Meghan Markle Felt 'Stung' by Martha Stewart Dissing Her Lifestyle Brand and 'Authenticity,' Insider Claims

Meghan Markle is in her feelings after Martha Stewart publicly dissed her lifestyle guru aspirations.

A few days after the businesswoman questioned the Duchess of Sussex's "authenticity" in launching her brand As Ever, a royal source admitted Meghan was "stung" by her words.

"Martha essentially said Gwyneth Paltrow's the real thing — and Meghan’s not," the source noted to Rob Shuter's Substack.

In the interview, Stewart, 83, was asked what she thinks about the Suits actress, 43, entering the lifestyle space, to which she replied, "Meghan I don’t really know very well, and I hope she knows what she’s talking about."

"Authenticity, to me, is everything, and to be authentic and knowledgeable about your subject matter is extremely important," she added.

Meanwhile, the cookbook author commended Paltrow, 52, and her "very successful" Goop brand.

"She created quite an interesting body of businesses," Stewart said. "She's admired. She won an Oscar, for heaven’s sake, as an actress! She’s pretty powerful."

When the mother-of-one was asked how she felt about stars trying to follow in her footsteps, she declared, "I don't mind. Good luck."

As OK! reported, Stewart allegedly isn't fond of people asking for her thoughts on the former royal.

"Martha has seen hundreds of Meghan types come and go — and says they all come in with the same self-inflated hype, only to find out it’s a whole new ball game when it comes down to brass tacks," a source told an outlet. "She’s tired of being quizzed by people over how she feels about Meghan’s venture because, honestly, it’s irritating and insulting to her that she’s being compared to a rookie."

Stewart worked for "decades" to build her company, so "if Meghan thinks she can come along and replicate that with barely any experience simply because she’s married to a prince, she better think again."

"Martha doesn’t put a whole lot of faith in her succeeding, but if she does prove to be any competition, Martha won’t hold back in trying to take her down," the source said.

In addition to As Ever, Meghan released a cooking show, With Love, Meghan, on Netflix in March to mixed reviews.

In a Substack chat with media executive Janice Min and journalist Tina Brown, the ladies agreed the series missed the mark.

"To me, I felt like it was a cultural fossil," Brown expressed. "She’s always brilliant behind the curve, Meghan. You know what I mean? This was like flashback to 2013 to the era of The Tig, her blog."

"It feels like it was filmed in a mental institution for wealthy women," Min shockingly spilled. "It kind of had that lobotomized vibe."