Meghan Sussex‘s (aka Meghan Markle) new Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, takes viewers on a journey through her Montecito mansion to explore a lifestyle of sustainability while fostering friendship through cooking, gardening, and celebrating the small things in life. The show reflects on life’s beauty and celebrates its unexpected joys and simplicities. From happy homesteading to mindful eating and enriching friendships, this show offers nothing but positive vibes and paints a picture of resilience, as a princess who was spat out of royal society turns an impossible situation into an incredible uplifting lifestyle.
So why are critics swinging left and right at With Love, Meghan? Many different critiques say the show is out of touch and a failed attempt at relatability for homemakers around the world which is such a ridiculous, flailing comment. Even though Meghan speaks to her audience like an old friend, she remains poised and recognizes her platform and is using it to preach sustainable efforts and clean eating, well aware that not everyone may have the same abilities or resources. She even laughs when she makes mistakes which brings her down to a relatable level and there’s a lot of importance in teaching gardening and healthy eating tips to families and future generations.
What’s extremely disheartening is that the internet loves to see a white woman homesteading and cultivating a healthy garden and lifestyle but has a different response when a Black woman is spotlighted as the healthy hero. There are dozens of popular, wealthy white women all over TikTok, making even more money on their cottage core content and galivanting around their property yet when Meghan does it, it’s labeled out of touch or offensive to the majority of the population that is not wealthy. It is honestly such a frustrating double standard when Meghan’s show brings forth lessons that are imperative for the health of our nation.
Critics blast Meghan for having it made with her Netflix deal, when at the basis of this show is a strong Black leader taking a new approach in life; teaching healthy habits while making a living off of it and adapting from the curveballs life threw her way. Continually, people find ways to tear Meghan down instead of viewing her as someone who is adjusting to the unfair standards of the world, standing up against racism, and doing what’s best for her children. When she left the royal family, she had her security stripped from her and is now applying her entrepreneurial spirit to evolve, keep her family safe, and build a new life.
Such harsh comments against a show about life, beauty, learning, and growing feel completely unwarranted. Meghan is a Black icon who is leading by example and offering guidance that America so desperately needs yet she’s ridiculed when white women filming the same content gain large followings and become trends. The critics also suggest that Meghan is copying Martha Stewart or Pamela Anderson‘s cooking show which is unfair when With Love, Meghan is a modern-day lifestyle show with its own flair. Not to mention, representation is so important and there should be more cooking and lifestyle shows with a Black woman as the lead. Are Martha Stewart and Pamela Anderson not wealthy former actresses?
Whether or not these comments are derived from racist views, there is often a double standard with an evident racial divide surrounding healthy lifestyles or cozy living content such as With Love, Meghan. For example, the “cottage core” “cozy living” and “coquette” trends all over TikTok are primarily domineered by white women, who are well followed. The amount of inappropriate comments on the select few Black content creators that branch out into these niches is absurd and so hurtful. It’s also damaging to other young Black women who read these comments and might feel excluded from this community as a result.
There is no cottage core or gardening god who says who or can’t be “soft” or a part of this content genre. The media and social media trolls should just let people be whatever they want to be and dress, garden, cook, and home-make however they desire. Even though people may laugh at the way Meghan cuts vegetables in this show, they should recognize the importance of representation here and understand the show’s value in what it has to teach America; not just in caring about what we put in our bodies, but in coming together and caring about others.
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