It was unexpected to wake up to see my notifications filled with much love for Meghan Markle after I tweeted yesterday that I left a Facebook group for journalists because I was tired of endless posts about how much they hated Meghan Markle.

It's a private group so I'm not going to name it outright or out any journalists who are in the group. I'm not into doxxing and there are plenty of good journalists in the group who I'm sure still contribute with constructive discussions about matters pertaining to the media.

There's plenty of awful journalism out there in regard to Meghan Markle. It's bylined so anyone with the internet can find it. But I will say that, even though I do defend my profession and the good journalists, I'm not interested in Meghan-bashing tripe - it's not journalism.

There are, of course, plenty of constructive discussions to be had among journalists in relation to how royal stories are covered, the ethics of reporting on personal matters and, of course, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's ongoing legal action against certain media outlets.

Sadly, the journo group I left was not the place for these relevant, intelligent, constructive discussions. It just seemed to be the same people endlessly shitposting every Meghan story they found. When I called them out, I lost hours of my life in a stupid online argument.

I don't think there can be any doubt that a lot of the media coverage in regard to Meghan Markle is either racist, sexist or classist or a combination of these things. Sometimes it's not even a dog whistle. It's more of a honking great bullhorn. It's an unedifying spectacle.

And there's an element of hypocrisy among those who simultaneously whine that Meghan and Harry are attention-seekers while constantly giving them the attention they accuse them of craving. But they have become geese who lay golden eggs in the same way that Princess Diana was.

I'm no monarchist. I voted for an Australian republic & I'd vote for a British republic if the opportunity ever presented itself. I don't buy the "it's good for tourism" argument or the argument that the Queen is good for political stability. But I don't like hateful journalism.

I don't doubt that Harry and Meghan continue to use their immense privilege. Financially, they'll be fine. Little Archie isn't going to go without shoes. But the disproportionately hateful coverage they receive, especially in a family which includes Prince Andrew, is ridiculous.

And the same people who whine that Harry and Meghan are attention-seekers also whine about their Netflix deal while simultaneously whining that they should support themselves. I guess they won't be happy unless they're working minimum wage jobs and living in a broom cupboard.

But adding a couple and their son to the ranks of the working poor won't alleviate poverty. It will just make grim-hearted people feel better. Good on them for the Netflix deal - I hope they can help tell important stories & create work for people in a competitive industry.

If you're not interested in anything Harry and Meghan create for Netflix, guess what? You don't have to watch it. It's not compulsory, just as I don't have to bore myself with reading hateful stories about Meghan Markle. It's a good system where we can choose what we consume.

I've written about Meghan a couple of times and I stand by what I wrote. It's not my usual beat but I basically use my blog to clear my head.

On their wedding: https://therantmistress.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-meghan-markle-conundrum.html

A defence of Meghan when she received awful press while pregnant: https://therantmistress.blogspot.com/2019/03/in-defence-of-meghan-markle.html

Something I wrote after Harry & Meghan got married: https://therantmistress.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-real-purpose-of-royal-weddings.html The knives were out early.
Thanks for indulging me in this thread. It seemed easier than replying individually to the messages I woke up to. I must return to editing geopolitics stuff. Have a lovely day!