Meghan Markle’s original name for her lifestyle brand has been mocked as “white supremacist” on the Pop Report podcast in the latest sign her reputational crisis is far from over.

The Duchess of Sussex soft-launched American Riviera Orchard in March 2024 but changed the name to “As Ever” last week following trademark issues.

And on The Pop Report podcast Zack Peter said: “I mean I get why she changed the name originally. It was very white supremacist—was that why she changed it?”

Why It Matters

At the peak of her U.S. fame Meghan was seen as a poster child for racial equality and comments questioning her racial identity would have carried major reputational risk.

The most famous part of her most famous interview, with in 2021, was an allegation that she was the victim of racism by the royal family, though Harry later suggested it was unconscious bias rather than racism.

The fact The Pop Report felt able to not only have the conversation but promote it on social media without fear of a career-ending backlash demonstrates just how far the pendulum has swung against the Sussexes in the U.S.

What to Know

Chef Stuart O’Keeffe, a guest on , replied “but the new one is terrible” while Peter continued: “What was it called, the Confederate one?”

Co-host Andy Lalwani replied: “American Riviera Orchard.”

Earlier in the segment, O’Keeffe said: “She’s trying to be like a white Oprah with the Orchards.”

Peter said: “No she’s trying to be the black Gwyneth Paltrow.” O’Keeffe replied: “She said she was black didn’t she?”

Before marrying , Meghan described herself as “biracial” and talked about the fact people would sometimes confuse her ethnicity, even telling racist jokes in front of her, not realizing her mother is black.

In 2022, she told her Archetypes podcast: “You’re not treated as a Black woman. You’re not treated as a white woman. You sort of fit in between.

“If there’s been any time in my life it’s been more focused on my race, it’s only been since I started dating my husband.

“Then I started seeing what it was like to be treated as a Black woman because up until then I had been treated like a mixed woman.”

What People Are Saying

Zack Peter followed up his description of Meghan’s original brand name as “white supremacist” by saying: “There’s our social clip of the week.”

Co-host Andy Lalwani offered a partial defense of Meghan’s lifestyle brand: “I know some mothers from the Southern Belt would probably take a read, you know, but I wouldn’t necessarily myself.”

Meghan Markle explained her original name and the decision to pivot on Instagram: “Last year, I had thought, ‘American Riviera, that sounds like such a great name.’ It’s my neighborhood; it’s a nickname for Santa Barbara, but it limited me to things that were just manufactured and grown in this area.”

“As Ever essentially means as it’s always been, and if you’ve followed me since 2014 with The Tig, you know I’ve always loved cooking and crafting and gardening—this is what I do,” she added.

What Happens Next

Meghan launches her show With Love, Meghan on March 4, and her As Ever lifestyle brand in the Spring.

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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