Meghan Markle is really frustrated.
One might even say she is royally frustrated.
The Duchess of Sussex — who, of course, resigned most of her Royal Family duties when she moved to California about four years ago — sat down for a panel discussion at the SXSW Conference in Austin, Texas on March 8.
Having just been trashed on television by Kate Middleton’s uncle, Markle focused during this session on other kinds of hate she has received over the years.
Meghan Markle speaks on stage during the Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen panel during the 2024 SXSW Conference and Festival at Austin Convention Center on March 8, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)
“The bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and Lili, and with a newborn with each of them,” she told attendees.
For her own “well-being,” Markle says she avoids the Internet almost entirely at this point.
But she can’t ever be fully insulated from what people say about her, especially when folks make crazy claims… such as alleging she is desperate to befriend Taylor Swift.
Meghan Markle attends Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers 2025’s One Year To Go Winter Training Camp on February 15, 2024 in Whistler, British Columbia. (Photo by Andrew Chin/Getty Images)
Continued Markle on the topic of her pregnancies and the unhinged backlash that came her way during those periods:
“To really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful, it’s not catty — it’s cruel. And why would [you] do that, certainly, when you’re pregnant, with a newborn?”
Pretty darn good question, we’d say.
Thankfully, Markle said her parental instincts kicked in, and actually ended up helping herself and her children.
“Because I was pregnant, that mammalian instinct just kicked in,” she recalled. “You do everything you can to protect your child, and as a result, protect yourself too.”
Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace on November 27, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images))
Markle continues to feud with Kate Middleton and most of her spouse’s family members.
But she made a point to shout-out Prince Harry during this panel for how he helped her deal with the critics, haters and snobs.
“My husband is such a hands-on dad and such a supporter of me and my family that I don’t take for granted,” she said. “That is a real blessing.”
The panel was sponsored by The Archewell Foundation, which Meghan cofounded with Harry.
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the 2023 Variety Power Of Women at Mother Wolf on November 16, 2023. (Photo Credit: Kayla Oaddams/Getty Images)
Markle was billed as a keynote speaker at the event.
She relayed impactful words at one point about how social media has devolved into a space where women can ear each other down, stating for all to consider:
“How much of the hate is women completely skewing that to other women? I cannot make sense of it.
“The systematic change (of social media and women targeting each other) has to happen at the same time as the cultural level.”
Meghan Markle Spits on “Cruel” Cyber Bullying, Toxic Social Media Culture was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.