Prince Harry is not happy about how the press has been treating his girlfriend.
Prince Harry wants the press to stop harassing his new girlfriend, Meghan Markle.
On Nov. 8, the royal's communications team issued a statement lambasting the abusive, sexist, and racial undertones used by press and social media when talking about Markle.
Prince Harry has "seen a line crossed," the statement reads:
"His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public — the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments."
Markle at the Women in Cable Telecommunications Signature Luncheon in 2015. Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for WICT.
In the letter, the royal family specifically calls out and condemns the racist and sexist harassment Markle has been facing.
The statement describes incidents of photographers attempting to gain entry into Markle's home, bribes offered to Markle's ex-boyfriend, and "the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life."
Prince Harry has only been dating Markle for a few months. In fact, this is the first time the relationship has been publicly confirmed.
Despite that, British tabloids have already run several insidious stories about her. One of them suggested she appeared in pornography, when, in fact, clips of the TV show that Markle co-stars in had simply been uploaded to a porn site.
Markle, who is biracial, has also been the target of racially charged online comments and tweets.
Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images.
It's a pretty big deal for the royal family to come to Markle's defense.
They have a long history of fighting with the press over scrutiny of their private lives. It's also a personal subject for them since the death of Princess Diana in 1997 was the result of trying to outrun paparazzi. This is the first time, though, they've publicly defended someone outside of the family, specifically condemning racism and sexism.
It's unprecedented for the family to issue a statement like this, but the treatment of Markle was so bad that Prince Harry was apparently afraid for her safety and for that of her family.
The letter also addresses those who say that harassment is just the price you have to pay for celebrity.
"It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm," the statement says. "He knows commentators will say this is 'the price she has to pay' and that 'this is all part of the game'. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game — it is her life and his."
Prince Harry in 2016. Photo by Joe Giddins/WPA Pool/Getty Images.
The letter makes no demands; it simply calls on members of the press to "reflect" for a moment before any more damage is done.
Maybe that's something we should all do.
We certainly have a similar problem here in America. In fact, we practically invented celebrity culture, and there are countless examples of celebrities being harassed or assaulted online and in person.
When a man launched himself at Kim Kardashian, for example, many headlines made jokes at her expense and failed to treat the incident as what it was: sexual assault.
When someone is in the spotlight, it can be too easy to forget that they're a human being — that they have feelings and an identity. It can be too easy to forget that we don't own them and that they deserve to be treated with the same amount of respect and dignity as anyone else.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."