During Meghan Markle’s surprise appearance at the British Fashion Awards earlier this week, the duchess graced the stage looking as stunning as ever in her black Givenchy one-shoulder dress and gave her ever growing belly a lot of attention. Markle presented the highly coveted British Designer of the Year award to a shocked Clare Waight Keller, and while she beamed on stage to a wowed crowd, onlookers were quick to point out that Markle appeared to be over-cradling her baby bump.
“Meghan Markle holding on to that bump like someone’s about to snatch it,” one Twitter user proclaimed, as the Today Show reported.
“When will Meghan ‘Duchess of Sussex’, stop constantly cradling her bump! Like the whole bloody world doesn’t know she’s pregnant & it’s not like she doesn’t get enough attention she’s craves. ‘I’m here to give an award but I’ll make sure the attention is on me not the winner,’” another tweeted.
Since announcing they were pregnant with their first child, expected to arrive in the spring, Markle’s baby bump has been the front and center of every photo op. During their highly photographed tour of Fiji, Tonga, and Australia, as the duchess began to show, she began gently cradling her growing bump in photos.
“Seriously, no pregnant woman poses for photo like this. Ever. She’s such an actress,” another Twitter user added to the slew of backlash against the Suits actress.
According to Today , the duchess isn’t the first celeb to get flack for cradling her bump. Khloe Kardashian took to Twitter during her pregnancy with True and addressed fans who were calling out the KUWTK actress for cradling her pregnant belly as well. Kardashian took to Twitter to clap back at fans and let them know that she was happy to caress her growing baby because she waited years for the opportunity to do so.
“People are very opinionated about my bump. I choose to cradle my bump because it’s MINE. I’ve waited for this VERY short moment for YEARS. I have only months to enjoy this phase in my life, so I will touch my bump and love my bump as often as I choose. Mommy loves you baby,” the Good American designer wrote.
Markle did have some fans that had her back during the tweetstorm. Folks took to the social media platform to spread some positive vibes, one Twitter user said that it’s Markle’s baby — and her life — and in the age of body positivity, she should be able to do whatever she wants.
