Meghan's Podcast Takes Aim at Journalist Who Called Diana 'Narcissist'

Meghan Markle's latest Archetypes podcast episode took aim at a writer and journalist who referred to Princess Diana as a "simpering, Bambi narcissist" and joked about her being "easy to lay" in the years following her death in 1997.

The fourth episode of Meghan's solo podcast featured a conversation with writer and actress Mindy Kaling which touched on the ways in which society's viewpoints on women and the media have changed. During this discussion, Kaling referenced journalists in the recent past thinking it was appropriate to ask female comics "can women be funny?"

Meghan introduced an audio clip of journalist Christopher Hitchens, the author of a 2007 Vanity Fair article titled "Why Women Aren't Funny" in which he said:

"There is no question that...for women the need or ability to be funny is tremendously less than it is among men."

"She's talking about journalists who were openly saying things like this," the duchess said as the clip played.

The episode of Archetypes featuring this conversation was published on September 6, 2022, the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's funeral.

Hitchens, who died in 2011, was a prominent journalist and author who contributed to Vanity Fair and was known for his polarizing takes on modern society including religion and politics.

In 1997 he was criticized for openly admonishing the public outpouring of grief in Britain at the death of Princess Diana, who died on August 31, 1997, after injuries sustained during a high-speed car crash. She was 36 years old at the time.

Diana (or "the Spencer Girl" as Hitchens referred to her) was mourned around the world in the immediate aftermath of her death. As a journalist who expressed levels of antipathy towards the institution of the monarchy, Hitchens was asked to speak on numerous news channels about the events as they unfolded.

He recorded his experiences in a diary which was later published in Vanity Fair under the title "Princess Di, Mother T. and Me."

This reference to "Mother T" was linked to the death of Mother Teresa which occurred just six days after the princess and another global figure of whom Hitchens had been vocally critical.

Writing in his diary for September 14 and 15, 1997 the writer said, per Vanity Fair:

"Words to avoid this week, or perhaps any week from now on: 'idol' and 'icon.' These once meant only the showbiz versions of graven-image worship, or of the cult of mortal beings. Now they mean the real thing. And spiritual and secular leaderships compete to prostrate themselves.

"By the way, what have we 'chosen' for our idols and icons? A simpering Bambi narcissist [Diana] and a thieving, fanatical Albanian dwarf [Mother Teresa]. Nice going."

Following his comments, in 1998, Hitchens presented a documentary titled Diana: The Mourning After, in which he analyzed the public reaction to the princess' death from a sociological point of view including claims of media censorship around that time.

Following this, Hitchens earned a reputation for being critical when beloved public figures died. Despite this, he continued to express his opinions on both Mother Teresa and Diana, up until his own death from cancer at the age of 62.

Speaking to 60 Minutes in his final months, the writer was further criticized when he repeated an anecdote about the princess he had published earlier.

When presenter Steve Kroft questioned Hitchens on his critical take of Diana, comparing her to a landmine in an earlier published work, a weapon that she had campaigned in the final months of her life to outlaw around the world, the writer said: "Well, there was a horrible joke about a landmine."

"She was in Angola on her landmine campaign and there was a hushed reverent BBC commentator who said: 'The thing about minefields is that they are very easy to lay but they are very difficult and dangerous and even expensive to get rid of'...the perfect description of Prince Charles' first wife."

Meghan has rarely spoken publicly about Diana, save from a fleeting tribute during her engagement interview, instead leaving it to Harry who has referenced his mother a number of times over the past year.

Though neither Harry nor Prince William marked the 25th anniversary of their mother's death in any public way, in the days leading up to the event Harry said he wanted it to be a day filled with "memories."

Both princes at different times have spoken about their mother's treatment by members of the media, including the paparazzi, editors and journalists like Hitchens. Discussing media intrusion in the 2017 documentary, Diana Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, William said:

"One lesson I've learnt is that you never let them in too far because it's very difficult to get them back out again. And you've got to maintain a barrier and a boundary, and if you cross it—if both sides cross it—a lot of pain and problems can come from it."

Meghan's Archetypes podcast, the duchess previously announced, aims to "dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back."

So far episodes have covered "archetypes" or labels such as"ambitious" and "diva," words which during her lifetime were also attributed in a negative way to Diana.

The podcast releases new episodes each Tuesday with the fourth installment announced to discuss the trope of the "Dragon Lady" in conversation with comedian Margaret Cho.

Newsweek reached out to representatives of Meghan Markle for comment.