HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - JULY 11: (Exclusive Coverage) (L-R) Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Serena Williams attend the 2024 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 11, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for W+P)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have cut ties with four British tabloids just weeks after officially retiring from their royal roles and moving to Los Angeles.
In a letter addressed to the editors of The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Daily Mail and The Daily Express on Sunday, the couple wrote that they will no longer deal with the tabloids because of the “inaccurate” way they have written about them in the past.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know — as well as complete strangers — have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue. With that said, please note that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be engaging with your outlet. There will be no corroboration and zero engagement,” the letter read.
The letter also points out that the couple is not doing this to end criticism: “This policy is not about avoiding criticism. It’s not about shutting down public conversation or censoring accurate reporting.” They continue to say that this is not a “blanket statement” for all media, and that people still have a right to criticize them.
“Media have every right to report on and indeed have an opinion on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, good or bad. But it can’t be based on a lie. They also want to be very clear: this is not in any way a blanket policy for all media.”
The letter ends by saying that the couple looks forward to working with young, up-and-coming journalists and local and grassroots media. They say they want to help give a voice to underrepresented people, “who are needed now more than ever.” But they say, “What they won’t do is offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.”
The couple has a long history with the tabloids. Prince Harry has blamed the tabloids for his mother, Princess Diana’s, deadly car crash. More recently, Harry has said that his wife is “falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
This letter comes at a time as Meghan’s suit against the Mail on Sunday’s parent company, Associated Newspapers, has its first hearing on Friday. She is suing the company for publishing a private letter in February 2019.
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The tabloids hit back at the letter, criticizing the couple’s choice to release this letter during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Sorry, we’re a little busy at the moment,” Daily Mirror associate editor Kevin Maguire tweeted.
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