Prince Harry and Meghan Markle talk a lot about privacy, which is what makes the With Love, Meghan host’s strange birthday tribute to her daughter Lilibet all the stranger.
After posting never-before-seen photos of the four year old, Markle closed out her social media blitz with a cringeworthy throwback video of herself heavily pregnant and twerking in a hospital room in an apparent effort to induce labor.
In addition to being straight up awkward, the clip – which features cameos from her husband – is also reigniting the wild but persistent conspiracy theory that Markle used surrogates to carry her children. On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by Stu Burguiere, host of Stu Does America, to discuss the former royal’s latest antics and why they lead people to question her motives.
The Social Media Blitz
The former Suits actress kicked off her daughter’s birthday by posting a new black-and-white photograph of her and Lili while sitting on what appears to be a boat. The photo made headlines because it shows some of the child’s face for the first time in years.
“Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! Four years ago today she came into our lives – and each day is brighter and better because of it,” she captioned the Instagram post. “Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day!”
Hours later, Markle was back on social media, this time posting photos of Lili with Harry. “The sweetest bond to watch unfold 💕 Daddy’s little girl and favorite adventurer,” Markle wrote. “Happy birthday Lili!”
But she still wasn’t done for the day. Last but not least, Markle posted the video of herself in a hospital room dancing in a black dress to Starrkeisha’s “The Baby Momma Dance” song. People reported the song spurred a viral social media dance trend around the time of Lili’s birth.
The former royal twerked, shook her hips, and even dropped “down low” in accordance with the lyrics as her husband sporadically entered and exited the frame. You can watch for yourself below:
“Four years ago today, this also happened,” Markle captioned the clip. “Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn’t work – there was only one thing left to do! 😂”
‘Deeply Problematic’ Posts
Megyn called the post “deeply problematic” and “the cringiest, most uncomfortable piece of tape I’ve seen in a long time,” and she ran through several of the issues she saw with it. “Number one, here’s the problem: We don’t like you, Meghan Markle… and no amount of posting videos that you think are going to humanize you will make us like you,” she said. “You’ve already shown us your true colors. We know who you are.”
“But secondly, [what’s with] the gross disrespect to the intimacy and privacy of marriage and childbirth? There are some moments that are supposed to be between a husband and a wife only, and the moments before you give birth to your child is one of them,” she continued. “When you are together in that room and your child is coming, maybe you do have a fun moment… But it’s private. It’s actually holy.”
In Megyn’s view, Markle turned that precious time “into an ego trip” she is now exploiting for her own gain. “For her to need to make it into an ego trip – which she is clearly doing with the ‘look at me dancing; I’m still fun; and I’m sexy; and I have this great marriage; and here’s Harry being like a normal guy’ – is disrespectful, I think, to the to the moment, to the child, and truly to the sanctity of what goes on for any humans who are actually in that situation,” she added. “She is drunk on her own ego.”
Burguiere said the whole posting schedule feels contrived. “What it feels like, to me, is she’s in a PR firm meeting and someone says, ‘We need to humanize you. Go through your phone, find some fun moments of you and Harry, we’ll post them, and everyone will like you again,'” he speculated. “[But] you can’t manufacture that stuff. It feels fake. It feels weird. I don’t understand why they would think something like that would work, but these are not people who are just posting on a whim.”
The Conspiracy Theories
Perhaps Markle was hoping a video of her in a hospital room with an enormous belly would put an end to the unproven but unending theories about her pregnancies. People have long speculated that she and Harry used a surrogate to carry one of both of their children (they are also parents to six-year-old Archie), and this clip has actually resurrected the rumors.
“This is the only time that I have actually indulged the theory because… that belly looks very abnormal,” Megyn said. “If you look up close in the video – and I encourage people to look at this – it looks like there is, like, a bag or some sort of something shoved up under a dress. It does not look like a pregnant belly. It looks all bumpy. It is very strange.”
While Megyn acknowledged that “all reason and logic would dictate she did get pregnant,” she said Markle’s history leaves the door open for skeptics. “I don’t think she faked her pregnancies,” she concluded. “[But] I don’t trust her, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she were pulling some sort of a subterfuge on us. Let’s face it, it is not beyond her.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Burguiere by tuning in to episode 1,087 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.