THE fallout from the explosive interview by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex continued to dominate the comment sections of the newspapers.
The Daily Mail
Stephen Glover said the Royal couple set out to destroy the British press.
“Prince Harry described the tabloids as ‘bigoted’ and accused them of creating a ‘toxic environment’ of ‘control and fear’,” he said. “The charge of racism is very grave. There could scarcely be a more damaging accusation. If it were really true that newspapers’ racist coverage had driven Meghan and her loyal husband from our shores, journalists should hang their heads in shame.”
He said the claim was simply not true.
“I have no doubt that Harry passionately believes what he says. He is utterly convinced of his thesis — and completely wrong,” he said.
“Newspapers are far from perfect but they’re not racist. It’s sad that Harry and Meghan — utterly preoccupied with themselves, and loathing any form of criticism — have identified themselves as enemies of a free Press.”
The Daily Express
Diane Abbott said there had been relentless negativity about Meghan in the newspapers.
“In the autumn of 2019, 70 women MPs sent her a letter expressing “our solidarity with you in taking a stand against the often distasteful and misleading nature of the stories printed in the national newspapers”,” she said.
She cited examples of Meghan being criticised for constantly touching her baby bump - compared to Kate ‘cradling hers’. She was linked to droughts and deforestation for eating avocados and Kate was simply eating ‘the charming food’ of a pregnant princess.
“After the experience of Princess Diana at the hands of the media, which ended in her death, it is sad the Palace did not do more to protect Meghan,” she concluded.
The Guardian
Joseph Harker said had been ‘glaringly different takes on Meghan compared to Kate (the baby-bump-caressing; the avocados)’.
“There’s plenty of evidence of the crude kind of racism within the British press: from the conflation of Asians with terrorism or grooming gangs, to the association of Black boys with gang violence,” he said. “You’ll find the occasional minority-ethnic person in a senior role, but nothing to seriously challenge the corporate thinking. For the most part, the agenda-setting discussions about race, or religion, take place among a small group of white people: as people of colour, we are mostly spoken about, not to.”
Only six per cent of British journalists were ethnic minority, he said.
“The first way to tackle this is to accept that there’s a problem: that racism may be an issue,”
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