A journalist who came under intense public criticism for describing Meghan Markle's genetic background as "exotic" when her relationship with Prince Harry became public knowledge in 2016, has described the royal's treatment by the press as "not very fair."
Rachel Johnson, a former magazine editor and columnist who is also the sister of outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, spoke about Meghan during her LBC radio talk show, following the release of the first episode of the royal's solo podcast, Archetypes.
Responding to a caller's question asking why the British press does not seem to cover Meghan's positive work in proportion to critical coverage, Johnson said:
"I have seen some stuff on MailOnline and the more tabloid-y end of the business here. Meghan is a story but you're right, I don't think that she does get necessarily very fair treatment."
The news veteran also went on to state that she believes some outlets will focus more on the sensational aspects of Meghan's podcast than its stated aims, speculating that they would accuse her of "disloyalty and whining."
"It's going to be probably written up by Femail (a section of the Daily Mail) columnists to say 'Meghan's whining from her huge residence in Montecito,'" she told LBC listeners.
Johnson also referenced Meghan saying on her podcast that during a 2019 royal tour of South Africa with Harry and infant son Archie, the nursery of the residence the family was staying in caught fire. Archie was not in the room at the time but Meghan explained that due to "optics" she felt she wasn't able to cancel her next engagement to stay with her child.
The talk show host intimated that certain quarters of the press were bound to focus on the sensational aspect of the story without "actually hearing her horror that there had been a fire in her baby's bedroom, which is awful."
Johnson's "Exotic DNA" Criticism
Johnson herself has been criticized for comments made about Meghan in the press over a column she wrote for the Daily Mail in 2016 titled: "Sorry Harry, but your beautiful bolter has failed my Mum Test."
In this article, published in November after the couple's relationship had become public knowledge, Johnson wrote about Meghan and Harry's ethnic backgrounds and how they would relate to their future children.
"If there is issue from her alleged union with Prince Harry," she wrote, "the Windsors will thicken their watery, thin blue blood and Spencer pale skin and ginger hair with some rich and exotic DNA."
The racial connotations behind the statement, in particular the word "exotic," generated public backlash as it also followed another Daily Mail article titled "Harry's Girl is (Almost) Straight Outta Compton."
Two days after the publication of Johnson's column, Kensington Palace released an unprecedented statement on behalf of Prince Harry condemning the racial undertones of reports concerning his relationship with Meghan.
"The past week has seen a line crossed," it read. "His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public—the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments."
It then went on to state that: "Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her...He knows commentators will say this is 'the price she has to pay' and that 'this is all part of the game.' He strongly disagrees. This is not a game—it is her life and his."
Apology
Johnson apologized to the prince two years later while filming commentary for the 2018 documentary series The Royal Wives of Windsor.
Speaking about Meghan's entree into the royal fold, Johnson said: "I mean, I for one celebrated the fact that she was mixed race, but I used an unfortunate word, which was 'exotic.' I meant that in marvelous contrast to the gingery white blood of his own blood family on his maternal side. But it didn't go down well and I hereby apologize, Harry!"
The writer then expressed her understanding of how her choice of words was construed as racially insensitive during the 2021 BBC documentary The Princes and The Press.
"I contrasted the ethnic heritage of Meghan Markle with the ethnic heritage of Prince Harry. Of course, that was a few years ago, we wouldn't go anywhere near that now because we would be canceled for making anything about somebody's ethnic background [or] the color of their skin, it would be completely off-limits."
"Now I know, and now I've been educated and I've educated myself that 'exotic' is a euphemism for Black, which you don't dare say," she said. "I agree it was a misfire, because either way you read it, it sounds eugenicist or racist."
Harry and Meghan have both spoken about the racism faced by Meghan during her time in the public eye, particularly with the British tabloid press.
"What was different for me was the race element," Harry told Oprah Winfrey about the danger of media attacks on Meghan.
"Because now it wasn't just about her, but it is about what she represents. And therefore it wasn't just affecting my wife. It was affecting so many other people as well."
Newsweek reached out to representatives of Meghan Markle and Rachel Johnson for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
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