ROYALSMeghan Markle Slammed for Returning to Instagram After 'Complaining' About Social Media for Years: 'Ridiculous'
Meghan Markle returned to Instagram on January 1 after branding social media as 'toxic.'
Meghan Markle started the new year with her grand return to Instagram on Wednesday, January 1, but the Duchess of Sussex's platform might not align with her commitment to digital safety.
Meghan Markle discussed the emotional toll internet trolls had on her at SXSW.
"They [Harry and Meghan] came off social media because they were getting unparalleled abuse," royal correspondent Charles Rae told GB News.
"They've spent the last few years complaining about social media," he added. "Harry spent a lot of time saying spiteful things, nasty things about Facebook, which is owned by Meta, which also owns Instagram. So I don't quite understand where they're coming from."
"This post is ridiculous. She's had this this dormant Instagram account for two or three years, and there's been hints before that it was going to come out, and do something sensational," he said about her new video post in which she was seen writing "2025" in the sand.
OK! previously reported the former actress secured her Instagram handle @meghan in 2023, but she discussed the emotional toll social media trolls had her at SXSW the following year.
“Yes, social media is an environment that has a lot of that [toxicity] …I keep my distance from it right now just for my own well-being,” the mom-of-two said in March of 2024.
“You have to really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful. It’s not catty — it’s cruel,” she continued, as the duchess claimed internet trolls greatly impacted her mental health in the past. “And certainly when you’re pregnant or you have a newborn, as moms you know it’s such a tender and sacred time."
Meghan Markle returned to California in 2020.
- Meghan Markle Returns to Instagram Months After Branding Social Media as 'Toxic,' Shares Rare Family Footage
- Meghan Markle's 'Hypocritical' Instagram Return Is 'Another Money-Making Exercise'
- Meghan Markle Shelves Her Anticipated Instagram Relaunch After Saying She Is 'Keeping My Distance' From Social Media
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On Thursday, January 2, Meghan took to Instagram to share the trailer of her new show, With Love, Meghan, but there were rumors of the duchess rebranding as a lifestyle influencer before the promotional video was posted.
“I believe she's trying to build an empire. I don't know if that’s what she was going to do originally when she left the British royal family," American royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told GB News.
Meghan Markle ran a blog called 'The Tig' before moving to the U.K.
When the Sussexes first left the U.K., they hoped to serve The Crown from Canada, but things quickly unraveled after they settled down in the British territory.
“Remember, they told us that she was going to be living a life of service," Schofield noted, as the couple often discusses their love for philanthropy. "Polling-wise, this has been very difficult for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. People in the States have an issue with them."
“Did they have to go down this path, basically using Netflix to create content to kind of try to build this empire of gardening and what's going on in the kitchen, but also giving Netflix ultimately what they want, which is that reality show element," the podcaster stated.
Meghan Markle's new cooking show, 'With Love, Meghan,' has been compared to Martha Stewart's network series.
The Sussexes' tell-all show, Harry & Meghan, broke records for Netflix, but Live to Lead, Heart of Invictus and POLO failed to attract a comparable audience. However, With Love, Meghan could be another opportunity for the Northwestern alum to find success on the streaming platform.
“That was their only commercial success, with the Harry and Meghan documentary series," Schofield noted. “This is her dipping her toe still in reality TV but also having cameras in her face and being able to push her own products.”
