Meghan Markle has drawn criticism for posting a ‘nauseatingly contrived’ and ‘actressy’ social media post which seemed to congratulate herself for helping a 15-year-old LA wildfire victim.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, uploaded a video to Instagram on Tuesday which detailed how she helped the girl after she met her when visiting the burnt-down area of Altadena a few weeks ago.
Appearing candidly in jeans and minimal make-up, she described how the only thing the young music fan had been looking for in her destroyed home was a T-shirt from the singer Billie Eilish – but it had been turned to ‘ash’.
Meghan said she told the girl ‘I don’t know Billie Eilish but I am going to get you that shirt’, and then described how she heroically sent a voice note to her celebrity friends asking for help.
The Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine and his model wife Behati Prinsloo seemed to answer her call, as Meghan thanked them in the video after she squealed excitedly when several boxes of signed Billie Eilish merchandise arrived at her home.
Meghan ended her short video with a big smile and the comment she was going to email the young fan’s mum to tell her the good news.
But some commentators have questioned the motive of Meghan sharing her minor good deed on social media in the backdrop of such tragic effects.
A check of the Instagram pages of Billie Eilish, 23, Adam Levine, 45, and Behati Prinsloo, 36, revealed that none of those stars felt the need to share their efforts to help the young girl.
Meghan Markle uploaded a video to Instagram on Tuesday which detailed how she helped a 15-year-old girl she met when visiting the burnt-down area of Altadena a few weeks ago
Meghan explained how she heroically and successfully sourced a ton of signed merch for the teen, who was a big fan of singer Billie Eilish
However, Meghan’s decision to share her efforts with her 1.6million followers led to a slew of news articles around the world about her philanthropy.
She said in the video: ‘Huge thank you, Billie Eilish, this is going to mean so much to her, and honestly, to Adam Levine and Behati, you guys helped me get this over the line.
‘And to everyone who is showing up for people in big and small ways to get through what’s happened in California, just thank you so much.’
The popstar and the Victoria’s Secret model live near Meghan and Harry in the coveted community of Montecito, which could explain how they know each other.
However, Meghan’s actions have attracted criticism from commentators who are sceptical of her good intentions.
Author and editor Alexander Larman wrote in The Spectator: ‘The disaster has attracted a small but vocal number of people who ostensibly have offered their time and resources to provide much-needed assistance – but in reality seem more interested in creating #content to share on their social media.
‘Meghan Markle, predictably enough, belongs to that category.’
The writer later added: ‘Yet there is something so nauseatingly contrived, so fake – so actressy – about the little smiles to camera, the faux-excitement, the casual name-dropping of famous friends and, finally, the idea that some signed trinkets can in some way compensate for a truly epochal disaster.
A check of the Instagram pages of Billie Eilish (right), 23, Adam Levine (left), 45, revealed that neither of those stars felt the need to share their efforts to help the young girl
Unlike Meghan, the Instagram pages of Billie Eilish (right) and Adam Levine (left) made no mention of their good deed
Author and editor Alexander Larman criticised Meghan’s video in The Spectator magazine
‘It screams of consumerism and fakery: both things, by now, that the Duchess has intimately associated herself with.’
Nile Gardiner, a former aide to Margaret Thatcher and foreign policy analyst, chimed in on Twitter/X: ‘Somehow Meghan Markle manages to turn the tragic LA wildfire disaster into a story about herself.’
Another social media user wrote: ‘So many celebrities have quietly helped out with donations, whether it be financial, clothing or products, but Meghan is the only one to do a promotional video about herself.
‘Look everyone! Look what I did! As she name drops A-list pals while boasting.’
The backlash against Meghan’s video comes just a few weeks after she and her husband visited victims at a wildfire evacuation centre in Los Angeles.
Markle also paid a visit to the Altadena Girls Fire Recovery Fund, a cause that the couple donated to through their Archewell Foundation.
The fund was launched by 14-year-old Avery Colvert to support teenage girls in her community to ‘regain their sense of self and confidence’ after the fires.
However, the efforts also drew some criticism, with actress Justine Bateman slamming her and Harry on X, bashing them as ‘disaster tourists’ on January 14.
Social media users took to Twitter/X to criticise the motive behind Meghan’s video
In the video, the Duchess of Sussex shouted out Adam Levine, 45, and his wife Behati Prinsloo, 36, for helping connect her with Eilish. Pictured: The pair seen in March, 2023
Meghan Markle was spotted comforting victims and first responders at an evacuation centre, while the fires were ongoing fires in LA on January 10
Family Ties star Bateman wrote online: ‘Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers.
‘What a repulsive “photo op” they achieved. They are “touring the damage”? Are they politicians now?
‘They don’t live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists.’
However, a source later told Page Six that the couple feels ‘offended’ by Bateman’s comments.
The source told the outlet: ‘It’s offensive to Meghan and Harry that anybody would think this is merely a photo opportunity.
‘Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles so this is, and always will be, home to her.’
They added that Markle is ‘not just a tourist’, and that her ‘heart is completely broken for all the lives that have been lost and for those whose homes have been destroyed in these fires.’
Meanwhile Meghan and Harry are still reeling from the bombshell 8000-word profile of the couple with a litany of unflattering revelations in the previously supportive magazine Vanity Fair was published in January.
Family Ties star Justine Bateman, 58, took to X/Twitter to blast the couple as ‘no better than ambulance chasers’ after they turned up to help relief efforts
Meghan and Harry are still reeling from the bombshell 8000-word profile of the couple with a litany of unflattering revelations in the previously supportive magazine Vanity Fair was published in January.
The Duchess’ upcoming show, With Love Meghan, was originally due to be broadcast on January 15, but has been moved to March 4 due to the ongoing devastation caused by the Los Angeles wildfires
These ranged from the mildly critical suggestion that they have annoyed neighbours in Montecito (because of the attention they have brought) to the potentially damaging claim that Meghan’s team has discussed a possible ‘post-divorce’ book deal should she split up from Prince Harry.
The profile also tackled long-running claims that Meghan’s behaviour towards colleagues could amount to bullying.
Headlined ‘American Hustle’, it also stated that the Duchess of Sussex could be ‘really, really awful’ when things did not go her way.
One of Vanity Fair’s sources described her treatment of underlings as ‘really, really awful. Very painful’, while it said that others quit early or resorted to therapy after working with Meghan.
However some sources, such as Jane Marie, a producer who worked with the couple during development of Archewell audio projects, told Vanity Fair that Meghan is ‘just a lovely, genuine person’.
Staff loyal to Meghan and Harry have previously defended the couple to US Weekly magazine, describing them as ‘caring’ bosses who give employees their children’s old baby clothes, fresh flowers and ‘care packages’.
The couple later dismissed the allegations as ‘distressing’, according to claims in The Times.
The Duchess’ upcoming show, With Love Meghan, was originally due to be broadcast on January 15, but has been moved to March 4 due to the ongoing devastation caused by the Los Angeles wildfires.
