Broadway Star Audra McDonald Slams Social Media Users For Commenting On Meghan Markle’s Pregnancy
Audra McDonald is sick of social media users criticizing Meghan Markle’s pregnancy.
The Duchess of Sussex has received racial and sexist insults online for months since announcing her pregnancy with husband Prince Harry. Throughout her pregnancy, Markle has been teased for holding her bump in public and has also been the subject of many racial slurs following rumors that she and her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, are at odds. According to Page Six, McDonald shared a video of her when she was eight months pregnant with her now 2-year-old daughter, Sally. She captioned the video with a message for those who bash Markle online.
“I cannot believe what this woman has had to endure from social media and the press,” the multiple Tony award winner posted on Saturday. “Then today to read about how ‘weird’ her body language is by a supposed women’s magazine that supposedly prides itself on celebrating fierce, independent, strong women who can do anything and have it all?!? Do better.”
The Beauty and the Beast actress also added that she also held her stomach all the time when she was eight months pregnant. She explained that she was entitled to holding her belly and connecting with her unborn child. She also praised the Duchess for her seemingly poised demeanor during her pregnancy and mentioned that she was a “swollen, hot, sweaty, enormous, flatulent, in search of my feet, hot fudge sundae junkie, nervously excited, pudgy-faced, waddling goddess, ” when she was in Markle’s position.
Audra McDonald defends pregnant Meghan Markle https://t.co/4n6aBWbd3Q pic.twitter.com/tIpCAh11vZ
— Page Six (@PageSix) March 11, 2019
The scrutiny against Markle has caused staffers at the Kensington Palace to use even more urgency when ending the online hate against the Duchess. CNN reported that the staff is devoting more time and effort into deleting comments against Markle and blocking abusive remarks on social media networks like Twitter and Instagram. The news outlet also reports that software is being used to delete comments involving racial slurs, guns, and knives. Twitter reportedly has suspended accounts that were found to be attacking Markle after they were analyzed by the palace staff.
Yomi Adegoke, author of Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, told CNN that the virtual attacks on Markle are difficult for the royal family to deal with, as her race has been commented about on multiple occasions since she and Prince Harry announced their courtship in 2016.
“She’s foreign, not just by being American, but she’s got black heritage, she’s a divorcee,” Adegoke said. “She’s just a very different type of person and somebody that I don’t think your average British member of the public thinks of when they think of the word duchess or royal family at all.”
