Remember when everybody was excited about Meghan Markle becoming the first black member of the current British royal family? Well, over a year later, it turns out that being a black royal isn't always all it's cracked up to be.
Meghan has been the subject of a ridiculous amount of targeted criticism since becoming the Duchess of Sussex. To many people, it's clear as day that racism is a major reason for the negativity. Just last month, a reporter compared Meghan's newborn baby to a chimp.
Now Meghan's good friend Priyanka Chopra is encouraging people to call out the racism for what it is. She spoke up about the topic in an interview with the Times.
"It’s racism, for sure," Priyanka said.
It's just that simple. Priyanka said it's "obvious" that the criticism of Meghan has to do with racism. But she says that if anyone can handle this, it's Meghan, who has remained her true self through all of this.
As a member of the royal family, Meghan Markle is subject to seemingly unlimited criticism by the press. She's been critiqued for everything from her nail color to her stockings.
She's definitely not the only member of the family to be under such scrutiny, but there does seem to be a definite double standard. The press often paints Meghan as a rude, uncivilized woman.
It's hard not to notice that she's treated the most harshly annnd happens to be the only black member of the royal family. Coincidence? Probably not.
It seems like a lot of people in the UK don't think that a black woman really belongs in the royal family at all.
Even Kate Middleton gets crap sometimes for not being refined enough to be a royal, so one can only imagine what they think of Meghan, a black woman from the US with no elite lineage.
Royal fans on Twitter have been calling out the British press for being racist toward Meghan since all of this negativity first began. Black people in both the US and the UK have been especially protective of Meghan.
Previously, some of her best friends spoke out in her defense. Oprah and George Clooney also defended the duchess.
But now, one pal is finally publicly calling out the racist negativity for what it is.
Priyanka Chopra is a close friend of Meghan's. She attended her wedding, and the two have been friends for years.
Priyanka spoke out about the racism toward Meghan in an interview with British outlet the Times.
"It’s racism, for sure. But if anyone can handle it, Meghan can,” Priyanka said.
She said all of the negativity around Meghan is "really unfortunate." Meghan works hard on various charity causes, she's been positive about every aspect of her new royal duties, and she's stepped up to the role of duchess in every way.
There's no real way to criticize Meghan except to nitpick at her, because she's actually doing a great job as duchess, so the racism behind the bad press is "obvious," Priyanka said.
"Of course it has to do with racism, it’s an obvious reason," Priyanka told the Times.
"But the beauty of Meg is that she’s been herself through all of this," Priyanka added.
Priyanka has known Meghan since before all of this started happening. They were friends before Meghan and Harry ever started dating.
"A lot of people got to know her after everything, but I knew her before, and she’s the same chick," she said. "Now that she’s got a real platform, she talks about the same things she always did."
"We spent hours speaking about the difference that influence and dialogue can make to the world before this whole thing happened, so what you see now is authentically her. She's always been the girl wanting to move the needle," she said.
Meanwhile, Meghan is likely paying as little attention to the negative press as possible right now. She has more important things to worry about, namely her newborn son Archie.
Even though Meghan tries not to pay attention to the media, it must very nice to have friends like Priyanka in your corner!
