Online Trolls Have It Out For Meghan Markle — But What Does It Say About Them?

In case you’re not privy to certain corners of the internet, there are Reddit groups, Facebook posts and endless other platforms that feature endless snark aboutMeghan Markle (who recently let the world know she’s “Meghan Sussex” now). One could call it “snarkle.”

Meghan, whether she likes it or not, has become a divisive pop culture icon. She has been ruthlessly critiqued by the British press, stalked by paparazzi, dragged publicly by her own half sister and now continues to be mocked online for her choice of fluffing eggs with sparkling water on her new Netflix series, “With Love, Meghan.”

But is she Wallis Simpson reincarnated, hell-bent on dismantling the British royal family? Or is she a victim of racism who is being attacked simply because she fell for a spare prince? Are people just jealous of the linen-clad beauty, or was it bad timing to launch a rich lifestyle show so detached from the economic and political reality we’re currently in? Do the online anti-Markle posters just not like her? And is that enough of a reason to troll the mom of two?

We did some digging to get to the bottom of things.

Here’s just a taste of the criticism she gets online.

With her new Netflix show already renewed for a second season, Meghan is facing a remarkable wave of judgment. Ambivalent online posts, if they exist, are outnumbered by thousands, if not millions, about her beauty and generosity — as well as less flattering posts full of eye roll emojis and adjectives like “disingenuous,” “liar,” and so on. Since her royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, she remains a polarizing figure.

A subreddit with 70,000 followers,r/SaintMeghanMarkle is peak Meghan snarkle, with a page dedicated to her supposed lies, plagiarism and personal shortcomings. But it also has a list of rules about posting — civility is expected, no posts about the kids, and no racism, sexism or any other forms of bigotry.

Saint Meghan Markle posters share memes, parody videos and even point out “Game of Thrones” levels of production blunders in Meghan’s show — like anaccidentally exposed bag of popcorn from Whole Foods while Meghan shows viewers how to pop corn straight off a cob via a paper bag. It’s hard not to get their point when the bagged kernels are right there.

Commenters descended on the popcorn post, one Reddit account writing, “As Ever, a phony” (a play on Meghan’s latest business venture“as Ever,”which includes her now-famous “flower sprinkles” and offerings of her teas and preserves), while another added, “Damn, imagine being so unlikable that producers won’t even cover for you. 😬”

One commenter quipped, “Knowing of her devious and manipulative behavior in the past, I would not hesitate to believe she did 🌽”

A poster from the anti-Meghan subreddit shared Youtuber Leilani of Barbados’ review of the show, calling “With Love, Meghan” a “fantasy about herself” and saying that Markle should “stop with the victim narrative.”

That said, Leilani’s videos show an awareness and sense of humor that are lacking in “With Love, Meghan.” Puns abound from Meghan, but would her critics relent if she was more in on the joke?

Where is the ire coming from?

First, keep this in mind: Psychologist Elizabeth Hines believes the online trolling reveals more about Meghan’s critics than about her.

“Public figures, especially women, function as representations of our individual beliefs and experiences along with our personal biases,” Hines explained. “Because Meghan Markle confronts conventional beliefs about race, gender roles and power dynamics, she inspires admiration from some individuals yet makes others feel threatened.”

Hines added, “When we judge public figures, it often reveals our personal fears and insecurities along with areas that need our growth.”

However, there are some valid reasons viewers may feel triggered by her persona at this particular time in 2025. Meghan gushes over the fresh eggs from her personal chicken coop in several episodes while grocery bills across the country continue to climb. The Marie Antoinette comparisons were inevitable, especially when the cost of eggs is cracking an already-fragile economy.

And it’s not just the eggs; it’s the fruit platters and crudité plate after crudité plate. One glaring issue critics point out is the insulated privilege of the show.

In the second episode, Meghan arranges berries for a made-up children’s party with her celebrity friend Mindy Kaling. It’s an abundant display of kiwis, raspberries, bananas and more, shaped into a rainbow that can’t help but sting when grocery prices are soaring. She’s trying to convince her friend to skip hiring party planners and infuse a bit of personal touch into a child’s birthday. It’s sweet, but for some parents, unrelatable.

Meghan, ever gorgeous, is dressed in both high and low price points: Her pants are from Zara, but her sweater is from Loro Piana. Unfortunately for Meghan, if you’re wearing pants from Zara but a crewneck sweater from Loro Piana retailing at $1,825, one doesn’t cancel the other out. The wealth disparity, coupled with the price of raspberries, is jarring for most average households right now.

A commenter from a Yahoo Life article wrote, “She really has no clue. Look at me in my expensive clothes cooking with famous people! So obnoxious. Does she think the designers will throw her a bone for announcing that? Everything about her is to put on airs. Normal people cooking would wear sneakers, jeans and a t-shirt under their apron.”

Yet even if the present economic woes of most Americans make her show feel out of place, Meghan describes herself at one point on the show as a “latchkey” kid with divorced parents.

What irks some people isn’t that she’s inauthentic or seems disconnected, but that she’s a Black woman who is living a comfortable and relaxed life. Markle continues to face both clear or more subtle displays of racism because her critics can’t force her into a stereotype or life they think she should have.

The Daily Mail originally shared a post about Markle with the headline “(Almost) Straight Out of Compton” in 2016 — and while the comment section is filled with people defending her, there are also racist remarks, such as someone referring to her as the “Black Peppa.”

A slew of racist headlines led up to the royal wedding in 2018, ranging from a British reporter referring to Meghan’s DNA as “exotic” to TikToks and online posts pitting Meghan and Catherine, Princess of Wales against one another. Attempting to claim that one of these women is more aligned with the British royal family than the other displays subtle but clear racism.

A commenter on an ITV News post on TikTok apparently saw Meghan as a downgrade for the British monarchy, writing of her new Netflix show: “This is what the Royal family has been reduced to — a cheap, tawdry, merching fake show. What a joke!”

And other TikToksattempting to catch Meghan in “lies” really just show a group of people unable to comprehend a woman who has grown up with varying experiences. She could have eaten fast food as a child and have benefitted from more organic options in her home state of California. They’re looking for cracks in her character because seeing her as something other than what they narrowly comprehend a woman should be, particularly a Black woman, is uncomfortable for some of her critics.

Meghan seems to kick up a paradox of conflicting identities that her fans, critics and viewers of the show struggle to defend or attack. Is she a determined LA girl who loved learning how to compost in high school and made it big, or a narcissistic, nefarious plotter holding “H” (Prince Harry) hostage? The idea that a type-A rich hippie with an aversion to shoes (Meghan’s frequently barefoot throughout the show) is a Machiavellian mastermind aiming to bring down the royal family seems unlikely. You would think the centuries of colonialism would have put people off the monarchy, not someone who geeks out over the shape of egg yolks.

If anything, the worst thing you can say about Meghan’s show is that it’s a little dull — and again, the timing makes picking on the duchess a little too easy.

She might still be working out the pacing and tone of her show, but Meghan is charming, geeky and makes for easy television to watch.