Meghan Markle Accused of ‘Grandstanding’ in New Video Regarding LA Wildfires and ‘Making it All About Herself’
Meghan Markle‘s name has been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons over the last few weeks. She and Prince Harry were dubbed “disaster tourists” when they were seen walking through the Altadena area of Los Angeles County that was destroyed by wildfires. They were also accused of staging a “photo op” after visiting an evacuation center in Pasadena with the town’s mayor.
The former Suits star made the news again a week later when Vanity Fair published a cover story filled with damning allegations that Meghan mistreats her staffers so much so that they “needed long-term therapy” after working for her.
Experts and commentators believed Meghan would lay low for a while longer but she returned to Instagram with a story about what she did for someone who lost everything in the Eaton Fire that devastated Altadena.
Not everyone is praising Meghan’s Instagram video
On Feb. 4, Meghan posted a video and shared that she met a 15-year-old in Altadena whose belongings were reduced to ash including her prized Billie Eilish concert T-shirt.
The Duchess of Sussex then explained that she used her celebrity connections (even naming dropping a few) to contact Eilish and get the teen another shirt. Meghan was delighted when the singer sent not one T-shirt, but several as well as some signed merchandise.
While the story is heartwarming, the video rubbed some people the wrong way. And because Meghan has turned off comments on Instagram, they took to X to voice their opinions.
One user wrote: “Meghan Markle making it all about herself. Someone’s lost their home and she is gushing about how amazing she is for getting them some signed merch. This disaster tourism has now turned into disaster merching.”
A second agreed, saying: “She’s egocentric, egotistical, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, selfish, narcissistic woman, makes everything come back around to #MeMe.”
A third person commented: “How completely tone-deaf is this … and I’m sure it’s all a PR fabrication she’s spewing to try and turn the tide on her popularity and career train wreck.”
Another person fumed: “So tone-deaf and disgusting.”
And a fifth asked: “Why not just do a good deed and not make a video about it? “
Expert says the duchess looks like she’s ‘grandstanding’ and shouldn’t have put this story out
Given the backlash the Instagram video received, Express asked an expert to weigh in with their thoughts on Meghan’s decision to post a video like this.
Renae Smith, founder and director of The Atticism, told the publication: “From a PR perspective, I’m not personally a fan of Meghan’s latest video. While I believe her actions were genuinely kind–she’s not a monster, after all–the issue here is all about perception. She’s just come under fire (literally and figuratively) for being accused of making the LA fires about herself, and now this video, while well-intentioned, could easily be seen as grandstanding.”
Smith continued: “I do believe Meghan was genuinely happy about receiving the delivery and gifting the Billie Eilish merch to the girl affected by the fires. But given her reputation and the existing narrative that she’s self-absorbed, posting a video like this only feeds into that perception.
“It’s a delicate balance: if her social media is meant to be authentic and unapologetically ‘her,’ then fine–it doesn’t necessarily help repair her reputation, but perhaps that’s not the goal. The real question is whether she’s interested in shifting the narrative or just living authentically online. If I were advising her professionally, I’d suggest either not posting the video or framing it differently to avoid reinforcing negative perceptions.”
