MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Tina Brown slams Meghan Markle for being a 'grievance brand', unlike Prince Harry's 'iconic status'

'The Sussexes didn't realize how hard it was to create a rival platform. You're essentially at the mercy of PRs,' Tina Brown said

CHELTENHAM, ENGLAND: Tina Brown, a former editor of Vanity Fair, said that Meghan Markle needed to identify and devote herself to a certain purpose in order to develop her own brand. Brown also said that Prince Harry, 38, would "always be royal" as the son of King Charles and Princess Diana. The award-winning journalist's statement came in response to a question about how long the Sussex brand can endure, now that the couple is somewhat outside the royal fold.

The royal expert told the Cheltenham Literature Festival, "He will always have the iconic status that that has. He does have an identity, his Invictus [Games] has an authenticity and people relate to that," as reported by the Daily Mail. But when addressing 41-year-old Meghan Markle, Brown said, "I think Meghan does really need to find the thing she cares about the most and develop her own sort of brand that isn't just a grievance brand, that is actually something we recognize as hers," Brown said. "It's hard to find that and I think she hasn't yet found that but I think she could if she rows back from focusing always on what didn't work."

READ MORE

Writer says Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are Hollywood 'poor', and Duchess should 'trade up' to Elon Musk

Now Meghan Markle takes aim at hit shows 'Scrubs' and 'How I Met Your Mother' for potraying women as 'crazy'

Brown, who was promoting her most recent book, 'The Palace Papers', said that Harry and Markle hadn't foreseen the difficulties of life outside the palace system. She said, "The Sussexes didn't realize how hard it was to create a rival platform. You're essentially at the mercy of PRs who [specialize in making people look good]."

Brown added, "The people who achieved it, the George Clooneys and the Oprahs, they are very good at it. It's very difficult when you want to be above it. It's much harder than it looks." It was earlier reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had parted ways with Sunshine Sachs, the New York-based PR firm that had guided Markle since her 'Suits' days.

Harry's forthcoming tell-all and a reality TV documentary as part of a $100 million contract with Netflix are two of the couple's major impending ventures. Brown said to the Cheltenham audience that "the jury is out" in regard to the royal couple's popularity in the United States. She said, "Given that they've now staked their livelihoods on product, on entertainment, it's going to be about what they do."

"Meghan's first Spotify podcast about Serena Williams was very successful - she knocked America's number one podcaster, Joe Rogan, off the top spot," Brown said. "She's got a good podcasting voice. They have to prove themselves now in the gladiator arena of entertainment."

Brown described Harry's book as "a huge mistake" but noted that he was under a lot of pressure to release it. "I wouldn't be surprised if he feels [that it's a mistake] but the truck has rolled along. It's not just the advance," she said. "The publisher has a lot staked on it. I think it's a huge problem for them. I feel really bad for him at the moment."

"If he doesn't do the book I think it's a real mess, business-wise and if he does do the book it will really alienate him from his family. No matter how bad things are, no one wants to be alienated from their family," Brown concluded.