When Meghan Met Mindy
The Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix show has sparked debate over everything from her last name to her lewks. One episode, however, takes the cake.
They have a problem with how she zests, how she moves peanut butter pretzels from one bag to another, how she claims her kids say the word “zebra” with a British accent, and even how she squeezes cookie dough. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, can’t seem to catch a break. The former Suits star is out with her much-anticipated lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan — whose release she delayed after the Los Angeles wildfires — and fans and critics alike can’t seem to stop talking about it.
But it was one specific episode that left people — even those who weren’t trying to watch the show — on edge. “I don’t think anyone in the world knows that Meghan Markle has eaten Jack in the Box,” actor, producer, and writer Mindy Kaling observes after asking her host about what she grew up eating as a kid. “It’s funny you keep saying ‘Meghan Markle.’ You know I’m Sussex now,” the former royal countered. “I share my name with my children. I didn’t know how meaningful it would be, but it means so much that it’s our family name.”
“Well now I know and I love it,” Kaling concludes diplomatically. That one moment, however, has opened up a Pandora’s box of criticism and commentary. It’s as if we’ve rewound the clock to 2021, when the Duchess of Sussex sat down with Oprah for an interview, about a year after stepping back from the royal family. What is it about Meghan Markle — nay Meghan Sussex — that seems to irk us?