Another day, another Meghan Markle controversy. This time, it's an Instagram video—a few seconds of Paris at night, shot from the back of a car. A seemingly innocent clip that anyone might take on a Parisian vacation, but in the Duchess of Sussex's case, everything she does is ripe for interpretation.
Over the weekend, the Duchess of Sussex made her debut at Paris Fashion Week. Wearing a white Balenciaga trouser set, she supported her friend Pierpaolo Piccioli at his first show as creative director for the brand. After the show, Meghan took the aforementioned clip—and suddenly social media users and royal commentators collectively lost their minds.
In her Instagram Story, the Pont Alexandre III bridge is visible out her car window, and Meghan puts her feet up on the seat as the lights of Paris whiz by. While it all seems like the kind of lifestyle content you'd see anywhere on Instagram, Princess Diana was killed in a 1997 car accident in an underpass of the Pont de l'Alma, which is nearby—and somehow people started connecting the Duchess of Sussex's video to her late mother-in-law.
The words "tasteless" and "insensitive" were thrown around in headlines covering how the duchess posted the video in an area near where Diana died, and royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams called the move "beyond stupid" and "utterly bewildering" in the Daily Mail.
"She couldn't possibly have intended to be disrespectful but it's another example of the Sussexes doing something that makes no sense at all," he told the publication. On X, Meghan was even accused of "next-level psychotic behavior" by posting the clip on her Story.
There's no denying the emotional weight of that Paris tunnel, but context matters. The duchess didn't film the entrance to the tunnel, and passing close to the bridge where Diana died is something anyone attending Paris Fashion Week might do. As one fan on X pointed out, "Unless she used a helicopter how else was she to get across the city? She is driving past either Pont D'Alma or Pont Alexandre III."
If anyone else in the Royal Family had posted the same video, it might have earned heart emojis or "living her best life" comments. Instead, it became another example of how Meghan can't win. If she's too quiet, she's hiding. If she's too visible, well—who does she think she is?
It brings to mind America Ferrera's brilliant Barbie monologue about being a woman where she states, "it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault."
Maybe the truth behind the video is exactly what it looked like: a mom of two enjoying an exciting night during Fashion Week. Sometimes a video is just a video—and a woman in Paris is simply enjoying the view.
