Meghan Markle Talks Returning To The US Amid Civil Unrest In New Interview

Source: ABC News / Getty

Meghan Markle is no stranger to racism, being constantly criticized by the British media following her engagement and subsequent marriage to Prince Harry. After so much criticism forced the couple to leave their life in the Royal family, they ended up returning to Meghan’s hometown of Los Angeles to live a more private life–but their timing for returning to the United States wasn’t exactly picture perfect.

In a new interview on Friday with Emily Ramshaw, the co-founder and CEO of The 19th, Markle said it was “just devastating” to be in the U.S. during the civil unrest over police brutality.

“It was so sad to see where our country was in that moment,” Meghan said. “There is so much toxicity out there in what is being referred to as — my husband and I talk about it often — the economy for attention.”

She continued, saying, “That is what is monetizable right now. So if you’re just trying to grab someone’s attention, you’re going for something salacious versus what is truthful.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry moved to California in March after leaving the royal family and a short stint in Canada, which just so happened to coincide with the coronavirus pandemic and the tragic killing of George Floyd.

“If there’s any silver lining in that,” she said, referring to the protests, “I would say that in the weeks after the murder of George Floyd, in the peaceful protests that you were seeing, in the voices that were coming out, in the way that people were actually owning their role … it shifted from sadness to a feeling of absolute inspiration, because I can see that the tide is turning.”

“From my standpoint, it’s not new to see this undercurrent of racism and certainly unconscious bias, but I think to see the changes that are being made right now is really — it’s something I look forward to being a part of,” Meghan said. “And being part of using my voice in a way that I haven’t been able to of late.”

The 19th–named after the amendment that gave women the right to vote–is a non-profit newsroom that  empowers women who are underserved by the American media. Markle was keynote speaker for the group’s 2020 virtual summit.

Check out Meghan Markle’s latest interview down below: