Expert Shares What Meghan Markle Needs to Do Now to Save Her Brand Following Damning Allegations About How She Treats Her Staff
It’s been a rough few weeks for Meghan Markle. The duchess began 2025 with her return to Instagram and promoting her new lifestyle show to debut on Netflix. However, a week later she and Prince Harry were criticized and dubbed “disaster tourists” for surveying areas of Los Angeles County destroyed by the wildfires. The couple was also slammed for supposedly volunteering but only showing up at an evacuation center for 17 minutes and doing a “photo opp” with Pasadena’s mayor Victor M. Gordo.
But things atually got worse for Harry’s wife after that. Meghan’s show was pushed back to March and a blistering Vanity Fair story about how she allegedly mistreats her staff hit news stands and made international headlines. The fresh allegations gave more validity to the claims made in 2024 that she was a “demon boss” and “dictator in high heels” as well as bullying accusations from Palace staffers back in 2018.
What’s more is that this was a time where Meghan had been working to repair her image and hoped for some good publicity in an effort to get viewers to tune into her Netflix show. But the Vanity Fair piece has set those plans into a tailspin. Can Meghan recover from this? An expert thinks so if she does one thing now.
PR expert says Meghan has to do this to save her brand
For its February 2025 cover storyVanity Fair talked to dozens of the Sussexes’s former employees who alleged that working with Meghan was “really, really, really awful” with one ex-staffer revealing that they had to take a “leave of absence after working on three episodes.” Several others claimed that they too had to take “breaks from work to escape scrutiny,” leave their job altogether, or undergo “long-term therapy” after having the duchess as a boss.
According to PR expert Renae Smith what the Suits star needs to do now amid the criticism is stay silent and not engage in negative publicity as saying something now could potentially damage her brand further.
Smith, who is the founder and director of The Atticism, told Express: “My advice to my clients, 90% of the time, is to avoid engaging with negative news cycles unless there is direct, irrefutable evidence–like a video or hardcore proof–that demands a response. Research shows that unproven allegations often fade from public consciousness much faster when left unaddressed, as engaging can inadvertently extend the media cycle and draw more attention to the claims. By staying silent, the focus can shift back to more positive narratives and ongoing projects.”
Another expert says the duchess needs to be careful of what can ‘kill her brand’
Another PR expert weighed in what Meghan needs to do now and believes the duchess can keep quiet just not on Instagram.
Speaking to Express, founder of No Strings Public Relations Riley Gardiner opined that if Meghan stops posting altogether than it would likely “kill her brand.”
She said: “Meghan Markle should absolutely keep her social media presence active in the lead-up to With Love, Meghan. Waiting until March 4 to post would be a mistake … If she stays quiet for too long, people will get bored, and the headlines will shift elsewhere — no one has the patience for that level of mystery anymore.”
Gardiner added: “Regular posts are a must — something that keeps her in the conversation without going overboard. Once a week seems like the sweet spot.”
