Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made headlines for all the wrong reasons after claiming to have been involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase with the paparazzi in New York City in May.
Over the summer, the couple was slightly more discreet – though Harry traveled to Singapore for a charity polo match and the former actress popped up at the Barbie movie, Beyonce concert, and In-N-Out Burger. All the while, the couple’s favorability with the public continues to falter.
On Tuesday’s show, Megyn was joined by Daily Mail columnist Maureen Callahan to discuss how Markle has been trying to reinvent herself despite new poll numbers that don’t bode well for a comeback.
Meghan Markle Attempts a Comeback
Earlier this week, Newsmax published a poll of 1,500 adults in the United States that found Markle was liked by 31 percent and disliked by 33 percent. That puts her approval rating at minus-two, which is down eight points from a June Newsmax survey that had her at plus-six.
The results come on the heels of what appears to be a concerted effort by Markle to reinvent her image in recent months. She is now represented by Hollywood agency WME, where her team includes power agent Ari Emanuel. “My belief is that Ari Emanuel… has been trying to rehabilitate her by getting Suits to get replayed all over Netflix,” Megyn noted. “[They are] trying to get her back into people’s minds so she can relaunch her career, maybe improve her likability factor. Well, it’s not working.”
Suits, the critically maligned cable drama Markle starred on until announcing her engagement to Prince Harry, has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts since it became available on Netflix over the summer. Callahan agreed that it was seemingly “out of nowhere” that “this obscure legal drama that nobody watched, that had zero cultural capital” was among the most-streamed programs. “Nobody talked about Suits,” she noted. “Nobody cared.”
What Comes Next
Spotify dropped Prince Harry and Markle in June, which means her podcasting days are behind her. There has been speculation that Markle will soon rejoin social media – specifically, Instagram – as herself to have more of an influencer-type presence. You may or may not recall, she ran a lifestyle blog called The Tig before joining the Royal Family. Regardless, Markle will no doubt be in the headlines this week as she joins Prince Harry in Germany for the 2023 Invictus Games.
Callahan believes it is all too little too late. “I love watching every attempt to continue to revive this corpse,” she said. “I think this is among the greatest performance artists we’re seeing. It’s great to watch in real time.”
In May, Callahan actually attended the event that preceded the infamous ‘car chase.’ Prince Harry and Markle were in New York City so the Duchess of Sussex could accept the Women of Vision Award from Gloria Steinem’s Ms. Foundation for Women. “I saw her in person speak to a room full of self-selected feminists who you think would be inclined to hear what she had to say,” she recalled. “Meghan Markle is incapable of coming across as anything less than insincere, phony, inconsiderate, and just in love with her own aura and her own… boring backstory.”
Ultimately, Megyn and Callahan agreed the rehab will “fail” because of Markle. “She is completely unlikable… and she has zero to offer,” Callahan concluded. “They can keep trying to shove her down America’s throats. [But] we don’t want it, and we’re not going to buy into any of it.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Callahan by tuning in to episode 625 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.