It must be causing some stress when people see Harry and Meghan receiving warm receptions…and at no cost to UK taxpayers!
Okay for the Colombian ones?
I find myself leaning toward the anti-Meghan/Harry side which surprises me. I liked the pair at first. I’m decidedly not a royal-watcher. I can honestly say that what I knew of the wedding came from sources like People Magazine. When they left the Royal fold, I was surprised but wished them the best. I didn’t watch the Oprah interview; I didn’t watch the Netflix documentary but knew my oldest daughter did. (My other two could not care less.) She reported that she thought Meghan found it harder than expected but ended the series with a “meh” view about the two of them. I read Spare and rated it three stars. I think Harry would have been better served by leaving some bits and pieces out. Plus some of his complaints just sounded petty. I think that’s when some of the shine I felt started to fade. Then - not tabloids - but WSJ/Spotify/etc reports fell on the negative side. Meghan regroups re her Podcast with another company, but where is it? And so on? They seem to flounder re production (and Harry, in particular, seems adrift). Maybe 2025 will turn things around for them.
I truly honestly wish them the best. I don’t mean to sound as negative as I’ve come across but I’m admittedly not feeling warm fuzzies toward them when I think about them at all - which happens to be here, mainly.
*And I think it’s important to note that no, I don’t read tabloids other than People Magazine.
It happens all the time. Concerts, sports events, etc. I pay for sports stadiums and tax breaks for teams I have zero interest in, and security for visiting politicians I actively dislike.
Edinburgh Taylor Swift concerts cost taxpayers nearly £40,000 for extra toilets and security
This is not directed at you or your post specifically, but personally I kinda find it weird every time somebody comments on any H&M event as being done for “clicks” or “to maintain relevance”.
Isn’t that exactly why the British royals do every single event, and their entire reason for existence at this point?
When only 7% of the U.K. public has a positive opinion of Harry (and I very much doubt Meghan gets better ratings), the “continuous negative spin” of the U.K. tabloids/media is very unlikely to be viewed as “tiresome” by their intended audience, the U.K. public. It simply caters to those pre-existing views.
Does a Fox News viewer find it “tiresome” to receive a constant stream of right wing news or an MSNBC viewer find it “tiresome” to receive a constant stream of left wing news? No, that’s why they watch. It would be more “tiresome” to receive the opposite and would likely cause many viewers to switch off.
Ah. There’s the rub. Can the UK media thrive without Harry/Meghan stories? From the sheer volume of articles, it’s fairly easy to imagine “switching off” is a serious concern.
And that’s without taking account of the difference between US and UK attitudes to authority. Mocking the powerful (politicians, royalty or the wealthy, even religious leaders on occasion, viz Monty Python and The Meaning of Life) to take them down a peg is ubiquitous in British culture, whether or not you agree with their views. In contrast Americans only tend to mock their political opponents so they assume that the mocking is an “us vs them” situation.
How about just not covering them at all? Would it really be a loss to the British public if the barrage of anti M&H stories (most of which regurgitate the same old speculation) came to an end? Isn’t there anything more interesting (or juicy) to write about?
I don’t think I did, but that’s okay if you believe it. Opinion (even mine😉) does not make something factual.
I do acknowledge that the Harry/Meghan vitriol by UK tabloids seems difficult to completely abandon for a certain population. It’s been quite lucrative for the press…and probably satisfying for royalists. However the Harry/Meghan situation is a bit more nuanced and fluid imo. The UK tabloids lost access to their primary target (H/M) and are relegated to speculation. The younger generation may be less accepting to the narrative that’s being sold. Who knows?
My opinion (and I emphasize, it’s just an opinion) is that the UK media is in their “throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks” phase.
Again, we shall see how this all plays out…only time will tell.
“Prince Harry, actor Matt Damon, and World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andrés are set to speak at the 2024 Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York on Sept. 23 and 24, the Clinton Foundation announced Thursday.”
And yesterday Netflix released the trailer for POLO, the new series produced by Archewell.
On one hand, maybe it’s a good strategic move, to capitalize on the recent boom in BTS sports documentaries like the F1 show or Receiver…
On the other hand, polo is a sport for the 1% of the 1%, literally the least accessible sport in the entire world. And a not-insignificant number of people in the world believe that polo is cruel and inhumane for the horses.
This feels like part of a spaghetti-at-the-wall strategy. I wonder if this show was greenlit a couple years ago with a different set of production executives working for them.
Their output is just so incohesive.
It’s a head-scratcher, because with the amount of capital, goodwill, beauty, and fame they have between them (plus her education and his and her charisma), you would think that by now they would have at least one “product” that was a resounding success. (Not counting Invictus here which pre-dates their marriage and is obviously a huge resounding wonderful success that transcends his status as a prince)
I will definitely not be watching this one unfortunately. No interest in watching a bunch of wealthy man-boys gallop around whacking a ball with a stick while their adoring, glamorous wives look on
I suppose it could be similar to the F1 show. Americans were not as into F1 as the rest of the world but that show definitely closed the gap a bit.
When I lived in the U.K., I didn’t notice any “regular” people being into polo as a spectator sport however. Certainly nothing like the absolute mania for F1.
As far as I know there’s not a huge amount of international polo league play. It’s kind of niche to its different environs - Middle East, U.K., and South America.
Anyway I guess I won’t be finding out any more since I won’t be watching
I respect everyone’s opinion on polo. I know nothing about it.
Like @admmda my first reaction to the Netflix news was wondering if it will be like the F1 series. We’ll have to wait and see once it becomes available.
As for the sport itself, polo doesn’t particularly interest me, but who knows if we have brutal winter weather I may check it out…especially if it gets a huge negative reaction. I like to form my own opinion.
That said animal cruelty is not something to be trivialized. It sounds like horse racing…some people seem to enjoy it, overlooking the animal aspect.
Harry and Meghan seem happy in their community. I’m not sure where the UK tabloids are getting their information that Harry and Meghan are being shunned.
I think these articles have been posted/planted/approved by Rachel and Henry in response to the Hollywood Reporter article that ran yesterday, stating that:
Why’d they all leave? What explains the churn? “Everyone’s terrified of Meghan,” claims a source close to the couple. “She belittles people, she doesn’t take advice. They’re both poor decision-makers, they change their minds frequently. Harry is a very, very charming person — no airs at all — but he’s very much an enabler. And she’s just terrible.”
I tend to be less cynical when it comes to Harry and Meghan. Watching how they interact with each other and others, not to mention their history of service, has me believing they are not as evil as the UK tabloids have made them out to be.
Observing the unrelenting vitriol, I empathize with them. They have shown a great deal of resilience in my opinion.
For two people who’ve had to pivot from their original course, they are doing remarkably well. They are free to pursue their endeavors and seem happy.
I actually feel bad for people who consistently wish them ill will. Hate destroys the hater.
