The Duchess of Duplicity: Meghan Markle’s Latest Hustle – The American Spectator | USA News and PoliticsThe American Spectator

The Cut, a popular New York magazine site covering women’s lives and interests, from politics to feminism to mental health, recently posed a question: Why do some women inspire such disproportionate rage? Among the names floated, none loomed larger than Meghan Markle. The article scratched at the surface, but it stopped short of really answering the question. (RELATED: Why are Liberal Women so Unhappy?)

That’s why I’m here.

If we’re being completely honest here, Meghan doesn’t just inspire rage; she inspires a kind of weary, almost anthropological fascination. Future generations of cultural historians will study her antics the same way wildlife experts study exotic birds. Meghan is certainly a trier, a rather shameless one at that. One wonders how many times a woman can reinvent herself before the performance collapses under its own weight.

The comedian Tim Dillon recently sat down with Megyn Kelly. When asked about Meghan, Dillon didn’t hold back, comparing her to a con artist. It might seem harsh. Maybe it is. But it’s hard to summon much sympathy when you look at the trajectory.

Remember, not long ago, she was seen as a breath of fresh air in the British royal family, a chance to modernize an aging institution. Then came the accusations — the claims of racism — the dramatic departure to America — a global sympathy tour led by a couple who demanded privacy while signing multimillion-dollar deals with Spotify, Netflix, and Penguin Random House. (RELATED: On Harry and Meghan: Inherited Rights and Inherited Duties)

The results spoke for themselves.

The Spotify podcast Archetypes was a complete bust, canceled after one awkward, underwhelming season. Before that came the children’s book, The Bench. Due to the poor sales, the book should have been titled The Shelf, because that’s where it largely remained. Then there was Harry & Meghan, the heavily scripted Netflix documentary, which played less like a candid account of royal life and more like a brainless branding exercise in victimhood. Although each venture sputtered out, Meghan simply pivoted.

When podcasting fizzled out, she tried charity work. When that failed to generate interest, she pivoted again. This time into gardening, baking, and overpriced condiments.

When she’s not in the kitchen, building her honey and jam empire, she’s busy recording episodes for her latest podcast (yes, another one). This time, however, she’s focused squarely on female entrepreneurs. Meghan, rather hilariously, casts herself as a “founder,” as if launching a struggling podcast and a line of novelty condiments qualifies one for the same title as women like Whitney Wolfe Herd, who built Bumble into a billion-dollar dating app empire.

It’s classic Markle. In a world obsessed with “girlboss” narratives, she’s found a way to insert herself into the entrepreneurial narrative without having built anything that remotely resembles a successful enterprise. The public is supposed to forget the last attempt. And the one before that. And the one before that. We are supposed to ignore the evident, unmissable pattern. But people aren’t stupid. Not that stupid, anyway. (RELATED: The Spectator P.M. Ep. 120: Meghan Markle Clings to Royalty as ‘Meghan Sussex’)

The problem with Ms. Markle is not necessarily her ambition. America has always had an appetite for the absurd. It has always been a land where hucksters and hustlers could thrive. But at least they usually offered something in return: a show, an event, a P.T. Barnum-like wink to the audience that everyone was in on the game. Meghan, by contrast, offers little more than vague affirmations, endless grievances, and a product line so uninspired it could have been lifted straight from an SNL sketch.

Somewhere along the way, Meghan devolved into a kind of self-parody, like something straight out of South Park. She is no longer a real figure you can root for, or against, or even pity.

She’s a brand: a curated carousel of grievances, empowerment slogans, wellness trends, and soft-focus Instagram aesthetics. She is what happens when a person becomes trapped inside their own marketing campaign. Somewhere along the way, she lost her soul.

The deeper issue, and why the public’s patience keeps thinning, is the sheer transparency of it all. The reinventions aren’t organic, and they aren’t believable. They are crafted, strategized, and launched with press releases and carefully coordinated leaks.

Every move screams calculation, not conviction. There’s also the inconvenient fact that, by all credible accounts, Meghan’s carefully curated public image of the smiling humanitarian, the tireless advocate, masks a very different reality behind closed doors.

Numerous members of her staff have quit, citing her “condescending” behavior as the main reason. As a report by the Times in the U.K. demonstrates, Meghan also stands accused of bullying junior staffers during her time with the Royal family. It’s hard to sell yourself as the face of empowerment when even your own employees are reportedly scrambling for the exits. The gap between the Meghan Markle brand and the Meghan Markle reality is impossible to ignore.

Also, it’s important to note that her accusations against Britain went further than simple claims of racism. Meghan and Harry’s 2021 Oprah interview portrayed the royal institution as cold, neglectful, and even dangerous. The pair later stated that these unpleasant experiences directly led to their decision to leave the U.K. altogether and seek a life of freedom (and numerous lucrative opportunities) in America.

Meghan’s great tragedy is that she had a rare platform and level of goodwill. Somehow, the posh pyromaniac managed to torch it all. At this point, watching the Duchess relaunch her public persona is like watching a magician keep pulling the same tired rabbit out of the same battered hat. At first, you clap. Then you nod politely. Then you start to feel a little embarrassed for everyone involved. In the end, it isn’t rage that Meghan Markle inspires. It’s something worse: utter exhaustion. And not even the finest organic honey in the world can sweeten that bitter truth.

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