After living her life outside of the United States for the last decade, Meghan Markle surely knows there’s no place like home! But right now that home is, well, kind of on fire…
The 39-year-old spent seven years in Canada filming the hit show Suits, and then ventured across the pond to the U.K. for a bit to live life as a Royal after marrying Prince Harry. (You may have heard about that.) Months after her controversial #Megxit and another brief stint back in the Great White North, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex along with baby Archie Harrison were finally able to plant roots in their sprawling new Montecito, California home.
In a virtual sit-down interview on Friday, Meg admitted while it was “good to be home” after so long, she was sad to see the nationwide turmoil that unfolded amid the Black Lives Matter movement this summer.
Related: Meghan Markle & Prince Harry Call For An End To Social Media’s ‘Crisis Of Hate’
Speaking to Emily Ramshaw, the cofounder and CEO of The 19th*, described as a “nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics and policy,” Markle reflected:
“To come back and to just see this state of affairs, I think at the onset, if I’m being honest, it was just devastating. It was so sad to see where our country was in that moment. If there’s any silver lining in that, I would say that in the weeks after the murder of George Floyd, in the peaceful protests that you were seeing, in the voices that were coming out, in the way that people were actually owning their role…it shifted from sadness to a feeling of absolute inspiration, because I can see that the tide is turning.”
Meghan, who is half-white and half-Black, continued sharing how peaceful protests and calls for change have motivated her to stay involved in the fight for racial equality:
“I think for so many it’s so easy to focus on the negativity. It’s very easy to focus on that because it’s what you hear…From my standpoint…I think to see the changes that are being made right now is something that I look forward to being a part of, and using my voice in a way that I haven’t been able to [lately].”
We certainly look forward to seeing how the Duchess, who has a long history in philanthropy and using her celeb status for advocacy, will lend her voice to BLM! She’s already made it clear her influence will be used for good, and definitely not as a get-out-of-jail-free card for any of her white friends ignorant to their own privilege (*cough* Jessica Mulroney *cough*).
Earlier this month, Meghan and Harry spoke out about misinformation online in a new op-ed with Fast Company, but the ladies touched on the topic once again in this interview, as the momma of one noted how journalists and the media need to be more truthful in their reporting:
“The headline alone, the click-bait alone, makes an imprint. That is part of how we start to view the world, how we interact with other people, there’s so much toxicity out there in what is being referred to — my husband and I talk about it often — this ‘economy for attention.’ That is what is being monetized when you’re looking at the digital space and media. And so, if you’re just trying to grab someone’s attention and keep it, you’re going for something salacious versus something truthful.”
As someone who’s in the middle of her own contentious legal battle with the British foreign press, we’d say she’s more than qualified to share her two cents on this!
Markle also took some time to remind people to exercise their right to vote and “to be really aware and not taking that for granted.” Sharing an example that hits close to home, she added:
“My husband for example, he’s never been able to vote. The right to vote is not a privilege. It is a right in and of itself…. I really do hope what you’re able to encourage and what we’re able to see happen through The 19th* over the course of the next few months is that women understand that their voices are needed now more than ever, and the best way to exercise that is through voting.”
With one of the most crucial presidential elections in recent history fast approaching this November, we strongly second this. Get out and VOTE, y’all! Hear more of the ladies’ conversation about the 19th newsroom project and their plan to change the media landscape in the full clip (below):
[Image via The 19th Project/YouTube]
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