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On March 7th Meghan Markle and Prince Harry sat down with Oprah to break their long-awaited silence, on what we all knew was going to be an explosive moment in TV history. One of the more heart-breaking comments to be raised in the interview was Meghan sharing her struggles with her mental health. However, her bravery has disappointingly been met with medical gaslighting and racial bias from both the palace and the British press, all contributing towards silencing the first black woman in the British monarchy. 

It was the former Duchess’ courage in stepping forward to share how she, at points, felt like she ‘did not want to live anymore’ when speaking of battling suicidal thoughts whilst at the palace. She described the all too familiar feeling many of us have had whilst struggling, noting how easy it is to mask our emotions and instead smile through hardship due to daily commitments. It takes great strength to step forward and ask for help, and so it was distressing and hugely disappointing to hear that once she voiced her concerns, she was ‘to be told ‘no’ by the palace’s HR team. The stigma attached to depression that was, in this instance, heightened by the monarchy, could have been fatal. It is the lack of understanding that Meghan, in voicing her struggles, was not a moment of weakness but a moment of strength. She reclaimed her voice by advocating for herself. Instead, she was left to struggle alone and be denied hope for healing in a moment of extreme vulnerability and fear. 

The reporting that followed the interview has allowed for a stigma induced narrative to take centre stage in discussions surrounding mental health. The media is no stranger to attempting to silence women who speak up on their experiences with their own mental health. More times than one, they have labelled women as attention seeking for speaking up. Female rights activist Jameela Jamil described this gaslighting process best when noting on how, ‘When a woman steps up and speaks out…her tone is exaggerated by media to look hysterical,’ with the overarching intention being to silence the woman even more. Reminiscent of Lady Diana’s Panorama interview of 1995, Meghan has stood to be vilified to a far greater extent. As she is a black woman, this is something that would be especially dangerous to ignore. 

What Meghan’s mental health revelations shed light on, is the epidemic of the medical world not believing women of colour when it comes to their own health. This leaves many women of colour having to advocate for themselves. In recent years there have been multiple studies exploring the medical bias faced by people of colour, leading to eye opening research over how ‘health care providers make assumptions about their patients based on race or ethnicity.’ This is something that has been highlighted in the damaging way that the media have chosen to cover Meghan’s struggles. They have discredited her experience by labelling her the ‘Pinocchio princess.’ Many do not realise the harmful narrative they contribute to when they do not believe Meghan: they contribute towards this wider culture of not taking the health of women of colour seriously. 

One of the most critical voices to emerge from the interview was unsurprisingly Piers Morgan, who has been an outspoken critic of Meghan for years. In his refusal to acknowledge that his white, male privileged perspective means he can never fully understand Meghan’s struggles, he continually discredits and demeans her experiences. Morgan, alongside many other journalists who have voiced their disbelief of Meghan, have left many concerned that their unwarranted criticism would prevent people from seeking help, should they need it. The mental health charity Mind, stated that they were ‘disappointed and concerned’ by Morgan’s comments, adding that ‘it’s vital that when people reach out… they are treated with dignity, respect and empathy.’ They urged those impacted by the current conversation to reach out.   

One of the more hopeful moments to arise from the interview, was Meghan’s comparison of herself to The Little Mermaid, as she noted that just like in the fairy tale, she too fell in love with a prince and lost her voice in the process, but just like Ariel, ‘she got her voice back’ in the end. It is her concluding words of ‘I’m still standing’ that give us hope toward the better treatment of black women’s mental health. We need to react better when a woman bravely voices her struggles and ensure that we are not going backwards by readopting hysteria culture. We need to stop questioning her intention and realise that validating her struggle was never up for discussion in the first place. Instead, we need to focus on supporting women to get the care and treatment they deserve.

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