Wednesday morning, I thought to myself “it’s been a few days since a celebrity popped up with a jar of American Riviera Orchard jam,” and then just hours later, we got another one. Chrissy Teigen received an ARO basket from the Duchess of Sussex, with lemons and a fancy jar of strawberry jam. Teigen is far from my fave, but I appreciate the fact that she highlighted the use for ARO jam besides “application on one piece of toast.” Teigen fried up some bacon and made the ARO jam into the star of a grilled-brie-and-bacon sandwich.
Chrissy Teigen chose the Perfect song for
American Riviera Orchard Jam! “Jamming” by Bob Marley pic.twitter.com/ydQYcW161n
— 𝑺𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒙 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 (@SussexEvent) April 24, 2024
This is in Teigen’s wheelhouse and that’s likely why she got a gift basket. Plus, Teigen has been loyal to the Sussexes, so… good for her, I guess. I find her grating, but I think Meghan has a soft spot for people who are chaotic and extra. As Tim Teeman said about this jam soft-launch, the whole thing is camp (he meant it as a compliment).
Anyway, Meghan and ARO jam are once again getting a lot of attention, especially from the British media. Earlier this week, it was announced that the Sussexes have hired one person to act as their communications liaison in the UK and Europe. The guy’s name is Charlie Gipson. The reaction was mostly a yawn from Sussex-friendly people – it was like “oh, good, someone to help out with the global ARO launch.” But inside the Telegraph, the news of Gipson’s hire landed like a bomb. Suddenly, the Telegraph truly believes that they can and should advise Meghan on how to reintroduce herself to a British audience and how she can “repair” her “tattered reputation in Britain.” Seriously, the Telegraph devoted a lengthy article to this very thing, like they truly believe Meghan is desperate for acceptance in the UK, and that she would earnestly take advice from the Telegraph’s cracked-out team of “PR professionals.”
I’m not going to excerpt from the Telegraph’s piece but I’ll summarize some of the craziest sh-t these people said. One, they demand that Meghan show “humility” and copy what Sophie and Anne are doing. She needs more friendships in the philanthropic arena, not just OPRAH. She needs to “build bridges with some of her biggest critics.” PLEASE BEG US FOR OUR ACCEPTANCE, MEGHAN. One PR consultant suggests that Meghan needs to “be less American” and that she should halt her ARO launch until Charles and Kate are cancer-free. Jeez, I guess this means that Meghan is never going to make a comeback in the UK! Still, it’s always funny to watch the British media obsess over every little thing around Meghan and then cry about how she’s not doing enough to warrant their obsession. They should dab their tears with strawberry jam. Oh wait, Meghan didn’t send them any.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram, Backgrid.