“It was giving very water-sign when Meghan is a Leo, so it just didn’t feel very genuine,” one creator said on TikTok, referring tothe duchess’ arguably over-the-top kindness and awkward “try-hard” jokes, such as when she sang “my bacon brings all the boys to the yard”.
The set, which was in a $US9 million ($14.2 million) Montecito farmhouse and not in the Sussex household, also confused viewers.
“It’s so interesting that this whole show was about how to be a hostess, how to make a home, and it’s not at [her] home,” a viewer said on The Spill podcast.
Others also criticised the interior set for appearing too clinical, generic and not homey enough. One person described it as “too IKEA”.
Several TikTok creators parodied the apparent uselessness of some of Meghan’s tips, dressing themselves in various shades of beige and transferring nuts from one plastic bag to another practically identical plastic bag.
Many filmed themselves writing fancy tags for clearly mass-produced, store-bought foods, making it appear as if they’re home-made.
The Mindy moment
Arguably the most viral scene to come out of With Love, Meghan is that featuring actor and producer Mindy Kaling (The Office).
While making cucumber sandwiches and ladybug crudites, Markle mentioned her favourite meal from US fast-food chain Jack in the Box, to which Kaling responded jokingly: “People wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box.”
Markle quicklyresponds: “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now.”
This was particularly controversial among viewers given the debate around whether Markle and her husband, Harry, the Duke of Sussex, should be permitted to continue using their royal titles after stepping away from royal duties in 2020. Sussex is a title, not their family name, which, according to the royal family’s official website, is Mountbatten-Windsor.
As the website notes, that is the surname used by King Charles’ grandchildren and the one announced by Meghan and Prince Harry when their eldest child, Archie, was born.
Viewers relished Kaling’s dumbfounded look thereafter, posting close-ups on TikTok and ridiculing the duchess forher response.
Millennial saturation point
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The cultural conversation has shifted from Millennials to Gen Z, The I Paper’s Emily Bootle argues, making this show about five years too late.
“The oatmeal-tablescaping-mason-jar-side-hustle Millennial dream has well and truly died,” she wrote.
“Nothing better captures the Millennial fatal flaw: project authenticity at all costs, including the cost of your happiness, your sanity and, ironically, your actual authenticity.”
Meghan’s defenders
Some pro-duchess creators have defended the show, saying they want to live the way Meghan does – seemingly without a worry in the world other than which candle to handcraft next.
“I want to wake up in the morning and think, ‘a friend is coming over. Let me just casually whip up a frittata with all ingredients from my garden outside’ … That is what I want out of life,” one TikTok user said.
To them, Markle’s idea of “elevating” is more aspirational than self-absorbed.
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