Prince Harry’s American bride to be Meghan Markle has penned a powerful essay addressing social media trolls.
Meghan, 36, writes in Elle UK magazine that the hate started when producers of her show Suits cast black actor Wendell Pierce to play her on-screen father.
“I remember the tweets when that first episode of the Zane family aired, they ran the gamut from: ‘Why would they make her dad black? She’s not black’ to ‘Ew, she’s black? I used to think she was hot,'” writes Meghan in the 2015 essay that resurfaced.
The American actress says that the few tweets she was aware of spoke volumes of the racism still at large in the US.
“The reaction was unexpected, but speaks of the undercurrent of racism that is so prevalent, especially within America.”
Meghan, who is about to marry Prince Harry, says her best defence is to find her own “identity” and the UN Women advocate continues to push for positive change when it comes to racism in Hollywood.
She added: “You push for colour-blind casting, you draw your own box … you create the identity you want for yourself, just as my ancestors did when they were given their freedom.”
Meghan’s essay comes after shortly after Harry slammed trolls for attacking his girlfriend and her family.
The 33-year-old royal said he was “deeply disappointed” that he has not been able to protect Meghan from the “wave of abuse and harassment” she has suffered since their romance was made public.
A statement released by Kensington Palace read: “His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment.
“Some of this has been very public … the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.
“Prince Harry is worried about Ms Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her.
“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.”
