Meghan says being 2019's 'most trolled person' was 'unsurvivable' during mental health podcast with Harry
Meghan, on Saturday, October 10, said that she was the "most trolled person in the world" last year. She made the claim in a new mental health podcast with Prince Harry. The royal couple joined high school students in California on their "Teenager Therapy" podcast to mark Mental Health Day and made a plea for anyone suffering from mental health issues to reach out for help.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, during the broadcast, discussed the importance of self-care and mental health struggles amid the coronavirus pandemic. The couple also discussed the unique mental health difficulties of being in the public eye. Meghan, during the interview with three teenagers, said that she was the world's most trolled person last year and added that the online abuse she had received was "unsurvivable."
"I'm told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female," Meghan said. "Eight months of that I wasn’t even visible — I was on maternity leave or with a baby. But what was able to be manufactured and churned out, it’s almost unsurvivable. I don’t care if you're 15 or you're 25 – if people are saying things about you that aren't true, what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging."
Harry, during the podcast, also slammed online trolls who "hide behind usernames". The Duke said: "There are things that are said digitally that nobody would say in person." He added that vulnerability, in today's age, was a "sign of strength" and not weakness. "I think putting your self-care as a priority is hugely important, because vulnerability is not a weakness, showing vulnerability in today's world especially, is a strength," he added.
The royal also commended the teenage hosts of the podcast for their candid approach to discussing mental health and later added that he meditates to aid his mental health. "I think if you could safely say that 90% of people on planet Earth have suffered some form of trauma, some form of loss, some form of grief, and that's different, it varies with every single person," he said.
"Then certainly for this year, through Covid, I think it's probably safe to say that 99.9%, if not 100% of people, have experienced some form of one of those, all those, at the same time." Harry referred to Meghan's online trolling and said: "For Meghan, she said on a global scale, that's what happened in 2019, but if you're a young girl or young boy at school, that's your world, so if you're being attacked, or being bullied or whatever is online...it feels the same."
Meghan also discussed the ongoing pandemic and said that despite the current circumstances, she is doing well. "The past few months have been layered for everyone, we certainly can't complain, we are fortunate we all have our health, we have roofs over our heads," the former actress said.
The royal couple's podcast came a day after Republican politician Jason Smith demanded that the pair be "stripped of their royal titles" because they are "interfering in US elections". The Congressman from Missouri reportedly sent a letter he had drafted to the British Ambassador of the United States, Karen Pierce, on the issue on Friday afternoon, October 9.