Meghan and Kate were pitted against each other by trolls in the 'sewer' of social media, says Sarah Ferguson
Sarah Ferguson has seemingly suggested that social media trolls and online bullies are responsible for the iciness between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle and called for people to "be kinder" to one another.
The Duchess of York, 60, slammed social media in general as a "sewer" where these trolls make comments that they would never dare make to anyone's face in real life.
Ferguson's comments came in a conversation with Australian Women's Weekly, where she talked about how comments made online could be very hurtful and alluded to how they were responsible for the wedge between the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex.
"Social media has become a sewer where people say things they wouldn't dream of saying face-to-face," she said. "I feel very strongly about the importance of good manners and respect and about the impact of social media in the modern world."
"Women are pitted against other women," she added. "Trolling online is vicious and hurtful. We have to stand against it."
MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported that Meghan was aware she was being "pitted against" future queen Kate and had found the situation "challenging."
"Meghan is very aware that Kate will be Queen; their roles are very clear," a royal source said at the time. "Meghan doesn’t fit the mold, while Kate was groomed for this."
The insider said that Meghan was a "fully formed person" when she joined the royal family, while Kate was still a young student when she met William at the University of St. Andrews.
This meant that Kate had eight years to mold her personality in accordance with the norms of her husband's family, while in comparison, Meghan, who married Harry after less than a year of dating, was thrust into the spotlight without much preparedness.
"What’s challenging is when they are pitted against each other," the source said. "That’s been challenging to both of them. Meghan has her life, Kate has hers."
Ferguson called for those using social media to think before they make their posts, to "be kinder," and "treat each other a little more gently." She also asked anyone who saw hurtful comments being made to call out what she described as "unacceptable" behavior.
"Let's all try to treat each other a little more gently and be kinder," she said. "Let's all try to think before we post. Before starting an argument online, take a deep breath and try to respect someone else's position."
The 60-year-old, who is the mother of Princesses Eugenie, 30, and Beatrice, 31, will also have some experience with hurtful online comments of her own considering she was not invited to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011 and her daughters were compared to Cinderella's stepsisters during the same event because of their attire.
More recently, she was attacked for wishing her ex-husband Prince Andrew a happy birthday in February amidst the Jeffrey Epstein scandal that saw him being accused of sexually assaulting underage girls.
She had posted a black-and-white picture of him relaxing at home with two dogs, under which one commenter pointed out that the post was not right on her part and wrote, "You’ve stayed celebrating him while promoting human trafficking issues. He’s been at the very least a benefiter of human traffickers and a friend of abusers. This is a time for humility."