<p id=”par-1_29″>Ever since <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/prince-harry/?swcfpc=1″>Prince Harry</a> and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/meghan-markle/?swcfpc=1″>Meghan Markle</a> were photographed and filmed showing up at evacuation centers and sites ravaged by the Los Angeles wildfires, they have gotten a ton of backlash. </p>
<p id=”par-2_53″>The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s <a href=”https://x.com/ihtiandrs12/status/1878277801301647779″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>photo op</a> with Pasadena Mayor Victor M. Gordo raised plenty of eyebrows as did reports that they only showed up where they were supposed to be volunteering for 17 minutes, and toured devastated areas where residents of those properties have not even been allowed back to yet.</p>
<p id=”par-3_49″>If you think the prince and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/meghan-markle-getting-residual-checks-suits-surprise-streaming-success.html/”>former <em>Suits </em>star</a> haven’t heard the criticism, think again. According to a longtime royal biographer, Meghan and Harry not only read but they really pay attention to and obsess over “everything that’s written about them,” and something they did recently proves that. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-prince-harry-and-meghan-have-been-dubbed-disaster-tourists”>Prince Harry and Meghan have been dubbed ‘disaster tourists’</h2>
<p id=”par-4_52″><em>Family Ties</em> actor Justine Bateman was one the first people to publicly criticize the pair on<a href=”https://x.com/JustineBateman/status/1878277401404141859″ target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”> X</a> when she labeled Meghan and Harry “disaster tourists” and “ambulance chasers” only showing up at the site to “achieve a repulsive photo op.” And, regarding their “tour of the damage,” Bateman asked: “Are they politicians now?”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio” id=”emb-1″><div class=”wp-block-embed__wrapper”>
<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”TMZ LIVE On Demand: Meghan & Harry Ripped as “Disaster Tourists” 1/13/25″ width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/0fa3rpHCN9E?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></figure>
<p id=”par-5_37″>Following Bateman’s post, a growing chorus began to condemn the couple for their actions amid the tragedy in and around LA. From commentators to columnists to other celebs, the duke and duchess have been slammed publicly. </p>
<p id=”par-6_71″><em>To Di for Daily</em> podcast host Kinsey Schofield explained that there were plenty of other ways Meghan and Harry could have helped without being “in the way” and jumping in front of the cameras which took focus off the victims of the tragedy, saying: “Inserting yourself at ground zero and rubbernecking amongst someone else’s devastation, it’s turned a lot of people off … To some [what they did] seems entirely self-serving.”</p>
<p id=”par-7_45″>Moreover, Kelly Osbourne took to <a href=”https://www.instagram.com/kellyosbourne/?hl=en” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Instagram</a> to call out “celebrities” who are “using other people’s pain and suffering as a photo op. ‘To say, ‘Look I’m helping, I’m doing this, I’m doing that?’ … No one asked you to come out and give hugs. Go home.”</p>
<p id=”par-8_20″>Although Osbourne didn’t mention Meghan and Harry by name, it was widely assumed that’s who she was referring to. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-biographer-says-sussexes-see-the-criticism-they-read-everything-written-about-them”>Biographer says Sussexes see the criticism; ‘They read everything written about them’</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Screenshot-of-Fox-11-coverage-of-Prince-Harry-and-Meghan-Markle-visiting-LA-wildfire-victims-via-Sky-News-YouTube-channel.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Screenshot of Fox 11 coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visiting LA wildfire victims via Sky News YouTube channel” class=”wp-image-3762563″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Screenshot of Fox 11 coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visiting LA wildfire victims via Sky News YouTube channel</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-9_20″>Meghan has previously claimed that she doesn’t read the press, but royal biographer Hugo Vickers says that’s not the case. </p>
<p id=”par-10_35″>The author of several books about members of Britain’s most famous family insists that Harry and Meghan see “everything,” and reading what’s being written about them doesn’t put a smile on either of their faces.</p>
<p id=”par-11_33″>Vickers told <a href=”https://www.thesun.co.uk/royals/32575735/meghan-trying-branch-out-needs-harry/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Sun</a>: “[They] can’t be entirely happy. They know how much people criticize them, and they mind about that. They read everything available that’s written about them, and they monitor everything.”</p>
<p id=”par-12_80″>A sign that the duke and duchess don’t ignore the outside noise is sources close to them have responded to the recent criticism saying that the backlash and being called “disaster tourists” is “offensive” to both Meghan and Harry. The duchess has also had her people respond and defend her on several other occasions as well including a few months back when she was called a <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/new-claims-say-meghan-markle-not-just-dictator-high-heels-also-demon-boss.html/?swcfpc=1″>“dictator in high heels” by former employees</a> who spoke to <a href=”https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hollywood-keeps-quitting-prince-harry-meghan-markle-1235996963/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>The Hollywood Reporter</a>. </p>