A Substack blog. Anonymous sources. A byline from a former National Enquirer reporter. I mean… why wouldn’t you believe it?
Yes, I’m talking, of course, about this week’s breathless dispatch by Rob Shuter about Meghan Markle being irked that Taylor Swift‘s album announcement ‘steamrolled’ her ‘big Netflix moment’.
In case you missed it, the British-American gossip columnist penned an enthralling ‘exclusive’ for his Substack website that soon caught fire in the media.
The headline trumpeted: ‘EXCLUSIVE: MEGHAN MARKLE CONVINCED TAYLOR SWIFT STOLE HER ANNOUNCEMENT THUNDER’.
Shuter described how Swift’s surprise album announcement for The Life of a Showgirl had overshadowed interest in the trailer announcement for part two of the Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix lifestyle series With Love, Meghan.
Insiders allegedly said that Swift’s timing had left the former Suits actress frustrated.
‘Meghan thought her trailer would own the news cycle,’ a source dished.
‘Then Taylor’s announcement came in like a wrecking ball. Meghan’s convinced it wasn’t just bad luck.’
The trailer for the second season of Netflix series With Love, Meghan dropped on August 12 – and included this scene of Meghan with upcoming special guest Chrissy Teigen
But the biggest news on August 12 was Taylor Swift teasing the announcement of her forthcoming album, The Life of a Showgirl
‘She saw this as her comeback moment,’ another insider added. ‘Then Taylor took all the oxygen out of the room.’
At first glance, I’m not convinced. But whether the article is true hardly matters.
Plenty of major media outlets around the world ran with it.
It’s pure celebrity catnip. Could Meghan – a bona fide royal – be quietly seething that TayTay’s new album stole her thunder?
In my opinion, the real story here isn’t Shuter’s big scoop.
Or even Meghan risking the wrath of the world’s most devoted pop fan base by – allegedly – daring to complain to friends that Taylor stole her spotlight.
What fascinates me is how easily the idea of Meghan throwing a tantrum over another celebrity’s moment is believed by so many.
What does this say about the Duchess of Sussex’s reputation right now?
Meghan Markle, pictured here in the first season of her Netflix series With Love, Meghan, has just launched the trailer for the show’s second season
Perhaps people accept this story because it echoes past claims about the Sussexes timing their own announcements to upstage others.
After all, Meghan and Harry’s seemingly strategic ‘launches’ have long raised eyebrows on both sides of the Atlantic.
Take last year, when Meghan launched her lifestyle brand – first called American Riviera Orchard, now As Ever after a trademark issue – on the same day her brother-in-law Prince William spoke at the Diana Legacy Award event in London.
Royal commentators called it ‘calculated’, and it was noted that Meghan’s launch had ‘overshadowed an event celebrating the life and work of Harry’s mother.’
Then, there was the lead-up to the launch of Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare.
The prince gave brutal sit-down TV interview criticising the Royal Family. It aired the day before Princess Kate’s 41st birthday, with the book itself dropping the day after.
The curious timing of some of the Sussexes’ announcements and launches has not gone unnoticed by royal watchers. Meghan and Harry are pictured here visiting Colombia in 2024
Even the trailer release for the Sussexes’ six-part Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan was seen as deliberate.
It came out in December 2022 on the precise date when William and Kate arrived in America for his Earthshot Prize initiative. It was also the Waleses’ first visit to the States since the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Even pro-Sussex author Omid Scobie – long considered a mouthpiece for the couple – acknowledged the timing of the Netflix trailer was ‘intentional’.
But the most glaring example dates back to their time as working royals, pre-Megxit.
On Princess Eugenie’s wedding day to Jack Brooksbank in 2018, the Sussexes were accused of upstaging the bride by sharing the news of their pregnancy with the family at the reception.
It has been suggested that Meghan and Harry (pictured in 2019) may have upstaged Princess Eugenie’s 2018 wedding day by sharing their pregnancy news with the family at the reception
Perhaps it’s all simply a case of no one consulting a calendar outside of their own.
But what made me pause was a recent report that Prince Harry’s team had offered to share his schedule with the royals – an attempt to avoid future clashes and unflattering headlines.
A curious move – possibly an acknowledgment of past mistakes?
Which brings us back to why so many people were prepared to believe this latest silly rumour about Meghan ‘beefing’ with Taylor over their respective ‘drops’.
The repeated insinuations we’ve heard about the Sussexes in the past – namely how their announcements seem timed to overshadow others – have likely contributed to the PR bind poor Meghan now finds herself in.
Now, even the most ludicrous and unsourced claims have the potential to be lapped up by those who follow her every move.
READ MORE FROM DAILYMAIL+
EXCLUSIVE NEWS AND FEATURES
CRIME
HEALTH
LIFESTYLE
ROYALS
MUST-READ COLUMNISTS
SPORT
Share or comment on this article:
The truth about that utterly insane Meghan Markle rumour we’ve all heard. I’m no Sussex Squad cheerleader, but even I have to call this out: SHARON HUNT