“I’ve seen what happens” Harry says media bullying of Meghan may end in tragedy
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have quite understandably decided that enough is enough announcing that they’re taking legal action against a media organisation which has relentlessly bullied and made up nasty stories about Meghan.
Meghan sues the press
The company which owns the Mail on Sunday is the target of a law suit filed in Meghan’s name. She’s suing them for publishing a private letter she wrote to her father.
“Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Sussex has filed a claim against Associated Newspapers over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018,” a statement from the Sussex camp reads.
Displaying a united front, an emotional statement by Prince Harry was simultaneously published on a new official website along with the details of Meghan’s legal action.
Harry speaks out
With the royal couple far from British shores (they’re currently on tour in South Africa with their son Archie) it seems the perfect time to tackle the gutter press discourse and their increasingly cruel attacks on new mum Meghan.
“My wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences,” Harry wrote.
“Though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been.”
Harry noted that false and misleading stories have been published daily and sometimes hourly and it’s at the point where there’s no way to fight back and issue corrections, because the media venom is flowing at such a speedy pace.
“It is for this reason we are taking legal action, a process that has been many months in the making,” the Duke explained.
“Lie after lie at her expense”
Harry noted that the positive press Meghan’s received over the past week highlights how unfair the previously nasty stories have been, especially when Meghan was pregnant and in the early weeks after Archie’s birth.
“They have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave,” Harry wrote.
“She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour.”
“This isn’t acceptable”
Harry says that the time has come to take a stand, for their own family’s wellbeing, but also to very publicly strike back at bullying in general. The Prince says that it’s time to make the press accountable for their actions.
“I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in.”
“There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.”
“My deepest fear”
Harry invoked his late mother Princess Diana who was similarly hounded by the press in the name of selling newspapers – to her death.
He fears for his wife in the face of this thirst for stories and the dehumanising effect the negative discourse can have.
“Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one,” Harry wrote. “Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
“We thank you, the public, for your continued support. It is hugely appreciated. Although it may not seem like it, we really need it.”
Click the above to read the full statement at Meghan and Harry’s website.
