‘reinventing the wheel’; The Cut then reported that the mother-of-two listed a ‘handful of princes and princesses and dukes who have the very arrangement they wanted’, although none of these royals were named in the article. 

And Meghan, speaking to New York-based features writer Davis, continued: ‘That, for whatever reason, is not something that we were allowed to do, even though several other members of the family do that exact thing.’ 

 The Duchess of Sussex appeared to take aim at The Cut – and interviewer Allison P. Davis – in her sit-down with Variety, claiming that she had been too ‘trusting’ and ‘open’ during the chat

She also hinted that she was not meant to discuss the royals during The Cut interview, saying it was only ever meant to ‘support [her podcast] “Archetypes” and focus on our projects’

Asked, ‘Why do you think that is?’, Meghan simply replied: ‘Why do you think that is?’, with the interviewer saying that the Duchess said this ‘right back with a side-eye that suggests I should understand without having to be told’.

The article further states that Harry and Meghan suggested to ‘The Firm’ that they should be allowed to work on behalf of the monarchy but make their own money, with the Duchess saying: ‘Then maybe all the noise would stop.’

The article says: ‘They also thought it best to leave the U.K. (and the U.K. press) to do it. They were willing to go to basically any commonwealth, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, anywhere.’

‘Anything to just… because just by existing, we were upsetting the dynamic of the hierarchy,’ Meghan told the publication. ‘So we go, “Okay, fine, let’s get out of here. Happy to,”‘ with The Cut reporting that she ‘put her hands up in mock defeat’ as she spoke.

Aside from her comments about the royal family, Meghan also made the sensational claim that she was told by a cast member of the Lion King in 2019 that South Africans ‘danced in the street’ like when ‘Mandela was freed from prison’ when she married the Duke of Sussex.

The interview – which was published in late August – sparked incredulous backlash from readers in the US, with critics slamming the piece as ‘vanity PR’ and branding Meghan ‘shameless’. 

Journalist Lucy Burge, from Boston, wrote on Twitter: ‘If Meghan Markle hates the royal family so much why is she still using the Duchess of Sussex title? She’s the fakest, most annoying person alive.’

Piers Morgan also bashed her words, calling her interview a ‘revoltingly self-aggrandizing, disingenuous and hypocritical load of royal-bashing tosh’.

Meghan also addressed her explosive March 2021 sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, admitting that she felt ‘a bit uncomfortable’ at walking into a crowded room after it aired 

In their interview with Oprah, Harry and Meghan (seen with their children) made several very damaging allegations about the monarchy, including claims that an unnamed royal made racist comments about the color of their son Archie’s skin tone

He added that the Mandela anecdote had him ‘gagging’, while others were quick to accuse her of making the story up.

One person said: ‘What has Meghan Markle been doing since she left the royal family?

‘Every time she opens her mouth it is to bad-mouth them all and lie. It was so bad, she is now comparing herself to Nelson Mandela!’

Another added: ‘It doesn’t make sense that Megsy still use the Royal Title that the Queen gave them while she keeps thrashing them every day.

‘This is a propaganda piece to spread “Meghan’s truth”. Return the Royal Title that she hates so much and live your life in peace.’

She was also slammed for claiming Prince Harry told her ‘I lost my dad’, after he and Prince Charles had a public fall out over his decision to step away from The Firm.

Royal experts previously claimed that Harry was back in touch with his father, but this relationship with his brother Prince William had not yet ‘fully recovered’ after the couples Oprah interview.

One person said: ‘Meghan Markle has infamously rejected and demonized her own dad, Tom.

‘In her latest vanity PR interview she says Prince Harry told her “I lost my dad” too. That is huge.

‘It will cause enormous damage to Prince Charles, a King in waiting, and she knows it. Nasty, nasty, nasty.’

In her interview with Variety, Meghan also spoke out about her explosive sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, in which she and Prince Harry made several very damaging allegations about the royal family – the most serious of which saw the couple claiming that an unnamed royal had made racist remarks about their son Archie’s skin tone. 

She told the publication about her experiences in the days after the interview was aired in March 2021, revealing she attended Gloria Steinhem’s birthday party – and admitting that she ‘felt a bit uncomfortable’ walking into the event. 

‘I hadn’t really seen people in a long time, and the interview had come out maybe a week before. Walking into a room alone is never easy for me, and I remember feeling a bit uncomfortable,’ she recalled. 

‘But before I could let my uncertainty linger, Pamela Adlon came up to me and greeted me with such warmth and kindness. She toured me around the room, and at every turn, more generosity and love was felt.’

She added: ‘It’s like they knew exactly what I needed to feel in that moment. It meant, and still means, so very much to me. The power of sisterhood and female support can never be underestimated.’ 

‘My intention is not to act again’: Meghan Markle confesses she’d ‘never say never’ to a return to her first profession – and wants future actresses to portray her as ‘soft and playful’ in her Variety interview 

Meghan Markle ruled out an acting return and wants any actresses to portray her as ‘soft and playful’ in any future adaptations of her life.

In a new interview with Variety magazine, the Duchess of Sussex, 41, was promoting her new Spotify podcast Archetypes when talk turned to her early career.

When she met Prince Harry in 2016, the mother-of-two was most famous for her role as Rachel Zane in hit legal drama Suits – but quit the show shortly before the couple’s April 2018 wedding.

Discussing how her professional landscape has changed since then, Meghan said: ‘I didn’t think I’d ever be in the entertainment industry again. But the entire culture has changed; streamers have changed things.’

When quizzed about whether she’d ever perform again, Meghan initially shut down the question with: ‘No. I’m done.’

The Duchess of Sussex was most famous for her role as Rachel Zane in hit legal drama Suits before marrying Prince Harry. The mother-of-two appeared in seven seasons of the show before quitting in 2018

The Duchess of Sussex – pictured with Prince Harry and baby Archie in 2019 – said she would be encouraging if her kids wanted to join the entertainment industry

Acknowledging that Archie and Lilibet’s family connections might give them a headstart, Meghan stressed that it still takes ‘talent and grit’ to be successful. Lilibet pictured in June 2022 ahead of her first birthday

But on second thought, the Duchess decided not to rule it out entirely. 

She added: ‘I guess never say never, but my intention is to absolutely not.’

Stressing that she’d never ‘given much thought’ to the prospect of another actress playing her one day, Meghan said that they will most likely only know the ‘caricature’ of her.

She added: ‘I hope that in preparing for that role, she finds the softness and the playfulness and the laughter. The silliness. I just hope she finds the dimensions.’

What’s more, the Duchess said she would be encouraging if Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, wanted to pursue a career in entertainment. 

She added: ‘When you become a parent, you genuinely want your kids to find the things that bring them complete joy. They’re our kids, obviously, and they’re part of a legacy and a tradition and a family that will have other expectations. 

‘But I want them to be able to carve out their own path.’

Acknowledging that Archie and Lilibet’s family connections might give them a headstart, Meghan stressed that it still takes ‘talent and grit’ to be successful in Hollywood.

‘We’re creating multi-dimensional, interesting, kind, creative people,’ she gushed. ‘That’s who our kids are.’

Speaking on her new Archetypes podcast with Paris Hilton earlier this week, the Duchess said she wants her daughter Lilibet to be valued first for her mind, rather than ‘beauty not brains’ as she was on Deal or No Deal at the start of her career.

The Duchess explained: ‘I want our daughter to aspire to be slightly higher. Yeah, I want my Lili to want to be educated and want to be smart and to pride herself on those things.’

Meghan appeared on season two of NBC’s Deal or No Deal 16 years ago. She first stood beside briefcase number 11 for two episodes, then moved to number 24. She left the show midway through the season.