Meghan Markle’s ‘Bizarre’ Gesture in Documentary Explains Why She Rubs People the Wrong Way, Body Language Expert Says
A body language expert looked closely at one bizarre gesture Meghan Markle made in the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan. According to the expert, the gesture explains why Meghan “rubs people the wrong way.”
Meghan Markle displayed a ‘bizarre’ gesture when she talked about her wedding day
In the documentary, Meghan shared how calm she was on her wedding day. “On the day of our wedding, it’s like I went into a really calm space. I don’t know how I was so calm. I look back and, ‘How was I so calm?'” she said.
She also shared her surprise that people lined the streets along her route to the wedding. “I knew that when I got to the actual castle… How funny is that to say? ‘When we got to the castle for my wedding’ … Um, that there’d be tons of people,” Meghan said.
“What I didn’t know is people would be lining both sides of the street. I mean, this was a 15-minute drive,” she added. “Me and my mom were both like, ‘What is going on? Look at all these people!'”
Expert provides analysis of Meghan Markle’s body language
Body language expert Spidey shared his analysis of the clip in a video on his The Behavioral Arts YouTube channel. He acknowledged that it’s not uncommon for someone to retell the day of their wedding in an “overdramatic” and “emotional” way.
“So I get some of this,” he said. “There’s a few things that caught my attention. One was that gesture right in the beginning when she was talking about how calm she was, where she goes [imitates placing hand to forehead dramatically].”
“This is a very odd gesture, for the hand to come up like this,” Spidey continued. Typically a hand to the face gesture is “palm inwards and it might go there to scratch or rub or self-soothe,” for example, he said.
The expert added, “But this gesture is so consistent with like that ‘damsel in distress,’ that lady in the cartoons. And it happens weird — like slowly comes up like this as she’s talking. It’s so bizarre.”
Expert says this kind of gesture ‘rubs people the wrong way’
Spidey touched on Meghan’s mannerisms and said this “damsel in distress” move is an example of why she “rubs certain people the wrong way.”
“There’s nothing inherently wrong with it. It doesn’t speak to someone’s character — it doesn’t say that they are fake,” he said. “It’s just, to some people, it feels fake. Some people don’t mind it, some people actually find it engaging. Some people talk like that naturally. There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just saying it innately irritates certain people.”
Meghan tried to be relatable when talking about her wedding
As for Meghan talking about going to the castle, Spidey pointed out her phrasing. “She stops to say ‘How funny is that to say when we got to the castle for my wedding?’”
He explained, “Here’s the thing — if you think it’s funny to say you went to the castle for your wedding, don’t say it.”
In this case, he said, “I think it’s once again that attempt from her to be relatable. Because, to most of us, getting married in a castle, that’s like crazy. So she’s saying it on purpose — let’s be honest, she chose to say that word. And then she’s pausing, [saying] ‘how weird is that … because, once again, I’m just like you. It’s weird to me too.'”
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