Meghan Markle says online bullying was ‘almost unsurvivable’
Meghan and Harry are committed to speaking about the damage defamatory comments have on mental health
This weekend, while speaking on a podcast celebrating World Mental Health Day, Meghan Markle opened up about how she really feels about being incessantly bullied online by critics.
“I’m told that in 2019, I was the most trolled person in the entire world ― male or female,” she explained during an interview with the “Teenager Therapy” podcast.
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“Eight months of that, I wasn’t even visible. I was on maternity leave with a baby, but what was able to be manufactured and churned out ― it’s almost unsurvivable.”
She then went on to note the toll that social media vitriol can take on a person’s mental health, regardless of age or stature.
“That’s so big you can’t even think of what that feels like,” Markle continued. “Because I don’t care if you’re 15 or if you’re 25, if people are saying things about you that aren’t true, what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging.”
This last point was particularly impactful given that the podcast is hosted by five Loara High School students who described themselves as “stressed, sleep deprived, yet energetic.”
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Both the Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry are committed to speaking out about the damage that defamatory comments made by trolls can have on one’s mental health.
Appearing on this podcast, which was released on October 10, 2020 to commemorate World Mental Health Day, felt like the perfect way to get their message across to teens who face this stark reality every day.
“Even though our experience is unique to us and obviously can seem very different to what people can experience on the day-to-day, it’s still a human experience ― and that’s universal,” she said, adding, “We all know what it feels like to have our feelings hurt, we all know what it feels like to be isolated or othered.”
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