Meghan and Harry’s Oprah Winfrey interview expected to be bigger than Super Bowl with US viewers’ support divided
The bombshell interview of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry with Oprah Winfrey is reportedly expected to attract more of an audience than the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl was apparently watched by over 96.4 million people on TV and online while the Oscars attracted 23.6 million viewers in 2020. Reports also said that the tell-all has divided US viewers as they struggle to decide whom to support -- the Sussexes or the Palace. The explosive interview is set to air on CBS on Sunday, March 7. It will be broadcast on ITV for the UK on the next day.
Speaking about the popularity of the no-holds-barred sit-down, which is yet to be released, Laure-Anne Bosselaar, Santa Barbara’s poet laureate, said: “Everybody’s going to watch. I hope there is more people watching than the Super Bowl. At last they are not stuck with the royals in England, and there is freedom of speech." But Myka Meier, a keen royal watcher based in New York and founder of Beaumont Etiquette, has a different opinion as she added, “Everybody loves the Queen, right? I feel like people have compassion and sympathy for her, wanting the Queen to live out her golden years in a peaceful way."
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This comes after reports claimed that Winfrey has been paid up to $9 million by CBS for the interview, which will expectedly be disclosing the reason behind Meghan and Harry’s decision to step down from senior royal duties and move to the US for an independent life. It has been said the 67-year-old host’s production company Harpo Productions has received between $7 million and $9 million from CBS as license fees for getting the rights of the two-hour special. Reports have also stated that the Sunday show will generate a lot of revenue as millions of people across the world are expected to watch it.
Meanwhile, as the excitement over the interview is escalating, the tension between the pair and the Palace also seems to be soaring. A recent teaser of the upcoming interview showed Meghan accusing her in-laws of “perpetuating falsehoods”. When Winfrey asked the pregnant former actress, “How do you feel about the Palace hearing you speak your truth today?" She responded, “I don't know how they could expect that, after all of this time, we would still just be silent if there is an active role that The Firm is playing in perpetuating falsehoods about us. And, if that comes with risk of losing things, I mean, I... there is a lot that has been lost already.”
On the other hand, it has been said a probe has been launched by Buckingham Palace into the allegations that because of the Duchess of Sussex, several royal aides left their job. She allegedly bullied them. The mother-of-one has, however, dismissed such accusations and her lawyer alleged that the palace is presenting “a wholly false narrative” before the release of the Sunday show. The statement of the lawyer “deeply upset" the palace as a source stated, “It is absolutely untrue that the Palace has been peddling disinformation or conducting any kind of campaign ahead of the interview. The Palace has not got involved. It has clearly not been coming from us. They assumed that the men in grey suits were obsessed with destroying them.”
Not just that, Meghan and Harry’s interview with Winfrey has already received a fair share of criticism from other people also. Several people demanded the postponement of the interview due to Prince Philip’s ill-health. The 99-year-old is in hospital for around two weeks as he received treatment for infections and for his heart condition. But CBS has denied any such requests and confirmed that the interview will air at its decided time.