Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the closing ceremony of the 6th Invictus Games (Photo: Christopher Neundorf/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
In last week’s mailbag I wrote about why I don’t post that often about Harry and Meghan on the site anymore but today we have a good example of when I’m interested – because they killed it at the Invictus Games in Germany and the timing was perfect. Because they really do have to start redirecting the conversation from controversy to something more productive. THIS is the kind of Sussex content that I would rather analyse, instead of the endless barrage of bullshit that’s coming from the tabloids.
Today’s post on LG is here. So let’s discuss: how would you rate their performance at Invictus? What stood out to you about their appearances? How can they build on this to their upcoming advantage?”
I consider this the first chapter in their next volume, if you will. This showed their value as philanthropists, bringing a lot of attention, and hopefully money, to a good cause. I would like to see them continue building momentum for Invictus and their other charitable causes, and truly cement themselves as philanthropists first, (former) royals second.
The royals are so bound by rules, what Harry & Meghan can do without those rules is more directly advocate for causes, even controversial ones. I'd like to see more of them flexing that "soft" power.
I have absolutely zero notes about their appearances. I think you and others have noted that there can be a sense of "over-producing" around them (especially Meghan), but at least from the coverage that I saw, this was pitch perfect.
I think it's worth noting that they have genuine support within military communities. My retired Army boyfriend has mentioned his (American) colleagues' experiences with Harry--not all of which have been publicized--and all were positive. That kind of word spreads, and you can see it coming through here.
All of which is to say that I think they are clearly served by being mission- and action-focused rather than content-focused (I view the Invictus documentary as more of the former). I know they saw content creation as their path forward from their royal days, and it's obviously the most lucrative route, but I hope they're reconsidering where their strengths are best deployed. The extremely positive reception to this event and their involvement should guide those decisions!
Totally agree - but if I can ask the basic and possibly crass question: how do they monetise the mission / action work? I still think their big immediate problem is money. What I find most fascinating about them is how they are going about solving that problem.
This is my question too! I do think they could make enough money with corporate speaking or conference gigs and bullshit “advising”. Like I expect one of them to headline salesforce Dreamforce conference next year.
Excellent point; 100% agree that income is the fundamental question. For whatever adjustments they can make to their lifestyle, the cost of security is probably impossible to avoid, and that cost is steep.
I’m not creative enough to imagine how to merge the two paths, although it feels like there should be a way. I agree with everyone saying that a Tig revival would probably work on Meghan’s end. Brand endorsements for either of them would send the tabloids into hyperdrive, but that strikes me as the easiest way to capitalize on their fame while leaving space for the substantive work.
Maybe it’s something far less glamorous like investing. They’ll never be Just Like Us, but there are a lot of ways to grow wealth (which they have) outside of the spotlight. They’re certainly well connected enough that I would think they could find some opportunities. They’ll be famous regardless, so I think it might come down to whether they are prioritizing Hollywood or whether they are just content to stay rich.
Your differentiation between mission/action-focused and content-focused is really insightful. It gets them in the realm of "doing something good" rather than talking about it or about themselves. And I say this as someone who really enjoyed reading Spare. To Lainey's question, I think they should be leaning into more of these humanitarian things that benefit from the attention they bring, without feeding into any narrative. That's hard to square though with the fact that their income is coming from content---Netflix, the memoir, the podcast.
Oh. My. God. Dying!!!! To everyone else: Whitney is the one that introduced me to Lainey 100 years ago! Of *course* I'd end up agreeing with your post! We need to meet offline, IRL as the kids say these days! xoxo
I think you’re really right about them needing to focus on missions/actions. Meghan in particular seems very...she obviously wants to have a level of control over how she’s presented (which makes perfect sense given the way she was vilified by the British press) but perhaps doesn’t serve her well in a content creation process, where the goal is to be “authentic”. I also just think she and Harry may need more time away from being the punching bag for the British press and the Royal Family, as they were very clearly raw about it for a long time.
My response to you was very respectful and honest. You honestly need to unpack you clear bias that you have towards this women. For you mention that she’s in the media all the time and in your opinion her being there was negative and not push further as to WHY the media narrative around her is negative in the first place but instead put the blame on her. She’s to blame why Kerry doesn’t like her bc kerry doesn’t realized that she’s been influenced by a 6 year well documented smear campaign against this women. Listen you don’t have to love Meghan but to oblivious to what’s really going on when it comes to her is a privilege not everyone is afforded. As a black women I see exactly what Meghan is going through and it makes me sick. She’s not afforded the same grace to make mistakes we all make, no decision she makes is ever right because with her even coming 2 days later was met with fury and complaints. So respectfully Kerry, please check your clear bias you have for this women and unpack what it is that you’re actually mad about.
First of all, I don't need to DO anything -- you might not agree with my opinion but you also don't get to tell me what I have to do -- not your place.
Second, this isn't about me -- it's a conversation about H&M and I am at a loss as to why you want to make this personal and about me. They are public figures and as such, everyone is allowed to have an opinion about them -- that is exactly the question that Lainey asked in this thread. Feel free to counter with facts or another viewpoint, but please stop making this about me -- your narrative here about me (someone you don't know and are making many assumptions about) is off track. Let's just disagree here and respectfully move on please.
But you’re making this about you — you said Meghan steals the spotlight because you “have talked personally to individuals who have worked with her on this front and witnessed this behaviour”. That’s clear bias - you’re saying an ‘anonymous’ source told you Meghan makes it all about her - is the source associated with a tabloid reporter by chance?!?
coz from what I’ve seen Meghan uses her spotlight to highlight the causes she’s involved in which is what just happened when she went to Germany.
I thought it was definitely a win and it made you realize what an asset they would have been to the RF and why the RF would be nervous. Good job overall. Meghan’s style was great.....simple. From everything I’ve seen this should be a positive reset for them. Of course when that’s the case, here come her father.
Co-sign! Her style was perfect and - frankly - in contrast from everything Kate has been serving these past weeks: wrong shades of beige, bad pant cuts, bad fabric choices etc. Meghan just has “it” (or her stylists do)
Definitely a big win! And i also appreciated how their open and tactile affection for each other came across as authentic and endearing, vs. corny and cloying (e.g. Alison Roman profile, parts of Netflix documentary). Their charisma as a couple is really incredible.
It was amazing for Meghan to stop into a cafe that helps unhoused women and women who need help and spotlight that. She doesn't put that out herself she allows the people she interacts with to do so. It is part of Harry and Meghan's style to help wherever they are. Or mission, rather than style.
I didn’t really pay attention but the very fact that the only impressions I got were positive from passing media coverage is a win. I’m generally a fan of Harry and Meghan. Do I think they have been clueless, out of touch and self centred and worse at times? Also yes. But I do think they were genuinely committed to using their position within the Royal Family help people and be a positive influence. I’m not surprised they haven’t found their footing yet. There is no playbook for being cut off from the British royal family. Harry in particular has a LOT to work through and learn about how to operate outside the confines of Royal life. They are in a unique position and I hope they are able to leverage it and use their powers for good.
The expectations on them were really so unattainable. They moved continents with a baby at the start of a global pandemic and had to start a new life and fund that life (cannot imagine what their security costs). All with the establishment doing everything they can't to mess with them. There was no way everything was going to work out smoothly but overall I think they are doing well. As you said there is no blueprint...his mother never got a chance to figure out a post-royal life but I feel like these two will.
Agree with everyone that this was an absolute win, and showed what the Royal Family lost when they left. William is currently in NYC for...some reason, and the NYT write up is very revealing for what he doesn’t do (he showed up for an hour at this event, didn’t speak to reporters at all, didn’t interact with a fan who showed up beyond saying “Hello”) which is a major contrast to Harry and Meghan here. I will say that I actually liked Archetypes and would’ve liked to see her go deeper with it, but she is obviously very gunshy about cutting loose in that context.
I loved Archetypes and am sad we're not getting a second season. Meghan would have grown as an interviewer I think. Connecting with people is a big part of their brand and I hope to see a lot more of it, in whatever form that may take.
It was a great week. This was the first time I actually watched the competitions and opening/closing ceremonies. It was a fantastic event. Harry and Meghan get a level of critique and scrutiny that I can’t think of another couple or celebrity gets. It’s only been four years since they left the working royal life and it was so great to see them thriving and being opening loved and appreciated. They have the British media (and globally the right wing media) primed against them. Most people don’t pay attention to the constant social media noise about them and I think events like this show how much the social media noise is irrelevant to regular people. I think the world is their oyster frankly. I can Meghan back on Instagram and doing producing and brand partnership in addition to charity work etc and Harry focusing on stuff like Invictus and his other initiatives.
I think Meghan exiting social media when they left the RF was a mistake for them, career-wise. They wanted to have their cake and eat it, too, by leaving the royal system but then operating a similarly weirdly controlled family brand in California. I think she'd be pretty successful back on Instagram, limiting comments of course.
I think you’re absolutely right about them needing to be on Instagram, perhaps not as themselves, but the Archewell org could do a lot to highlight causes there (I would also suggest Twitter but we all see what it’s degrading into.)
Insta is gone to sh1t though I rarely use it anymore because when I do my feed is full of ads and people I don’t follow. I’d like to see Meghan have her own app or Patreon instead of insta
Fair enough my Insta is a mess of Mormon mom homeschoolers lol. I just think they need some platform other than the Archewell website which no one sees. Archewell is actually involved in a lot of philanthropic efforts which are amazing but they don't promote it enough. So much of H/M's media coverage is still being driven by those that want them to fail. The stories of a) getting divorced b) everyone hates them and c) Harry is a hostage and is miserable and defnitely wants to come back to England lol thrive in the absence of them having a presence. I'm hopeful this is the start of a new era.
Meghan is a bonafide TRY HARD, and I'm always amazed at the feedback of what's too much and who's turned off. Taylor Swift is a vindictive try hard, and works harder at that than her good things.There's levels. LOL to her not feeling the pedigree pets. Meghan is polite. She was raised well. However , she's a California native and decided to join the nonsense of Hollywood. She has studied and been raised peripheral to the game of fame and decided to be in it to win. I think Beyonce is similar in the public persona of having good manners, and drive while not really being invested in all aspects that don't serve her purpose. I don't know everything, but my California cousins are politely distant and very direct if you give them some room. Meghan used to be direct and ambitious. She's now been abused and had her life threatened for YEARS. She is a mother of two small children with rancid inlaws. Meghan is living an extreme version of a black woman. She used to "pass" at the very least as not black, and at the most whatever is acceptable to white people. I think that's why black women give her cover and space. Mariah pushed her, but then let up. Allison got real about her, but not in the "out of the lane" way that many non-black women plod their way through. I finally watched the Netflix series and I was delighted to hear her valid tone of annoyance when she said "your brothER". Her tone was not with the clownery. Ultimately, these two were unprepared . Meghan had a good 30+ years of avoiding the black trauma, and now she's getting it in an overdose. Her troubles trigger many black women because we hear her experience and connect it to our own (sans death threats. DEATH THREATS!!?!). When Kathleen tweets about riding at dawn for whomever. It's similar to what black people feel about Meghan because it's triggering. My dad couldn't even finish listening to her talking about her experience with Oprah because it was too much for him to see her sad. He thought about his own daughter. It's exactly why I'm not amazed by the microagressions in the "stay home" feedback. Did someone really type a few nice things and then say she should have stayed home and that she's the most thirsty of the two? Looking at her is all you're doing (and probably what you do to your coworkers if we're keeping it a buck) and I think if Black women didn't have to manage this antiblackness in real life then it wouldn't be so grating. Meghan might have just realized she was black to most of society recently, but the rest of us expected this and smelled that crap before the Porto potty called British media threw open the door. I'm sorry, but Harry wanted to call Beyonce on camera. They might be well matched good natured thirst buckets that care about others. If some hack of a househusband tv writer was making money off of racist satire using my picture that a bunch of raggedy second rate celebrities were online laughing at....I'd be sensitive like Chris Evans. But, he just cares too much and Meghan should stay at home because she bagged a man who thinks she's everything and wanted to protect her life. Maybe that's..too much?? Or maybe some should look inward. That's probably too much to ask as well. Nuance people!! But lemme tell you little backhanded commenters what we're not doing. We're not doing is the say something nasty and then pretend it was civil and gaslight black women that confront your words. I've grown up with that basura and you had better keep your nonsense to your group chat. If the rest of non black women understand that cultural lane then you wouldn't have to gaslight to protect your nonsense. Stay out of the Meghan lane when you don't understand respectful criticism like the piece from Allison. She hit the notes (she was given a gift basket as a sign to leave and I will never forget that) and it was read the way The Culture would understand it because we do know she's a lot...we know, but that's not your business that's OUR business (re:The Culture: this phrase belongs to Black people, others can add more words like "culture at large, our culture, pop culture. Bling bling and woke has already been ruined. Please leave this one to us. Everything is not for society as a whole just because you enjoy saying it , and it's also why Shamira Ibrahim made a point to use "the culture at large" in her recent Aoki Lee profile.). You definitely don't have to like Meghan, but I want to be very clear that when you freely type these dog whistle comments, many black women hear it differently because you pull this same nonsense in real life with us. No matter how confused you pretend to be about just having a conversation...we both know it's racism. I know you know. Yaba Blay explains it so well and you can look her up if you feel like being read like a book online. Don't go in her comments because she's not Meghan. You will get your feelings' feelings hurt.
An Older Black Woman checking in, here. And yes, I agree with several things you say. I'd even add that Meghan's overall aesthetic has done a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to her success — and I mean that in the most objective, socio-culturally realistic way. Yes, she works super hard. Yes, she's polite. Yes, she does the reading. I genuinely admire it all. But I also know she wouldn't have had some of the opportunities and breaks she's had if she didn't look like she did, which is conventionally white-friendly. Because let's face it: She isn't a good actress. But she was the type of Black person that worked for Hallmark, Lifetime, and USA Network projects. And hey, good on her for making the absolute most of everything she had going for her. There's zero shame in that and I respect her ambition.
Ultimately, though, I know I probably wouldn't pal around with Meghan in real life, but I'm going to the mat for her EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. (EVERY ONE!) in mixed company. Moreover, I know exactly what I need to know about anyone claiming she should "stay in the background" or "is attention-seeking and self-centered" or "full of herself, uppity, etc." They're telling on themselves.
All very true. I feel like I know she knows it deep down because she keeps her hair straight (plus it's easier...in more ways than one), but when you are enveloped in the society of the majority (and have a parent in that group) then you inevitably take on the delusion of merit (she could work hard enough to fit in, and succeeded to a point). In her case, delulu was not the solulu. I guess she was just watching Serena deal with her racist trolls and thought it was sad and never thought it could happen to her (kinda like the daughter in Imitation of Life, and the in-laws/media are the abusive boyfriend). Old black folks were afraid for her safety before she knew she should be afraid. They were correct. That cavalry came in deep for her because WE KNOW!
If I could like this comment five million times I would. There is just so much racial trauma in how Meghan is perceived and how she moves through the media and the public eye that I honestly think it would take a book by a brilliant writer to work through, but then, as you say, it would then leave the culture and we’d have to start yelling again at people to stay in their lanes. (Context: I’m a black woman)
I didn’t watch all of the Netflix doc because it was a Bit Much, but the part about Meghan avoiding most of the Black Trauma and then getting overdosed with it in the space of a few years...whew. Honestly, if she’d had that trauma to live with her whole life...I don’t know if she’d have signed up to marry Harry and step into that life.
I watched the whole thing. Avoided it, and then extended my Netflix before cancelling because I had to finish. Harry not having a safe space in a parent was glaring. The relentless british media. I want the black nanny's tea. I think Meghan's done a lot for someone who's been under siege. Harry has experience (and was clueless simultaneously), but she is new to this and kept going with the podcast, children's book, charity work, miscarriage, lawsuits, death threats, media hiding in the bushes and two very small children instead of retreating. They needed money so there wasn't a choice. Rich or not, that's a lot for a human being.
At this point, it would take a miracle to convert her most rabid haters. They need to continue to do the things they want to do and do them well, like they did with these Games. History will tell.
Love them! Was even influenced to buy Meghan's J.Crew cardigan (though in khaki rather than white). I wish she did more of The Tig or other influencer stuff because I personally would really enjoy that.
I'm not entirely sure where they want to go next. I know they have the next Invictus in Canada in 2025 but there's got to be stuff in between.
I loved Princess Diana, I love Harry, I love Meghan and I loved Spare. I think they were thrown in an “impossible” situation in 2020 - leaving a family that was financially and emotionally blackmailing them while running an incredibly negative PR campaign against them.
I don’t love how slow the content release has been with both Spotify and Netflix - but I can’t imagine navigating being “cut off”/exiled, a toddler, a miscarriage, a newborn, the pandemic while trying to generate funds to cover millions in security.
I understand why they had to lead with Spare and their show on Netflix. That was what secured their contracts.
I do wish that they had better people guiding them when it came to producing consistent content and they had better PR to talk about the projects that are not personal (archetypes, and the show that wasn’t invictus. Can’t remember the name).
I hope for more consistency in this next stage, more focus on their individual projects and interests, better brand management.
I'm afraid I'm in the naysayers group and I thought that this was a classic example of their "look at me, look at me" approach to charity work. Meg has a long history of stealing the spotlight from whatever charity she works with (The UN is an example) and I have talked personally to individuals who have worked with her on this front and witnessed this behaviour. She makes it all about her and I'll say this once and I'll say it many times -- you are not the hero of your own brand story and if you want to be respected and build a legacy brand in the not for profit/charity space, then you need to learn how to be gracious and take a back seat to the real heroes (the athletes and volunteers) and not suck up all the oxygen in the room. You will never see Melinda Gates front and centre, nor would you ever see any other truly selfless philanthropist behaving in this manner. They have a lot to learn on this front if they want their personal brands to actually stand for something meaningful. This was about them and them alone, especially Meghan who seems to think that she is some sort of rock star incarnate. They were overplaying and trying waaaay too hard.
But...Meghan isn't Melinda Gates. Melinda has literally billions of dollars at her disposal to pursue philanthropy. What Meghan has is fame - an incredibly high profile in the public conscience and press that followers her constantly. Like it or not, she drew way more coverage and eyeballs to the Invictus cause by showing up then Melinda Gates would have by donating money. Feel free to hate the game but to say that she is making it about herself...drawing coverage is the entire point of celebrity philanthropy.
You are correct, but drawing the right attention is the task here -- it would be interesting to see if donations went up during or after The Games or if Invictus has a plan in place to capitalize on that attention. I haven't seen any those tactics. Attention without action is really a lost cause at the end of the day.
I'm not sure I agree with you on the "making it about her" part because when you consider who the priority was - the athletes - her presence there, if it was appreciated by them, and by all accounts it was, then her attendance served its purpose.
I do agree about follow-through, though, with these games and with their foundation overall. And that definitely speaks to the "what's next" part of my post at the end. It's now been three years since H&M left the RF and started their own thing. Much of it, up to this point, has been mostly "this is what we want to do, we believe in service etc etc" but we haven't yet seen any release of results.
Part of that, for sure, is media coverage. My colleagues and I, and the outlets that report on H&M, at least the responsible ones, should be highlighting, when possible, when they release results reports. When I used to work in non-profit, we were called upon every year to provide status updates to donors and stakeholders. Invictus should have this kind of information and after this year's event, we should be able to see the participation numbers, the donation and sponsorship numbers. It *looked* like they were doing well with sponsor engagement - and the way the event was run overall, I imagine that more sponsors will want to be involved.
By the way, sponsors are also why Meghan's attendance would have been necessary at Invictus. Some of both H&M's behind the scenes work at Invictus would have been to put in facetime with the sponsors. In my experience, both in for profit and non profit, the sponsors expect to see the stars. They want their photo too. Sometimes they're the thirstiest for photos.
Her priority was not the athletes? 7 outfits a day, marching as if she was a service member herself and not taking a backseat, finding any black or disabled person she could for a photo op, being front and centre in every photo? Were we watching the same event? Can she name an athlete?
As someone who works in the nonprofit space, and you with experience in this area, no, this isn’t how you “support and uplift” a charity.
Agree on the results piece of this and that is what's really important about Invictus going forward. You do note that we have not seen anything tangible regarding any of the H&M charities (yet) and I agree that that will dictate how they are perceived going forward. They don't seem to be focused on following through on big announcements and have had some significant staff turnover there so it remains to be seen if they can create a legacy in this space. It makes for interesting conversation!
I saw a lot of venue pics with empty seats so I’m curious finding wise what’s the situation for Invictus especially with the next games not being for 2 years.
The Invictus series dropped on Netflix within the last few weeks but there was barely a blip about it in the press. It could have been a great opportunity to increase public interest, drum up crowds etc but seems like the series just disappeared.
The event was actually really really successful the pictures with the empty seats are the seats where the veterans sat in, the pictures were taken prior to them being seated. As per the official invictus website there were more than 140,000 spectators there. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were sold out. And as for the the documentary it’s still trending on Netflix. The veterans that was featured in it did the interviews, there’s one with the competitor gabe on cbs morning. I’m not certain but I’m assuming Harry and Meghan did not personally promote the documentary because of the strikes. Meghan was part of the union I’m not sure if she currently still is but I know she definitely supports unions as she’s stated that herself so I would assume that was the reasoning behind the lack of promotion from the Sussexes
Genuinely curious what you recommend she do instead. I thought it was smart of her to arrive at the half way point which helped to invigorate media interest when it was starting to lag a bit. It also forced the media to cover the games on its own at first. She kept her wardrobe neutral, accessible and appropriate. I'm not sure what else you can do as the Founding Patrons partner. I followed the games for the first time and there was so much coverage of the competitors and their stories it was really inspiring but yes social media is all about the quick pics and yes she is the heat score. How does she avoid that? I mean she walks into her dentist office and its all over my feed.
Like I said earlier, I would have recommended that she stay home. Invictus is Harry's cause and she is a distraction at this point, Her Q ratings are not where they need to be and there is more negative baggage than positive baggage at this point for her. Celebrity is not always a good thing when it comes to a charity and many of them don't embrace celebrity front and centre (a few do, don't get me wrong but there is a risk attached to that) because they know that celebs come with lots of potential baggage which can distract from the work of the charity. I'm looking at you Lance Armstrong and also the Me2We Folks! :)
Comparing Meghan to Lance Armstrong? Get real. "Negative baggage" is in the eye of the beholder and clearly that "baggage" didn't stop the event from getting a ton of positive press coverage around the world.
I didn't compare her/Invictus to Lance Armstrong so please don't go down that rabbit hole, I merely that used him as an example of the reason that charities tend to be hesitant to leaning too much on celebrities to promote their causes. Please don't draw a connection between the two (or Invictus) when none was made.
How did she make it all about her? She showed up to show support and the media attention was all on her - but that isn’t her call, the media does this because they know that is what gets the ‘clicks’. I think she is smart to use her presence to bring attention to the games.
I think those that argue Megan is always ‘look at me look at me’ are actually dog whistling something else - ANY attention to her seems to be too much for some reason. And arguing that she shouldn’t be there to support Harry or bring attention to this cause?? Another dog whistle that she actually shouldn’t be in that position at all (i.e., his wife, a British RF duchess).
Then that’s on you. Tabloids, pop culture/entertainment magazines, fashion magazines, etc. are not going to care about veterans. They care about Meghan (and Harry), what she wears, and what she does. I watched two segments on TV (ABC and Fox News) where they talked about the event and focused on the veterans. Same with the Invictus Games social media. So, again, if you wanted to know more about the Games and not about Meghan, then that’s on you.
Uh, that’s on you, not her? The media focuses on her clothes but again, that’s not her fault. There were lots of articles that described the events and the competitors, clearly you didn’t click on those. But you knew the games were happening, right? And what the games were about? Do you think you would without all of the attention on both Harry and Meghan?
But Melinda Gates and other philanthropists ARE treated the same way at charity events. Whether it's a billionaire or a small city civic leader, the big name in the room is applauded, gives a little speech, is seated at the best table or location in the auditorium. There is just much broader interest in M&H than Melinda Gates. Are Harry and Meghan supposed to hide in a back room at Harry's own event to not be photographed? This is literally Harry's event. He started this. It makes sense H&M are front and center.
I'm not disagreeing with you, yes, they are treated very well, but the difference is that Melinda Gates takes that spotlight and makes it about the athletes (or whoever she is supporting) and Meghan makes it about her. I'm not suggesting that they hide in the back of the room, but rather they pivot to reflecting the spotlight on the athletes and there is a way to do that so that the event becomes a growth event for the charity. Being front and centre can be played a much more productive and brand building (for the charity) way is all I am saying.
I guess I'm confused about what you mean by "makes it about her." Is showing up to various Invictus events pulling focus? In my opinion, it's clear more people learned about the Invictus games because of her presence, not in spite of.
It's an interesting question -- she is a heat score for sure and that will impact how the press cover her and also how she is perceived. I would have recommended (if she were my client) that she not attend at all -- i.e. leave Invictus to Harry to promote and attend, it's his jam. She is a distraction at this moment and she has other reputation recovery efforts to attend to. She did bring attention to Invictus but not attention that will generate funds for them or create conversations around change or policy or attention to the cause. Invictus was merely a stage for attention for her and that is not a good strategy for Invictus long term because they become merely a backdrop for publicity for her/them. Harry could have used the event to talk about raising funds and furthering conversations that need to be had. Right now their target audience is not the target audience that Invictus needs to further their cause. This isn't a case of "all publicity is good publicity" and my take is that she should have stayed home. it's like having a movie star show up at your wedding and then it becomes all about them -- they can't help themselves. A serious philanthropist knows how to deflect that publicity and turn it into something worthwhile for the charity. Now if we are merely talking about the "insta" crowd, I guess you could say that it was beneficial for Invictus/her personal brand but those people are not the audience for Invictus.
You clearly need to work out whatever bias you have for Meghan because you’re really in here sounding like a HATER. She should have stood home bc you said so? Please I hope if you have daughters you tell them to never dull themselves down for anyone. Imagine telling a women and women of color at that to be lesser because Kerry whoever didn’t like it. The messaging you’re giving is so wild to me in 2023 at that.
Wow -- I'm at a loss as to why you would take a productive conversation (which includes many respectful and different opinions -- the very definition of a conversation) and make it insulting and personal. I'm not going to respond further because it's just not worth the energy.
I don't think staying home would've been the right move. Because like it or not her actions AND her non-actions are dissected in the press. I believe that had she not shown up she would've pulled more focus from the games and the athletes and emphasized Harry's appearance even more. There would have been less games coverage and more "they are in trouble" speculation. Going, being as low key as possible was really the only move to make.
I totally agree with this. She was going to do the “wrong thing” in someone’s eyes no matter what. If she stayed home everyone would freak out that she wasn’t there supporting. If she goes and does her part to support people say she is “pulling focus”. The woman can’t win honestly in the eyes of some. It really feels like she is always going to be dragged no matter what she does so she might as well do what she wants. People say “she’s always been fame hungry” but like...what is she supposed to do, be shy and retiring but also be in the spotlight at the right time but also use her platform for good but also speak out about the right causes but also be a doting wife and mother? I would love to see some tangible results as well but that doesn’t undermine the fact that she *literally* cannot catch a break in these situations. It’s exhausting honestly the back and forth. Critique the actual impact of their non profit sure but I am real tired of any/all side eye going to her.
It doesn't seem like a reasonable ask, in my opinion, to ask the married partner of an event's founder to stay at home. I also don't think it's possible for one to know yet that she brought attention, but not the correct kind of attention -- how do you know that their celebrity power hasn't drawn the eye of a major donor or sponsor for the future? Maybe broader public attention to the event, not just within veteran communities, is the kind of attention they want. I imagine they would love to be on a trajectory like the Special Olympics, which is now a household name and their mission is widely known, they they serve a very specific community. Harry *did* use the event to talk about the importance of mental health resources and vulnerability for veterans.
Exactly - I agree w/ Mel & Jacia. Kerry, you do sound like you’ve got a bit of a bone to pick with Meghan. I’m not sure your comments qualify as a ‘productive conversation’ - you’re basically just repeating the same track and it doesn’t really hold up.
Or perhaps you’re an expert in philanthropy/PR and we plebs just aren’t gifted with your astute assessment of this situation?
Re: ‘Harry could have used the event to talk about raising funds and furthering conversations that need to be had.’ Curious what conversations you had in mind? The whole event did in fact further conversations on veteran rehabilitation and recovery. I definitely received that message loud and clear in all the press coverage.
You speak with so much conviction - I assume you must have deep sources within H&M camp to make statements like ‘Invictus was merely a stage for attention for her’ - otherwise, yeah it comes across like rather biased leap of logic.
My take on this “look at me” analysis is, that’s her job. And she’s really good at it. She can’t control what the press says about her, or what the Royal Family lackeys leak about her, but there aren’t bad stories about her from her days as an actress, and to me that is compelling.
As for “sucking up all the oxygen in the room,” in general, I don’t expect anyone in the royal family to actually be someone I’d be friends with in real life. At minimum, they should treat the people who work for them with respect, and not be part of international sex trafficking (hello, Prince Andrew). Maybe she does crave a lot of attention -- but even if she does, I really don’t care. Meghan and Harry are very good at getting attention for the causes they care about, and we saw that on full display with Invictus.
What I do think is telling is that even if she's "sucking up all the oxygen in the room," Meghan is very choosy about which rooms and when she's seen and photographed in. She's not Rita Ora, if she's trying to get all the attention all the time, she's not actually very good at it.
I feel like the ‘she craves attention’ is another of the media narratives about her. If she craves attention she could easily get it. She would be at premieres and parties and events. She would be at Nobu and other celebrity hotspots getting papped. But she is generally pretty quiet and has gone dark for months at a time over the 3.5 years she’s been in California. They moved to a small town and have two small children. I do feel like she’s getting out more now and I’m happy for her as she has a right to live her best life.
I think it’s great they’re doing so well and I’m really pleased they don’t need to bring out their kids to drum up interest (though I’d love to see them).
I'm so happy to see this as a win for them- I am rooting for their success. I would like to see Meghan have a passion project that she develops with Harry's support.. beyond the Archetypes podcast, which doesn't seem to be moving the needle (much).
Harry’s closing speech at the Games was gut-wrenching and powerful. I was completely in awe of the athletes and the sheer courage and tenacity it takes to push your body mentally and physically again as a veteran who has suffered tremendous loss. The emotional connection he forged with the Canadian bagpiper had me in tears. For the first time I was able to separate Harry & Meghan from their story, and instead focus on their passion & values. It felt completely sincere to me. When I heard Invictus Games was going to be in Whistler/Vancouver in 2025, I immediately shared with my network that we have to go get tickets to be a part of this incredible sporting event. Considering their performance has now motivated me, my friends and my family to openly seek out support of the Invictus Games, I would say they were victorious. Harry proved to be a very compassionate speaker, and we know Megan is very skilled in public speaking , there has to be money to be made there along with their philanthropic endeavours? I hope!
Seemed like a win to me. Haters going to hate, there is nothing you can say or do to change their minds. Anything Meghan does is picked apart, she can't seem to do anything right in certain peoples minds and that will never change. I hope H&M continue to kill it, I wish them the best.
That is my favourite looks as well! Although I think that is when she has other stylists, I didn’t really like her invictus looks except for the black and blue dresses, they were great, her pantsuits were not good at all and the short thing with the blazer, lately she doesn’t dress for her figure so I think she does it herself now and just wears clothes she likes rather than clothes that suit her specifically. Shoe game was on point though.
I think they did incredibly well and I’m happy to see it. I am rooting for them. As an American divorcée married to a Brit, with a mother-in-law who still isn’t over me being American, I admit I feel a little defensive of Meghan. At times they have been a little cringe, but ultimately, so what?
I’d like to see them continue doing things like this, and reentering lifestyle work for Meghan seems like it would go over well. As much as I devoured the Oprah interview and Spare, I’d like to see them continue to move forward.
Except...this was a highly successful event way before Meghan was in the picture. So continuing a successful event that Harry started does not seem like a new beginning. The fact that it went well says more to their approach to newer projects since leaving the BRF.
That’s a really good point about new beginnings. And they are lucky they have something successful to ‘fall back’ on. But I’m not sure there’s a direct correlation to their approach to new projects. One thing about the games is they were started by Harry while he was protected by the BRF but the event isn’t controlled by the family. It’s had time to grow to the point where it doesn’t need direct or indirect support from the BRF while all their new ventures are starting from scratch in a completely different environment. Also, any project Meghan had prior to her marriage had to be abandoned at the behest of the royal family so she doesn’t have a foundation to build new projects around.
Isn’t Harry’s support the support of the BRF though? We can’t say that he’s shining a light on the event and also say it doesn’t need BRF support, that’s why Harry was there in the first place and while he’s still there. He’s famous because he’s in the BRF not because of anything else really.
Laura - good point on the support of the BRF making it a success. I am interested to see their approach to projects moving forward. Ageee with others who have indicatesld that mission-projects could be a very effective future for them.
I'm really happy with it! I've cooled off of them after the Netflix documentary, it was... silly, in part, and didn't go far enough in what it was trying to say. And Harry's memoir backfired a bit in my opinion. Hopefully we'll only see them do professional things for a while, that's where they shine and can 'seduce' the people still on the fence
A 10! Harry led. Megan low key supported. No drama. High/low fashion, a huge hit. I am cheering for them. I love the Royals and love having two of them in the US. I ideally would like them all to do well and be happy. Forgiveness and reconciliation are decades away.
I consider this the first chapter in their next volume, if you will. This showed their value as philanthropists, bringing a lot of attention, and hopefully money, to a good cause. I would like to see them continue building momentum for Invictus and their other charitable causes, and truly cement themselves as philanthropists first, (former) royals second.
The royals are so bound by rules, what Harry & Meghan can do without those rules is more directly advocate for causes, even controversial ones. I'd like to see more of them flexing that "soft" power.
Happy Birthday, Sarah! Welcome to the 40s!!
I have absolutely zero notes about their appearances. I think you and others have noted that there can be a sense of "over-producing" around them (especially Meghan), but at least from the coverage that I saw, this was pitch perfect.
I think it's worth noting that they have genuine support within military communities. My retired Army boyfriend has mentioned his (American) colleagues' experiences with Harry--not all of which have been publicized--and all were positive. That kind of word spreads, and you can see it coming through here.
All of which is to say that I think they are clearly served by being mission- and action-focused rather than content-focused (I view the Invictus documentary as more of the former). I know they saw content creation as their path forward from their royal days, and it's obviously the most lucrative route, but I hope they're reconsidering where their strengths are best deployed. The extremely positive reception to this event and their involvement should guide those decisions!
Totally agree - but if I can ask the basic and possibly crass question: how do they monetise the mission / action work? I still think their big immediate problem is money. What I find most fascinating about them is how they are going about solving that problem.
This is my question too! I do think they could make enough money with corporate speaking or conference gigs and bullshit “advising”. Like I expect one of them to headline salesforce Dreamforce conference next year.
Excellent point; 100% agree that income is the fundamental question. For whatever adjustments they can make to their lifestyle, the cost of security is probably impossible to avoid, and that cost is steep.
I’m not creative enough to imagine how to merge the two paths, although it feels like there should be a way. I agree with everyone saying that a Tig revival would probably work on Meghan’s end. Brand endorsements for either of them would send the tabloids into hyperdrive, but that strikes me as the easiest way to capitalize on their fame while leaving space for the substantive work.
Maybe it’s something far less glamorous like investing. They’ll never be Just Like Us, but there are a lot of ways to grow wealth (which they have) outside of the spotlight. They’re certainly well connected enough that I would think they could find some opportunities. They’ll be famous regardless, so I think it might come down to whether they are prioritizing Hollywood or whether they are just content to stay rich.
It’s a dilemma!
Your differentiation between mission/action-focused and content-focused is really insightful. It gets them in the realm of "doing something good" rather than talking about it or about themselves. And I say this as someone who really enjoyed reading Spare. To Lainey's question, I think they should be leaning into more of these humanitarian things that benefit from the attention they bring, without feeding into any narrative. That's hard to square though with the fact that their income is coming from content---Netflix, the memoir, the podcast.
SAPNA! It’s me! You’re former coworker! I’m so happy we’re both here because it’s been way too long!
Oh. My. God. Dying!!!! To everyone else: Whitney is the one that introduced me to Lainey 100 years ago! Of *course* I'd end up agreeing with your post! We need to meet offline, IRL as the kids say these days! xoxo
I'm just going to take credit here as your rematchmaker!
As you should!!
Well this was just delightful to browse as a stranger.
I think you’re really right about them needing to focus on missions/actions. Meghan in particular seems very...she obviously wants to have a level of control over how she’s presented (which makes perfect sense given the way she was vilified by the British press) but perhaps doesn’t serve her well in a content creation process, where the goal is to be “authentic”. I also just think she and Harry may need more time away from being the punching bag for the British press and the Royal Family, as they were very clearly raw about it for a long time.
My response to you was very respectful and honest. You honestly need to unpack you clear bias that you have towards this women. For you mention that she’s in the media all the time and in your opinion her being there was negative and not push further as to WHY the media narrative around her is negative in the first place but instead put the blame on her. She’s to blame why Kerry doesn’t like her bc kerry doesn’t realized that she’s been influenced by a 6 year well documented smear campaign against this women. Listen you don’t have to love Meghan but to oblivious to what’s really going on when it comes to her is a privilege not everyone is afforded. As a black women I see exactly what Meghan is going through and it makes me sick. She’s not afforded the same grace to make mistakes we all make, no decision she makes is ever right because with her even coming 2 days later was met with fury and complaints. So respectfully Kerry, please check your clear bias you have for this women and unpack what it is that you’re actually mad about.
First of all, I don't need to DO anything -- you might not agree with my opinion but you also don't get to tell me what I have to do -- not your place.
Second, this isn't about me -- it's a conversation about H&M and I am at a loss as to why you want to make this personal and about me. They are public figures and as such, everyone is allowed to have an opinion about them -- that is exactly the question that Lainey asked in this thread. Feel free to counter with facts or another viewpoint, but please stop making this about me -- your narrative here about me (someone you don't know and are making many assumptions about) is off track. Let's just disagree here and respectfully move on please.
But you’re making this about you — you said Meghan steals the spotlight because you “have talked personally to individuals who have worked with her on this front and witnessed this behaviour”. That’s clear bias - you’re saying an ‘anonymous’ source told you Meghan makes it all about her - is the source associated with a tabloid reporter by chance?!?
coz from what I’ve seen Meghan uses her spotlight to highlight the causes she’s involved in which is what just happened when she went to Germany.
I thought it was definitely a win and it made you realize what an asset they would have been to the RF and why the RF would be nervous. Good job overall. Meghan’s style was great.....simple. From everything I’ve seen this should be a positive reset for them. Of course when that’s the case, here come her father.
Co-sign! Her style was perfect and - frankly - in contrast from everything Kate has been serving these past weeks: wrong shades of beige, bad pant cuts, bad fabric choices etc. Meghan just has “it” (or her stylists do)
Definitely a big win! And i also appreciated how their open and tactile affection for each other came across as authentic and endearing, vs. corny and cloying (e.g. Alison Roman profile, parts of Netflix documentary). Their charisma as a couple is really incredible.
It was amazing for Meghan to stop into a cafe that helps unhoused women and women who need help and spotlight that. She doesn't put that out herself she allows the people she interacts with to do so. It is part of Harry and Meghan's style to help wherever they are. Or mission, rather than style.
I didn’t really pay attention but the very fact that the only impressions I got were positive from passing media coverage is a win. I’m generally a fan of Harry and Meghan. Do I think they have been clueless, out of touch and self centred and worse at times? Also yes. But I do think they were genuinely committed to using their position within the Royal Family help people and be a positive influence. I’m not surprised they haven’t found their footing yet. There is no playbook for being cut off from the British royal family. Harry in particular has a LOT to work through and learn about how to operate outside the confines of Royal life. They are in a unique position and I hope they are able to leverage it and use their powers for good.
The expectations on them were really so unattainable. They moved continents with a baby at the start of a global pandemic and had to start a new life and fund that life (cannot imagine what their security costs). All with the establishment doing everything they can't to mess with them. There was no way everything was going to work out smoothly but overall I think they are doing well. As you said there is no blueprint...his mother never got a chance to figure out a post-royal life but I feel like these two will.
Agree with everyone that this was an absolute win, and showed what the Royal Family lost when they left. William is currently in NYC for...some reason, and the NYT write up is very revealing for what he doesn’t do (he showed up for an hour at this event, didn’t speak to reporters at all, didn’t interact with a fan who showed up beyond saying “Hello”) which is a major contrast to Harry and Meghan here. I will say that I actually liked Archetypes and would’ve liked to see her go deeper with it, but she is obviously very gunshy about cutting loose in that context.
I loved Archetypes and am sad we're not getting a second season. Meghan would have grown as an interviewer I think. Connecting with people is a big part of their brand and I hope to see a lot more of it, in whatever form that may take.
It was a great week. This was the first time I actually watched the competitions and opening/closing ceremonies. It was a fantastic event. Harry and Meghan get a level of critique and scrutiny that I can’t think of another couple or celebrity gets. It’s only been four years since they left the working royal life and it was so great to see them thriving and being opening loved and appreciated. They have the British media (and globally the right wing media) primed against them. Most people don’t pay attention to the constant social media noise about them and I think events like this show how much the social media noise is irrelevant to regular people. I think the world is their oyster frankly. I can Meghan back on Instagram and doing producing and brand partnership in addition to charity work etc and Harry focusing on stuff like Invictus and his other initiatives.
I think Meghan exiting social media when they left the RF was a mistake for them, career-wise. They wanted to have their cake and eat it, too, by leaving the royal system but then operating a similarly weirdly controlled family brand in California. I think she'd be pretty successful back on Instagram, limiting comments of course.
I think you’re absolutely right about them needing to be on Instagram, perhaps not as themselves, but the Archewell org could do a lot to highlight causes there (I would also suggest Twitter but we all see what it’s degrading into.)
Insta is gone to sh1t though I rarely use it anymore because when I do my feed is full of ads and people I don’t follow. I’d like to see Meghan have her own app or Patreon instead of insta
Fair enough my Insta is a mess of Mormon mom homeschoolers lol. I just think they need some platform other than the Archewell website which no one sees. Archewell is actually involved in a lot of philanthropic efforts which are amazing but they don't promote it enough. So much of H/M's media coverage is still being driven by those that want them to fail. The stories of a) getting divorced b) everyone hates them and c) Harry is a hostage and is miserable and defnitely wants to come back to England lol thrive in the absence of them having a presence. I'm hopeful this is the start of a new era.
Meghan is a bonafide TRY HARD, and I'm always amazed at the feedback of what's too much and who's turned off. Taylor Swift is a vindictive try hard, and works harder at that than her good things.There's levels. LOL to her not feeling the pedigree pets. Meghan is polite. She was raised well. However , she's a California native and decided to join the nonsense of Hollywood. She has studied and been raised peripheral to the game of fame and decided to be in it to win. I think Beyonce is similar in the public persona of having good manners, and drive while not really being invested in all aspects that don't serve her purpose. I don't know everything, but my California cousins are politely distant and very direct if you give them some room. Meghan used to be direct and ambitious. She's now been abused and had her life threatened for YEARS. She is a mother of two small children with rancid inlaws. Meghan is living an extreme version of a black woman. She used to "pass" at the very least as not black, and at the most whatever is acceptable to white people. I think that's why black women give her cover and space. Mariah pushed her, but then let up. Allison got real about her, but not in the "out of the lane" way that many non-black women plod their way through. I finally watched the Netflix series and I was delighted to hear her valid tone of annoyance when she said "your brothER". Her tone was not with the clownery. Ultimately, these two were unprepared . Meghan had a good 30+ years of avoiding the black trauma, and now she's getting it in an overdose. Her troubles trigger many black women because we hear her experience and connect it to our own (sans death threats. DEATH THREATS!!?!). When Kathleen tweets about riding at dawn for whomever. It's similar to what black people feel about Meghan because it's triggering. My dad couldn't even finish listening to her talking about her experience with Oprah because it was too much for him to see her sad. He thought about his own daughter. It's exactly why I'm not amazed by the microagressions in the "stay home" feedback. Did someone really type a few nice things and then say she should have stayed home and that she's the most thirsty of the two? Looking at her is all you're doing (and probably what you do to your coworkers if we're keeping it a buck) and I think if Black women didn't have to manage this antiblackness in real life then it wouldn't be so grating. Meghan might have just realized she was black to most of society recently, but the rest of us expected this and smelled that crap before the Porto potty called British media threw open the door. I'm sorry, but Harry wanted to call Beyonce on camera. They might be well matched good natured thirst buckets that care about others. If some hack of a househusband tv writer was making money off of racist satire using my picture that a bunch of raggedy second rate celebrities were online laughing at....I'd be sensitive like Chris Evans. But, he just cares too much and Meghan should stay at home because she bagged a man who thinks she's everything and wanted to protect her life. Maybe that's..too much?? Or maybe some should look inward. That's probably too much to ask as well. Nuance people!! But lemme tell you little backhanded commenters what we're not doing. We're not doing is the say something nasty and then pretend it was civil and gaslight black women that confront your words. I've grown up with that basura and you had better keep your nonsense to your group chat. If the rest of non black women understand that cultural lane then you wouldn't have to gaslight to protect your nonsense. Stay out of the Meghan lane when you don't understand respectful criticism like the piece from Allison. She hit the notes (she was given a gift basket as a sign to leave and I will never forget that) and it was read the way The Culture would understand it because we do know she's a lot...we know, but that's not your business that's OUR business (re:The Culture: this phrase belongs to Black people, others can add more words like "culture at large, our culture, pop culture. Bling bling and woke has already been ruined. Please leave this one to us. Everything is not for society as a whole just because you enjoy saying it , and it's also why Shamira Ibrahim made a point to use "the culture at large" in her recent Aoki Lee profile.). You definitely don't have to like Meghan, but I want to be very clear that when you freely type these dog whistle comments, many black women hear it differently because you pull this same nonsense in real life with us. No matter how confused you pretend to be about just having a conversation...we both know it's racism. I know you know. Yaba Blay explains it so well and you can look her up if you feel like being read like a book online. Don't go in her comments because she's not Meghan. You will get your feelings' feelings hurt.
An Older Black Woman checking in, here. And yes, I agree with several things you say. I'd even add that Meghan's overall aesthetic has done a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to her success — and I mean that in the most objective, socio-culturally realistic way. Yes, she works super hard. Yes, she's polite. Yes, she does the reading. I genuinely admire it all. But I also know she wouldn't have had some of the opportunities and breaks she's had if she didn't look like she did, which is conventionally white-friendly. Because let's face it: She isn't a good actress. But she was the type of Black person that worked for Hallmark, Lifetime, and USA Network projects. And hey, good on her for making the absolute most of everything she had going for her. There's zero shame in that and I respect her ambition.
Ultimately, though, I know I probably wouldn't pal around with Meghan in real life, but I'm going to the mat for her EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. (EVERY ONE!) in mixed company. Moreover, I know exactly what I need to know about anyone claiming she should "stay in the background" or "is attention-seeking and self-centered" or "full of herself, uppity, etc." They're telling on themselves.
All very true. I feel like I know she knows it deep down because she keeps her hair straight (plus it's easier...in more ways than one), but when you are enveloped in the society of the majority (and have a parent in that group) then you inevitably take on the delusion of merit (she could work hard enough to fit in, and succeeded to a point). In her case, delulu was not the solulu. I guess she was just watching Serena deal with her racist trolls and thought it was sad and never thought it could happen to her (kinda like the daughter in Imitation of Life, and the in-laws/media are the abusive boyfriend). Old black folks were afraid for her safety before she knew she should be afraid. They were correct. That cavalry came in deep for her because WE KNOW!
If I could like this comment five million times I would. There is just so much racial trauma in how Meghan is perceived and how she moves through the media and the public eye that I honestly think it would take a book by a brilliant writer to work through, but then, as you say, it would then leave the culture and we’d have to start yelling again at people to stay in their lanes. (Context: I’m a black woman)
I didn’t watch all of the Netflix doc because it was a Bit Much, but the part about Meghan avoiding most of the Black Trauma and then getting overdosed with it in the space of a few years...whew. Honestly, if she’d had that trauma to live with her whole life...I don’t know if she’d have signed up to marry Harry and step into that life.
I watched the whole thing. Avoided it, and then extended my Netflix before cancelling because I had to finish. Harry not having a safe space in a parent was glaring. The relentless british media. I want the black nanny's tea. I think Meghan's done a lot for someone who's been under siege. Harry has experience (and was clueless simultaneously), but she is new to this and kept going with the podcast, children's book, charity work, miscarriage, lawsuits, death threats, media hiding in the bushes and two very small children instead of retreating. They needed money so there wasn't a choice. Rich or not, that's a lot for a human being.
At this point, it would take a miracle to convert her most rabid haters. They need to continue to do the things they want to do and do them well, like they did with these Games. History will tell.
Love them! Was even influenced to buy Meghan's J.Crew cardigan (though in khaki rather than white). I wish she did more of The Tig or other influencer stuff because I personally would really enjoy that.
I'm not entirely sure where they want to go next. I know they have the next Invictus in Canada in 2025 but there's got to be stuff in between.
I loved Princess Diana, I love Harry, I love Meghan and I loved Spare. I think they were thrown in an “impossible” situation in 2020 - leaving a family that was financially and emotionally blackmailing them while running an incredibly negative PR campaign against them.
I don’t love how slow the content release has been with both Spotify and Netflix - but I can’t imagine navigating being “cut off”/exiled, a toddler, a miscarriage, a newborn, the pandemic while trying to generate funds to cover millions in security.
I understand why they had to lead with Spare and their show on Netflix. That was what secured their contracts.
I do wish that they had better people guiding them when it came to producing consistent content and they had better PR to talk about the projects that are not personal (archetypes, and the show that wasn’t invictus. Can’t remember the name).
I hope for more consistency in this next stage, more focus on their individual projects and interests, better brand management.
Wishing them the best 🤷♀️
I'm afraid I'm in the naysayers group and I thought that this was a classic example of their "look at me, look at me" approach to charity work. Meg has a long history of stealing the spotlight from whatever charity she works with (The UN is an example) and I have talked personally to individuals who have worked with her on this front and witnessed this behaviour. She makes it all about her and I'll say this once and I'll say it many times -- you are not the hero of your own brand story and if you want to be respected and build a legacy brand in the not for profit/charity space, then you need to learn how to be gracious and take a back seat to the real heroes (the athletes and volunteers) and not suck up all the oxygen in the room. You will never see Melinda Gates front and centre, nor would you ever see any other truly selfless philanthropist behaving in this manner. They have a lot to learn on this front if they want their personal brands to actually stand for something meaningful. This was about them and them alone, especially Meghan who seems to think that she is some sort of rock star incarnate. They were overplaying and trying waaaay too hard.
But...Meghan isn't Melinda Gates. Melinda has literally billions of dollars at her disposal to pursue philanthropy. What Meghan has is fame - an incredibly high profile in the public conscience and press that followers her constantly. Like it or not, she drew way more coverage and eyeballs to the Invictus cause by showing up then Melinda Gates would have by donating money. Feel free to hate the game but to say that she is making it about herself...drawing coverage is the entire point of celebrity philanthropy.
You are correct, but drawing the right attention is the task here -- it would be interesting to see if donations went up during or after The Games or if Invictus has a plan in place to capitalize on that attention. I haven't seen any those tactics. Attention without action is really a lost cause at the end of the day.
I'm not sure I agree with you on the "making it about her" part because when you consider who the priority was - the athletes - her presence there, if it was appreciated by them, and by all accounts it was, then her attendance served its purpose.
I do agree about follow-through, though, with these games and with their foundation overall. And that definitely speaks to the "what's next" part of my post at the end. It's now been three years since H&M left the RF and started their own thing. Much of it, up to this point, has been mostly "this is what we want to do, we believe in service etc etc" but we haven't yet seen any release of results.
Part of that, for sure, is media coverage. My colleagues and I, and the outlets that report on H&M, at least the responsible ones, should be highlighting, when possible, when they release results reports. When I used to work in non-profit, we were called upon every year to provide status updates to donors and stakeholders. Invictus should have this kind of information and after this year's event, we should be able to see the participation numbers, the donation and sponsorship numbers. It *looked* like they were doing well with sponsor engagement - and the way the event was run overall, I imagine that more sponsors will want to be involved.
By the way, sponsors are also why Meghan's attendance would have been necessary at Invictus. Some of both H&M's behind the scenes work at Invictus would have been to put in facetime with the sponsors. In my experience, both in for profit and non profit, the sponsors expect to see the stars. They want their photo too. Sometimes they're the thirstiest for photos.
Her priority was not the athletes? 7 outfits a day, marching as if she was a service member herself and not taking a backseat, finding any black or disabled person she could for a photo op, being front and centre in every photo? Were we watching the same event? Can she name an athlete?
As someone who works in the nonprofit space, and you with experience in this area, no, this isn’t how you “support and uplift” a charity.
Agree on the results piece of this and that is what's really important about Invictus going forward. You do note that we have not seen anything tangible regarding any of the H&M charities (yet) and I agree that that will dictate how they are perceived going forward. They don't seem to be focused on following through on big announcements and have had some significant staff turnover there so it remains to be seen if they can create a legacy in this space. It makes for interesting conversation!
I saw a lot of venue pics with empty seats so I’m curious finding wise what’s the situation for Invictus especially with the next games not being for 2 years.
The Invictus series dropped on Netflix within the last few weeks but there was barely a blip about it in the press. It could have been a great opportunity to increase public interest, drum up crowds etc but seems like the series just disappeared.
The event was actually really really successful the pictures with the empty seats are the seats where the veterans sat in, the pictures were taken prior to them being seated. As per the official invictus website there were more than 140,000 spectators there. Both the opening and closing ceremonies were sold out. And as for the the documentary it’s still trending on Netflix. The veterans that was featured in it did the interviews, there’s one with the competitor gabe on cbs morning. I’m not certain but I’m assuming Harry and Meghan did not personally promote the documentary because of the strikes. Meghan was part of the union I’m not sure if she currently still is but I know she definitely supports unions as she’s stated that herself so I would assume that was the reasoning behind the lack of promotion from the Sussexes
Genuinely curious what you recommend she do instead. I thought it was smart of her to arrive at the half way point which helped to invigorate media interest when it was starting to lag a bit. It also forced the media to cover the games on its own at first. She kept her wardrobe neutral, accessible and appropriate. I'm not sure what else you can do as the Founding Patrons partner. I followed the games for the first time and there was so much coverage of the competitors and their stories it was really inspiring but yes social media is all about the quick pics and yes she is the heat score. How does she avoid that? I mean she walks into her dentist office and its all over my feed.
Like I said earlier, I would have recommended that she stay home. Invictus is Harry's cause and she is a distraction at this point, Her Q ratings are not where they need to be and there is more negative baggage than positive baggage at this point for her. Celebrity is not always a good thing when it comes to a charity and many of them don't embrace celebrity front and centre (a few do, don't get me wrong but there is a risk attached to that) because they know that celebs come with lots of potential baggage which can distract from the work of the charity. I'm looking at you Lance Armstrong and also the Me2We Folks! :)
Comparing Meghan to Lance Armstrong? Get real. "Negative baggage" is in the eye of the beholder and clearly that "baggage" didn't stop the event from getting a ton of positive press coverage around the world.
I didn't compare her/Invictus to Lance Armstrong so please don't go down that rabbit hole, I merely that used him as an example of the reason that charities tend to be hesitant to leaning too much on celebrities to promote their causes. Please don't draw a connection between the two (or Invictus) when none was made.
How did she make it all about her? She showed up to show support and the media attention was all on her - but that isn’t her call, the media does this because they know that is what gets the ‘clicks’. I think she is smart to use her presence to bring attention to the games.
I think those that argue Megan is always ‘look at me look at me’ are actually dog whistling something else - ANY attention to her seems to be too much for some reason. And arguing that she shouldn’t be there to support Harry or bring attention to this cause?? Another dog whistle that she actually shouldn’t be in that position at all (i.e., his wife, a British RF duchess).
If she was doing that I would remember the name of a competitor there and not the designers of her outfits.
Then that’s on you. Tabloids, pop culture/entertainment magazines, fashion magazines, etc. are not going to care about veterans. They care about Meghan (and Harry), what she wears, and what she does. I watched two segments on TV (ABC and Fox News) where they talked about the event and focused on the veterans. Same with the Invictus Games social media. So, again, if you wanted to know more about the Games and not about Meghan, then that’s on you.
Uh, that’s on you, not her? The media focuses on her clothes but again, that’s not her fault. There were lots of articles that described the events and the competitors, clearly you didn’t click on those. But you knew the games were happening, right? And what the games were about? Do you think you would without all of the attention on both Harry and Meghan?
But Melinda Gates and other philanthropists ARE treated the same way at charity events. Whether it's a billionaire or a small city civic leader, the big name in the room is applauded, gives a little speech, is seated at the best table or location in the auditorium. There is just much broader interest in M&H than Melinda Gates. Are Harry and Meghan supposed to hide in a back room at Harry's own event to not be photographed? This is literally Harry's event. He started this. It makes sense H&M are front and center.
I'm not disagreeing with you, yes, they are treated very well, but the difference is that Melinda Gates takes that spotlight and makes it about the athletes (or whoever she is supporting) and Meghan makes it about her. I'm not suggesting that they hide in the back of the room, but rather they pivot to reflecting the spotlight on the athletes and there is a way to do that so that the event becomes a growth event for the charity. Being front and centre can be played a much more productive and brand building (for the charity) way is all I am saying.
I guess I'm confused about what you mean by "makes it about her." Is showing up to various Invictus events pulling focus? In my opinion, it's clear more people learned about the Invictus games because of her presence, not in spite of.
It's an interesting question -- she is a heat score for sure and that will impact how the press cover her and also how she is perceived. I would have recommended (if she were my client) that she not attend at all -- i.e. leave Invictus to Harry to promote and attend, it's his jam. She is a distraction at this moment and she has other reputation recovery efforts to attend to. She did bring attention to Invictus but not attention that will generate funds for them or create conversations around change or policy or attention to the cause. Invictus was merely a stage for attention for her and that is not a good strategy for Invictus long term because they become merely a backdrop for publicity for her/them. Harry could have used the event to talk about raising funds and furthering conversations that need to be had. Right now their target audience is not the target audience that Invictus needs to further their cause. This isn't a case of "all publicity is good publicity" and my take is that she should have stayed home. it's like having a movie star show up at your wedding and then it becomes all about them -- they can't help themselves. A serious philanthropist knows how to deflect that publicity and turn it into something worthwhile for the charity. Now if we are merely talking about the "insta" crowd, I guess you could say that it was beneficial for Invictus/her personal brand but those people are not the audience for Invictus.
You clearly need to work out whatever bias you have for Meghan because you’re really in here sounding like a HATER. She should have stood home bc you said so? Please I hope if you have daughters you tell them to never dull themselves down for anyone. Imagine telling a women and women of color at that to be lesser because Kerry whoever didn’t like it. The messaging you’re giving is so wild to me in 2023 at that.
Wow -- I'm at a loss as to why you would take a productive conversation (which includes many respectful and different opinions -- the very definition of a conversation) and make it insulting and personal. I'm not going to respond further because it's just not worth the energy.
I don't think staying home would've been the right move. Because like it or not her actions AND her non-actions are dissected in the press. I believe that had she not shown up she would've pulled more focus from the games and the athletes and emphasized Harry's appearance even more. There would have been less games coverage and more "they are in trouble" speculation. Going, being as low key as possible was really the only move to make.
I totally agree with this. She was going to do the “wrong thing” in someone’s eyes no matter what. If she stayed home everyone would freak out that she wasn’t there supporting. If she goes and does her part to support people say she is “pulling focus”. The woman can’t win honestly in the eyes of some. It really feels like she is always going to be dragged no matter what she does so she might as well do what she wants. People say “she’s always been fame hungry” but like...what is she supposed to do, be shy and retiring but also be in the spotlight at the right time but also use her platform for good but also speak out about the right causes but also be a doting wife and mother? I would love to see some tangible results as well but that doesn’t undermine the fact that she *literally* cannot catch a break in these situations. It’s exhausting honestly the back and forth. Critique the actual impact of their non profit sure but I am real tired of any/all side eye going to her.
It doesn't seem like a reasonable ask, in my opinion, to ask the married partner of an event's founder to stay at home. I also don't think it's possible for one to know yet that she brought attention, but not the correct kind of attention -- how do you know that their celebrity power hasn't drawn the eye of a major donor or sponsor for the future? Maybe broader public attention to the event, not just within veteran communities, is the kind of attention they want. I imagine they would love to be on a trajectory like the Special Olympics, which is now a household name and their mission is widely known, they they serve a very specific community. Harry *did* use the event to talk about the importance of mental health resources and vulnerability for veterans.
Exactly - I agree w/ Mel & Jacia. Kerry, you do sound like you’ve got a bit of a bone to pick with Meghan. I’m not sure your comments qualify as a ‘productive conversation’ - you’re basically just repeating the same track and it doesn’t really hold up.
Or perhaps you’re an expert in philanthropy/PR and we plebs just aren’t gifted with your astute assessment of this situation?
Re: ‘Harry could have used the event to talk about raising funds and furthering conversations that need to be had.’ Curious what conversations you had in mind? The whole event did in fact further conversations on veteran rehabilitation and recovery. I definitely received that message loud and clear in all the press coverage.
You speak with so much conviction - I assume you must have deep sources within H&M camp to make statements like ‘Invictus was merely a stage for attention for her’ - otherwise, yeah it comes across like rather biased leap of logic.
My take on this “look at me” analysis is, that’s her job. And she’s really good at it. She can’t control what the press says about her, or what the Royal Family lackeys leak about her, but there aren’t bad stories about her from her days as an actress, and to me that is compelling.
As for “sucking up all the oxygen in the room,” in general, I don’t expect anyone in the royal family to actually be someone I’d be friends with in real life. At minimum, they should treat the people who work for them with respect, and not be part of international sex trafficking (hello, Prince Andrew). Maybe she does crave a lot of attention -- but even if she does, I really don’t care. Meghan and Harry are very good at getting attention for the causes they care about, and we saw that on full display with Invictus.
What I do think is telling is that even if she's "sucking up all the oxygen in the room," Meghan is very choosy about which rooms and when she's seen and photographed in. She's not Rita Ora, if she's trying to get all the attention all the time, she's not actually very good at it.
This is a great point
I feel like the ‘she craves attention’ is another of the media narratives about her. If she craves attention she could easily get it. She would be at premieres and parties and events. She would be at Nobu and other celebrity hotspots getting papped. But she is generally pretty quiet and has gone dark for months at a time over the 3.5 years she’s been in California. They moved to a small town and have two small children. I do feel like she’s getting out more now and I’m happy for her as she has a right to live her best life.
this "Meghan craves attention / look at me" narrative also does not jive at all with the authentic testimonials from Toronto crew members on a reddit thread from earlier this year -"Crew members that worked on Suits, what was Meghan Markle like?" https://www.reddit.com/r/askTO/comments/10gc2g0/crew_members_that_worked_on_suits_what_was_meghan/
I think it’s great they’re doing so well and I’m really pleased they don’t need to bring out their kids to drum up interest (though I’d love to see them).
I'm so happy to see this as a win for them- I am rooting for their success. I would like to see Meghan have a passion project that she develops with Harry's support.. beyond the Archetypes podcast, which doesn't seem to be moving the needle (much).
It was definitely a win. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do next with this positive momentum.
Harry’s closing speech at the Games was gut-wrenching and powerful. I was completely in awe of the athletes and the sheer courage and tenacity it takes to push your body mentally and physically again as a veteran who has suffered tremendous loss. The emotional connection he forged with the Canadian bagpiper had me in tears. For the first time I was able to separate Harry & Meghan from their story, and instead focus on their passion & values. It felt completely sincere to me. When I heard Invictus Games was going to be in Whistler/Vancouver in 2025, I immediately shared with my network that we have to go get tickets to be a part of this incredible sporting event. Considering their performance has now motivated me, my friends and my family to openly seek out support of the Invictus Games, I would say they were victorious. Harry proved to be a very compassionate speaker, and we know Megan is very skilled in public speaking , there has to be money to be made there along with their philanthropic endeavours? I hope!
Whoa! Good to know about location!!
Seemed like a win to me. Haters going to hate, there is nothing you can say or do to change their minds. Anything Meghan does is picked apart, she can't seem to do anything right in certain peoples minds and that will never change. I hope H&M continue to kill it, I wish them the best.
She does look great on blue! Flashbacks to the blue dress in the rain pic. Does she style herself 🤔
That is my favourite looks as well! Although I think that is when she has other stylists, I didn’t really like her invictus looks except for the black and blue dresses, they were great, her pantsuits were not good at all and the short thing with the blazer, lately she doesn’t dress for her figure so I think she does it herself now and just wears clothes she likes rather than clothes that suit her specifically. Shoe game was on point though.
I think they did incredibly well and I’m happy to see it. I am rooting for them. As an American divorcée married to a Brit, with a mother-in-law who still isn’t over me being American, I admit I feel a little defensive of Meghan. At times they have been a little cringe, but ultimately, so what?
I’d like to see them continue doing things like this, and reentering lifestyle work for Meghan seems like it would go over well. As much as I devoured the Oprah interview and Spare, I’d like to see them continue to move forward.
Except...this was a highly successful event way before Meghan was in the picture. So continuing a successful event that Harry started does not seem like a new beginning. The fact that it went well says more to their approach to newer projects since leaving the BRF.
That’s a really good point about new beginnings. And they are lucky they have something successful to ‘fall back’ on. But I’m not sure there’s a direct correlation to their approach to new projects. One thing about the games is they were started by Harry while he was protected by the BRF but the event isn’t controlled by the family. It’s had time to grow to the point where it doesn’t need direct or indirect support from the BRF while all their new ventures are starting from scratch in a completely different environment. Also, any project Meghan had prior to her marriage had to be abandoned at the behest of the royal family so she doesn’t have a foundation to build new projects around.
Isn’t Harry’s support the support of the BRF though? We can’t say that he’s shining a light on the event and also say it doesn’t need BRF support, that’s why Harry was there in the first place and while he’s still there. He’s famous because he’s in the BRF not because of anything else really.
Laura - good point on the support of the BRF making it a success. I am interested to see their approach to projects moving forward. Ageee with others who have indicatesld that mission-projects could be a very effective future for them.
I'm really happy with it! I've cooled off of them after the Netflix documentary, it was... silly, in part, and didn't go far enough in what it was trying to say. And Harry's memoir backfired a bit in my opinion. Hopefully we'll only see them do professional things for a while, that's where they shine and can 'seduce' the people still on the fence
A 10! Harry led. Megan low key supported. No drama. High/low fashion, a huge hit. I am cheering for them. I love the Royals and love having two of them in the US. I ideally would like them all to do well and be happy. Forgiveness and reconciliation are decades away.