What does 'poppycock' mean? 'Suits' creator claims royal family demanded word be removed from Meghan Markle's dialog

Aaron Korsh claims the royal family insisting on changing Meghan Markle's script for 'Suits'
PUBLISHED AUG 30, 2023
The royal family had the word 'poppycock' removed from 'Suits' for Meghan Markle (Universal Content Productions, @theroyalfamily/Instagram)
The royal family had the word 'poppycock' removed from 'Suits' for Meghan Markle (Universal Content Productions, @theroyalfamily/Instagram)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The creator of Meghan Markle's legal drama 'Suits' made the sensational claim that the royal family insisted on removing the word "poppycock" from their script because they feared clips would be edited to make it look like the Duchess had said something obscene.

Aaron Korsh, the creator of the popular US series that starred Markle for seven seasons, spoke to Hollywood Reporter about how things changed on set when she started dating Prince Harry, as well as the strange demands he felt the monarchy placed. 


 
 
 
 
 
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What does the word 'poppycock' mean?

Korsh went blank when asked how the palace officials got access to the script, replying that he "couldn't remember." He also said that the word 'poppycock' just stands for nonsense. 

When asked who it was that told him she couldn't use the term in the broadcast, Korsh again had a lapse of memory

Aaron explained, "[The royal family] weighed in on some stuff. Not many things, by the way, but a few things that we wanted to do and couldn't do, and it was a little irritating."

He said, "I remember one was a particular line of dialogue and, look, I'll just say what the line was."

"My wife's family, when they have a topic to discuss that might be sensitive, they use the word "poppycock," he added. 

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 26: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Queen Elizabe
'Suits' creator had to drop a word from Meghan Markle's script giving in to the demands of the royal family (Getty Images)

As a nod to my in-laws, we were going to have [Meghan's character] say "poppycock." And the royal family did not want her saying the word.

Why did royal family not want Meghan Markle to say 'poppycock'?

Meghan Markle (Photo by Toby Melville - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Meghan Markle was not allowed to say the word 'poppycock' on Suits by the royal family (Toby Melville/Getty Images)

Korsh claims that the royals were worried that the word might sound obscene and had it removed from the script. 

Korsh added, "They didn't want to put the word "poppycock" in her script. I presume because they didn't want people cutting things together of her saying "c**k."

He went on to say, "I did not like it because I'd told my in-laws that [poppycock] was going to be in the show." He continued, "There was maybe one or two more things, but I can't remember."

Aaron insisted that he "didn't know" when the interviewer pressed him on the matter of where the royal family "got the scripts."

He said, "I was aware that they were reading them because I got the feedback, but I don't remember the process by which they got them."

Which royal wanted 'poppycock' removed from Meghan Markle's lines?

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 11: (L-R) Zara Tindall, Anne, Princess Royal, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, C
The royal family had a word removed from Meghan Markle's script for 'Suits' as they weren't happy about it (Getty Images)

Korsh was also not sure which member of the royal family had spoken to the show about this issue.

He said, "I can’t remember. It might have been the directing producer at the time, or her agent," when asked who told him that the Duchess of Sussex couldn't say "poppycock."

He added, "'Whoever it was, they didn’t like having to tell me any more than I liked having to hear it.  When you’re making and running a show, any time that anybody tells you that you can’t do what you want to do, [being irritated is] your initial reaction."

When did Meghan Markle leave 'Suits'?

Meghan Markle left the show after its seventh season in 2017, just months before she announced her engagement to Prince Harry, whom she began dating in 2016.

Suits ran from 2011 to 2019.

RELATED TOPICS MEGHAN MARKLE

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