Dolly Parton’s sister said is the “daughter every parent should want,” after the Duchess of Sussex experienced a wave of bad reviews.

Stella Parton spoke out to defend Meghan, suggesting royalists don’t like her because “they can’t stand that Meghan checks all the boxes.”

Why It Matters

The comments will come as welcome relief to the royal after her show was heavily criticized in U.S. media.

What to Know

“They hate that Meghan is so smart, talented and kind not to mention beautiful! They can’t stand that Meghan checks all the boxes.”

She was replying to another post, which read: “Make no mistake, if it was with the wildly successful Netflix show, royalists would be hanging from the rafters claiming she was the second coming of christ.

“It’s not what Meghan Markle is doing that they hate. They hate that the ‘wrong one’ is successful.”

With Love, Meghan dropped on Netflix on March 4 and showed Meghan cooking with celebrity friends including comedian Mindy Kaling and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer.

The show made the global, U.S. and U.K. Top 10, but was critically ridiculed on both sides of the Atlantic, including among publications previously supportive of her.

And on social media it became famous for a moment in which Meghan took Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter Pretzels from their original bag, moved them into a new sandwich bag and then labeled it.

What People Are Saying

In full, Stella Parton wrote on X: “They hate that Meghan is so smart, talented and kind not to mention beautiful! They can’t stand that Meghan checks all the boxes.

“Meghan Markle is the daughter every parent should want.”

The backlash was, however, not confined to royalists.

New York Magazine‘s The Cut wrote: “The show can’t seem to decide whether Meghan is an expert teaching her friends new tricks or a student learning dutifully from professional chefs, and by the third time she’s arranging vibrant crudités, you have to wonder what the point is here.

“That all being said, if something is still compelling you to watch or you have a mountain of laundry to tackle and would like the background noise, you should put on the Mindy Kaling episode.”

What Happens Next

Meghan will need to pick herself back up again in time for the launch of her new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, on April 8.

Williams Brown is chief royal correspondent for Regalrumination.com, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly , at and read his stories on Regalrumination.com’s .

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