It was just one month ago that Prince Harry made his way back to the U.K. to testify in the case he brought against the publishers of The Daily Mail over allegations of unlawful information gathering that he claims caused “misery” to his wife Meghan Markle.
And yet Markle was all smiles courtside at the NBA All-Star Game earlier this month where she displayed nothing resembling “misery” at the sight of the cameras. In fact, she hammed it up for the paps much to the apparent dismay of her husband.
On Friday’s show, Megyn was joined by Maureen Callahan, host of MK Media’s The Nerve, to discuss the latest attention-grabbing move from the former royals and what it says about Markle’s personality.
Game Theory
Harry and Markle had prime seats for the all-star festivities at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles last weekend, where they sported similarly monochromatic looks. “She recently attended an NBA game and, because she doesn’t really like publicity, she sat courtside,” Megyn joked.
U.S. media outlets fawned over the former Suits actress’ blingy accessory, a diamond ring on her right hand featuring a large, pear-shaped stone and simple gold band. Experts guesstimated the sparkler, which she paired with her 3-carat engagement ring and a Cartier bracelet and necklace, to be around 5 carats and worth upwards of $200,000.
The ring was visible in a video the NBA posted to social media that captured a beaming Markle trying to get her husband’s attention as the cameras came by. Watch:
The prince was looking off to his left until Markle petted his arm to get his attention. He quickly waved at the camera before immediately turning back away. Megyn said the As Ever founder’s intent was clear. “You can’t miss the, ‘Darling, this is the whole reason we’re here… Look into the damn camera and get me my shot. If you’re not looking, then they’re not looking at me,'” she posited. “That’s really what she is saying there.”
And yet the prince doesn’t seem to be loving the limelight. In a slowed down version of the clip Megyn’s team put together, Callahan said Harry’s eyes were quite revealing. “When you slow it down and you look at the minute he looks straight at the camera, there is a micro pause and his eyes look like he could kill,” she noted. “He looks like he doesn’t want to be there and he doesn’t want to be engaging with the media.”
Identity Crisis?
Megyn said she believes Harry “genuinely hates” the press, but she doesn’t think the same can be said for Markle despite her protestations. Instead, Megyn said Markle simply can’t handle negative press and wondered if her thin skin and attempts to control the narrative stem from a lack of identity.
“If you put yourself out into the public sphere as a public figure… You have to accept that this is part of the deal… You really do have to know who you are to be able to handle this,” Megyn said. “And I think that is part of the problem with this woman. She doesn’t know who she is at all.”
In Megyn’s view, Markle has been “playing a role” since she first met Prince Harry, so she “can’t take the negative coverage.” That has led to the never-ending lawsuits the pair have filed against the press. “Even in that court proceeding, he was talking about how [Markle] was treated abominably by the British press corps,” she noted. “They made her an international star. They loved her in the beginning. [Harry] only started to get upset when she started to behave badly, and they wrote about that too.”
Callahan agreed. “I think her problem is she thought that this level of fame and a power marriage would fill the hole, but nothing is going to fill that hole,” she said. “It is a black hole because it is a black hole of identity inside.”
Speaking of identity crises, Callahan wondered if someone at the NBA had a little fun with the seating chart because Markle was sitting next to none other than Queen Latifah. “Do you think that was whoever does the seating for those games effing with her a little bit,” she theorized. “Here’s a queen, Queen Latifah. She’s higher than you, she’s more well liked than you, and she had a hit show for a very long time.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Callahan by tuning in to episode 1,257 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 The Megyn Kelly Channel (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.