How UK Media Spins the Same Story Differently for Meghan and Kate — James O’Brien Explains"

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]The one that I think most illustrates the subtle ways in which the media infects the way we think is this one.

[00:00:08]Cuz so many people who would ordinarily know much better and have quite a clear line on things are absolutely persuaded that that Harry and Meghan are the wrong'uns.

[00:00:17]And that the the royal family as it is or or or Kate and William or um even Andrew Windsor that that that that the good guys. It's extraordinary and it hasn't happened by accident. It is the best example with the possible exception of Brexit, it is the best example of media gaslighting that I have witnessed in my life. And speaking of Brexit, find me someone that hates Harry and Meghan but can't really tell you why except something something loyalty something and I'll find you someone that voted for Brexit.

[00:00:47]Almost or in almost every case but but perhaps not every. 20 to 12 is the time.

[00:00:52]So you explain to me how the man mired in really lurid look mired for years now in lurid sex abuse allegations vehemently denied but whenever you are reminded of the vehement denial, you must also be reminded of the millions of pounds paid to one of his accusers in order to make one case one legal case go away gets an absolute uh well, gets a gets a comparatively easy ride from the UK media even in the last year even post disgrace even post payment when he sort of slowly crept back into the royal entourage at Sandringham on Christmas Day or he's slowly crept back into into the sort of public space. Was he allowed to wear a uniform?

[00:01:35]And Harry wasn't at one event. I could have misremembered that or maybe they changed their mind at the last minute.

[00:01:40]But the idea that he gets an easier ride than his nephew who has done nothing wrong is extraordinary.

[00:01:46]And I'd like you to explain it to a mythical um listener who's been asleep for 10 years.

[00:01:53]Angela is in Bracknell. Angela, what made you pick up the phone?

[00:01:56]>> Um because I've always liked Prince Harry and I do feel that he has been totally wronged by the British media.

[00:02:04]Um, when he met Meghan, they made an extraordinarily modern royal couple.

[00:02:10]Um, she was portrayed as the golden girl at many events and then bizarrely she was thrown to the wolves.

[00:02:17]Um, and the public are force-fed on a daily basis nasty stories about mainly her.

[00:02:24]And unfortunately they make the same opinion. Um, and >> And then you end up thinking that the egg is the chicken, don't you? You end up thinking that the negativity and the vitriol is justified by their behavior.

[00:02:37]>> Exactly. I mean, for example, she chose to have her royal children in a different hospital and she was absolutely crucified by that. It's it's her entitlement to choose where she wants to have her children. Um, another thing that really outraged me is the constant Piers Morgan criticism of and the Jeremy Clarkson how his career survived after that article he wrote about her. That was nothing short of an absolute disgrace.

[00:03:06]>> It was pretty grim, actually. I mean, do you know, I wrote about that.

[00:03:11]I wrote about that in my book and I did that thing I had happened a few times writing the book and and where where I just had to double-check I remembered it correctly cuz it was so gross what he wrote. I mean, he was absolutely breathtakingly disgusting. But of course I if you're on the right side, both both the people you mentioned very much Rupert Murdoch creations and and therefore um, held to very very different standards from from the rest of the media firmament, I think. So so The the bit that possibly needs a little bit more exploration is is is the bit where where where the bond broke, where where the media sort of changed direction or changed forces and you think that's because they they wanted to do things their own way.

[00:03:54]It would It would be that simple.

[00:03:56]>> Well, it it it was really bizarre because one minute she was signing bananas at a church as she wrote little message I remember on a banana at I think it may have been a woman a woman's aid.

[00:04:08]Um she wrote little words of encouragement on bananas and she was so praised at something so simple, but then all of a sudden it turned around and anything and everything that poor woman did she was annihilated.

[00:04:23]>> Yes.

[00:04:23]>> Um and it's almost like public figure number one hated public figure number one and they can't do anything and yet you've got Andrew who quite frankly should hang his head in shame and be sent to the tower.

[00:04:35]>> Mhm.

[00:04:36]>> Um >> These are figures of speech of course.

[00:04:38]No, well I mean you do understand but you don't understand. You're the same as me. I think I can probably assemble the jigsaw but when we've assembled the jigsaw we can't quite believe what we're looking at. We sort of go well how can that be? Just to make one example, BuzzFeed puts together a wonderful selection of comparisons that I think if anybody honest were to read it properly they'd have to abandon any opinion even close to the one that Jason uh was was was was sharing earlier. Here's the same newspaper, right? The The both of these stories come from the Mail.

[00:05:07]And they're about One is about um Kate Middleton and one is about Meghan Markle to use their maiden names.

[00:05:14]Not long to go, pregnant Kate tenderly cradles her baby bump while wrapping up her royal duties ahead of maternity leave and William confirms she's due any minute now.

[00:05:24]So that's the Mail talking about Kate Middleton's baby bump during her pregnancy.

[00:05:31]Why can't Meghan Markle keep her hands off her bump? Experts tackle the question that has got the nation talking. Is it pride, vanity, acting, or a new age bonding technique? So there are two women doing exactly the same thing. They are cradling their baby bump.

[00:05:48]Okay? Two women doing ex- Is that two pregnant women in the royal family doing exact- Two pregnant women, both married to princes, doing exactly the same thing.

[00:05:59]In exactly the same newspaper. One of them is tenderly cradling her baby bump, and one of them is posing the question that has got the nation talking, is it pride, vanity, acting, or a new age bonding technique? And that's why the the arguments are, "Well, they shouldn't give so many interviews." Or, "They shouldn't write books." Or, "They shouldn't sign deals with Netflix." is so, uh forgive me, pathetic.

[00:06:23]They were doing that in 2019.

[00:06:27]In Meghan's case, and and and 9 months previously in Kate's, the same story.

[00:06:32]Two women from the same family doing the same thing, being reported in the same newspaper. And I Listen, I I wish I had some sort of, uh ask the audience type device sometimes, like they have on, um Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Because, you know, you can't hear me say that and cling to the view that you had before.

[00:06:52]If if if you were thinking, "Oh, no, she's a wrong, and that is rubbish. It's not media manipulation. It's all their own fault. I've no one's gaslit me. I arrive at my own conclusions, thank you very much." You can't do You can't do that. You can't hear me. And that's only one example. I've got five more, 10 more, 20 more. But, that is so direct, that comparison, that it beggars belief.

[00:07:10]Two women, both married to princes, in the same family, doing the same thing, reported in the same newspaper. One of them, pregnant Kate tenderly cradles her baby bump while wrapping up her royal duties ahead of maternity leave. The other one, "Why can't Meghan Markle keep her hands off her bump? Experts tackle the question that has got the nation talking. Is it pride, vanity, acting, or a new age bonding technique?" Love to the family. Here's another one, you ready? Kate's morning sickness cure, this is nice. Two women, same family, both married to princes, both got morning sickness.

[00:07:43]Um I No, I beg your pardon. Both Both Well, I'll I'll read you the story. Both in the Express, this one, which I think technically still qualifies as a newspaper.

[00:07:51]Kate's morning sickness cure, question mark. Prince William gifted with an avocado for pregnant Duchess. Isn't that lovely?

[00:07:58]So, the story had had had had been reported that Kate was suffering from uh morning sickness.

[00:08:05]And therefore, a a a friendly member of the public who believed I I think it's an old wives' tale that an avocado Well, I am probably the only person in England who still calls an avocado pear.

[00:08:16]An avocado would be a good cure for morning. Isn't that sweet? Uh Meghan Mark- No, the headline, same newspaper.

[00:08:22]Meghan Markle's beloved avocado linked to human rights abuse and drought.

[00:08:27]Millennial shame.

[00:08:29]That's a story about avocados.

[00:08:32]One avocado has been linked to Kate Middleton.

[00:08:36]Kate's morning sickness cure, Prince William gifted with an avocado for pregnant Duchess.

[00:08:40]Another avocado is linked to Meghan Markle. Meghan Markle's beloved avocado linked to human rights abuse and drought. Millennial shame.

[00:08:50]And now tell me that they brought it on themselves by doing all those interviews.

[00:08:54]Uh And Miss Yellop is in Fulham. Hello.

[00:08:58]>> Hi James, how are you?

[00:08:59]>> I'm very well, how are you?

[00:09:00]>> Good, [snorts] good to speak to you.

[00:09:02]>> Likewise. What's going on?

[00:09:03]>> Um oh, actually, just before I start, I wanted to say your tribute to Kate Garraway's husband was very lovely you did.

[00:09:09]>> Oh, I wish it was necessary, but it's very kind of you to say so. Thank you.

[00:09:12]>> you did very right by your friend and I know it's a really tough time to have to do stuff like this >> You can tell.

[00:09:17]>> um in this time, so well done to you.

[00:09:19]That was my first thing. Um my second thing is, and you and I have had plenty of conversations on this topic, um but I mean, the most obvious one is a nice little bit of racism and sexism. It's always >> Ever thrown a boomerang at media bias?

[00:09:37]It's like watching a twisted game where the same action gets painted in completely different colors depending on who's doing it.

[00:09:47]James O'Brien, that razor-sharp radio host, has been calling out the UK media's breathtaking hypocrisy in how they portray Meghan Markle versus Kate Middleton.

[00:09:58]Same story, two royal women, but the narrative wildly different. One gets sympathetic headlines that sparkle with understanding, while the other gets dissected like a lab specimen.

[00:10:10]Every move scrutinized with a magnifying glass of cynicism.

[00:10:14]It's almost magical how quickly a narrative can shift, how words can be weaponized to construct entire realities, painting heroines and villains with just a carefully chosen adjective or a strategically placed quote.

[00:10:28]O'Brien breaks it down with his signature blend of wit and surgical precision, revealing how media spin isn't just reporting.

[00:10:35]It's a calculated art of perception manipulation, where the brushstrokes of language can transform a duchess from a humanitarian into a troublemaker with just a few strategic brushstrokes.

[00:10:51]Karma, media, and the royal roller coaster.

[00:10:54]Ever thrown a boomerang of scrutiny?

[00:10:56]The British media certainly has, and Meghan Markle knows this all too well.

[00:11:01]From the moment she stepped into the royal spotlight, her every move became a potential protocol violation.

[00:11:08]A media feast waiting to happen.

[00:11:11]Imagine walking into a room where every gesture, every breath is dissected, critiqued, and often twisted into a narrative that barely resembles reality.

[00:11:20]The press didn't just report on Meghan, they constructed her, painting her as the perpetual outsider, the American who just couldn't understand the delicate dance of royal etiquette.

[00:11:31]Her actions were magnified, her intentions questioned, her smallest misstep transformed into a headline screaming breaking royal protocol.

[00:11:41]Where Kate might receive a gentle correction, Meghan faced a firing squad of commentary. It wasn't just reporting, it was a systematic deconstruction of her character.

[00:11:51]A relentless campaign that turned her very existence into a performance to be judged, dissected, and found wanting.

[00:11:58]The boomerang of media narrative was sharp, and Meghan was its primary target.

[00:12:06]Karma media and the royal double standard. A tale of two duchesses.

[00:12:12]Just like our previous story about karma and online behavior, Kate Middleton's media narrative offers another fascinating glimpse into how public perception can be dramatically shaped by tone and framing.

[00:12:25]Where Meghan often faced criticism, Kate consistently receives a golden touch from UK media. Her every move celebrated, her protocol breaks transformed into charming moments of relatability.

[00:12:38]Breaking royal tradition isn't a scandal when Kate does it, but a delightful display of her modern, approachable royal persona. Whether she's wearing something slightly unconventional or expressing genuine emotion, the media narrative wraps her actions in a warm, understanding embrace, painting her as a compassionate, down-to-earth royal who understands the public's heart.

[00:13:01]It's almost like she's been given a perpetual get-out-of-jail-free card, while others might be harshly judged for the exact same behaviors.

[00:13:10]Another intriguing example of how narrative power can dramatically shift perceptions and experiences.

[00:13:21]The royal double standard: how media narratives shape public perception.

[00:13:25]Have you ever thrown a boomerang of media bias? Because honestly, the way British tabloids spin stories about royal women is like a precision-engineered weapon of mass perception. Just take Meghan and Kate, two women in the same royal orbit, yet painted with such wildly different brushstrokes that you'd think they were from different planets. Where Kate gets the warm, fuzzy, relatable mom treatment, Meghan is branded as the difficult outsider. A narrative that's not just coincidental, but frankly deeply rooted in racial undertones. It's almost as if the media has this unwritten playbook. If you're white and traditional, you're golden.

[00:14:03]If you're a woman of color challenging the status quo, suddenly you're problematic.

[00:14:07]The subtle and sometimes not so subtle racism seeps through every headline, every carefully chosen adjective, creating a toxic narrative that's less about reporting and more about maintaining an outdated power structure.

[00:14:20]Meghan's every move gets scrutinized through a lens of otherness, while Kate's actions are celebrated as quintessentially royal. A classic case of the same story told with two completely different emotional soundtracks.

[00:14:35]The media's double standard unmasking bias in royal reporting. Have you ever thrown a boomerang of truth into the media landscape? It's a bit like watching a perfectly curved piece of wood slice through the carefully constructed narratives of bias and prejudice.

[00:14:49]The way UK media has treated Meghan Markle compared to Kate Middleton isn't just a subtle difference. It's a glaring spotlight on deeply entrenched racism and sexism that runs like a toxic undercurrent through mainstream reporting. You see, when Kate does something, it's graceful, calculated, a royal triumph.

[00:15:09]But when Meghan does the exact same thing, suddenly it's controversial, aggressive, somehow threatening.

[00:15:16]The double standard isn't just obvious, it's painfully, embarrassingly transparent. Critics have long called out this unequal treatment, pointing out how racial dynamics play a brutal role in shaping media narratives. It's not just about different headlines, it's about fundamentally different human value being assigned based on skin color.

[00:15:36]The calls for balanced fair reporting aren't just requests, they're urgent demands for basic human dignity and respect. Because karma, that boomerang we talked about, it has a way of returning and the media's biased chickens are about to come home to roost.

[00:15:55]The royal rift, media manipulation, and the tale of two duchesses. You know how the royal family operates, right? It's like this intricate dance of perception and carefully curated narratives, where some dancers get way more flattering spotlight than others.

[00:16:10]The media's treatment of Meghan versus Kate isn't just coincidental. It's a calculated choreography with the royal institution pulling some serious strings.

[00:16:21]Kate, the quintessential British duchess, receives this almost mythical treatment. Soft-focus photographs, sympathetic headlines, the whole pristine package. Meanwhile, Meghan, she's been cast in a completely different light, painted as the disruptive outsider who just doesn't get the royal protocol.

[00:16:40]And let's be real, the royal family's subtle or not-so-subtle favoritism hasn't gone unnoticed. Their seemingly passive-aggressive approach to Meghan's integration spoke volumes. Silent treatment, minimal public support, those strategically leaked concerned statements.

[00:16:57]It's like watching a high-stakes diplomatic dance where Meghan was always slightly out of step, while Kate waltzed perfectly in line with the firm's unspoken expectations.

[00:17:08]The media, hungry for drama, gleefully amplified every nuanced slight, turning what could have been private family dynamics into a public spectacle of perceived rejection.

[00:17:21]The media's royal double standard when coverage becomes a narrative weapon.

[00:17:26]Have you ever thrown a boomerang into the world of media coverage? It's well like watching a crazy spin of public perception where narratives loop and twist landing exactly where they're not supposed to.

[00:17:38]The British media's treatment of Meghan and Kate became this bizarre dance of double standards with public opinions splitting faster than a royal gossip headline. Some people saw right through the coded language, the subtle digs, the not so subtle critiques that seemed to paint Meghan as the perpetual outsider while Kate remained the pristine royal darling.

[00:17:59]It wasn't just about reporting anymore.

[00:18:01]It was about constructing entire personas, weaponizing words to shape how millions would perceive these two women.

[00:18:08]The conversations erupted everywhere in pubs, on social media, in living rooms across the UK with people passionately debating the unspoken rules of royal reporting.

[00:18:18]Was this journalism?

[00:18:20]Or was this something more insidious?

[00:18:23]The impact was profound.

[00:18:25]Meghan's public image became a battleground while Kate seemed to navigate the same treacherous media landscape with an almost supernatural immunity.

[00:18:34]Fascinating how a few carefully chosen words can transform perception, isn't it?

[00:18:42]The royal media tango spinning narratives and shifting perspectives.

[00:18:46]Have you ever thrown a boomerang of historical comparison? The British media's treatment of royal figures is like that, a wild unpredictable spin through time. Take Meghan Markle's journey and contrast it with previous royal women and suddenly you've got a fascinating sociological roller coaster.

[00:19:03]Where Diana was once painted as the tragic fairy tale princess, Meghan emerged as something altogether different, a modern woman who refused to be a passive royal accessory. Her experience reveals how media narratives have evolved from breathless romanticization to ruthless deconstruction.

[00:19:20]Previous royal scandals, think Wallis Simpson or Princess Margaret, were whispered about in hushed tones, but Meghan's story plays out in real-time digital warfare with every tweet and headline becoming a potential diplomatic incident.

[00:19:34]The monarchy itself seems caught in this generational spin cycle, desperately trying to maintain its centuries-old mystique while navigating a world that demands transparency, authenticity, and accountability.

[00:19:48]It's almost like watching an institution do an awkward dance trying to keep its balance while the ground beneath keeps shifting. A perfect metaphor for how royal stories get told, retold, and reimagined in our hyper-connected age.

[00:20:03]The Boomerang Effect: Media, Monarchy, and the Power of Perception.

[00:20:08]The ripple effects of Al's online tirade against Meghan Markle extend far beyond a simple social media spat, potentially signaling a seismic shift in how the royal family and media interact.

[00:20:21]As public scrutiny intensifies, there's, well, a growing chorus demanding greater transparency and accountability from both traditional media outlets and the monarchy itself.

[00:20:31]The incident has exposed deep-seated biases in media coverage, particularly the stark contrast in how Meghan and other royal figures are portrayed, hinting at systemic issues that go well beyond individual commentary.

[00:20:45]Brands, media companies, and the royal institution itself are now facing unprecedented pressure to reassess their narratives, understanding that the digital age offers no hiding place for discriminatory practices or unwarranted personal attacks.

[00:21:01]It's almost like the universe is holding up a mirror, forcing everyone to confront uncomfortable truths about representation, fairness, and the real human cost of sensationalist storytelling.

[00:21:17]The Royal Media Lens: Navigating Bias and Fairness.

[00:21:22]In the grand tapestry of royal reporting, the story of Meghan and Kate reveals a complex narrative that demands our critical attention.

[00:21:30]As James O'Brien so eloquently highlights, the media's treatment of royal women isn't just about headlines, it's a mirror reflecting deeper societal biases and systemic inequities.

[00:21:42]The boomerang of karma we've discussed isn't just about individual actions, but about collective responsibility. Fair, unbiased reporting isn't a luxury, it's a fundamental necessity. We must challenge ourselves to see beyond sensationalism, to recognize the human stories behind the royal titles, and to demand a media landscape that judges women not by their origin or background, but by their character, contributions, and genuine impact.

[00:22:09]The hope isn't for preferential treatment, but for an equitable platform where every royal woman can be understood, respected, and evaluated on her own merits. A vision that promises not just better journalism, but a more compassionate society.