MEAWW.COM / NEWS / CELEBRITY NEWS

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry slammed for 'nauseating' statement on Afghanistan crisis

While Meghan Markle and Prince Harry said they are 'heartbroken' at the Taliban's takeover, President Joe Biden isn't mentioned by the couple at all

After Meghan Markle and Prince Harry said they were feeling "layers of pain" amidst the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan, they were met with criticism online. Several social media users shared their thoughts over the lengthy statement and they are not kind, to say the least. 

Royal biographer Angela Levin and presenters Piers Morgan and Julia Hartley-Brewer are among those who have hit out at the couple's "attention-seeking word salad". The Sussexes might have said that they were "speechless" over the horror, but there weren't many takers for their words. So much so that it was just a jumble of "meaningless" "word salad". 

READ MORE 

What is Project 40x40? Meghan Markle's 40th birthday video released with a 'noble' initiative

Meghan Markle branded '500 percent nightmare' by Prince Harry's friends: Royal expert

And while the couple said that they are "heartbroken" at the Taliban's takeover, President Joe Biden isn't mentioned by the couple at all. It is no surprise that he has been facing a great deal of criticism for his decision to withdraw the troops.

A lengthy statement 

When Meghan and Harry shared their statement, they described the world as "exceptionally fragile" and urged everyone to prove their "global humanity". Using their Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles, they said in their statement, which was posted on their Archewell website, "As we all feel the many layers of pain due to the situation in Afghanistan, we are left speechless."

"As we all watch the growing humanitarian disaster in Haiti, and the threat of it worsening after last weekend's earthquake, we are left heartbroken. And as we all witness the continuing global health crisis, exacerbated by new variants and constant misinformation, we are left scared. When any person or community suffers, a piece of each of us does so with them, whether we realize it or not. And though we are not meant to live in a state of suffering, we, as a people, are being conditioned to accept it," they wrote, adding, "It's easy to find ourselves feeling powerless, but we can put our values into action - together."

Criticism online

The statement has irked many. Levin, who wrote a biography on Harry, told Sun Online, "Who do they think they are? It's as if we are all small children and now they are going to look after us," she reportedly said. "It's meaningless - completely meaningless."

She also claimed the couple are simply "posturing" rather than offering a way forward. "It’s so grandiose and patronising," she said. "This is another example of them telling us what to do - we mustn’t fly, we mustn’t have more than two children, we must be compassionate to those we know and those we don’t know - and they’re the least compassionate people you can imagine. It’s all about telling other people and the hypocrisy is enormous."

On Twitter, social media users weren't takers of the statement. One user wrote, "yet more word salad and bandwagon jumping". Another user said, "That Harry and Meghan statement is nauseating."

Another user taunted the couple, "Thank goodness Harry and #Meghan have managed to share a few words on the world's crises, despite being rendered 'speechless'" Along similar lines, one added, "They’re never speechless, are they? What we saw is just Harry and Meghan focusing on the hottest topics of the moment with lots of word salad, but without any big action to help. and soon they’ll move on to the next hot topic without doing anything to help the previous one like always! They say stuff about something to be on the spotlight, not because they really care about it! Plus who are they anyway? We don’t need their words"

Social media users did not mince their words when criticising the couple. "Speechless. Heartbroken. Scared. That’s a lot of emotion. What have they donated? Or are they just having “feelings”?" one user asked. Another added, "I’ve just read Harry & Meghan’s statement on the world. Because I needed a laugh. It worked. This couple think they own empathy" 

Biden missing from the statement 

The couple didn't include any reference to Biden in their statement. The pair suggested that Americans vote for him ahead of last year's US election. Plus Meghan is also a close friend of First Lady Jill.