George Clooney Compares Meghan Markle to Princess Diana

Meghan Markle has been having an even tougher time than usual when it comes to the tabloids recently, after her father, Thomas Markle, published a letter the Duchess had written him begging him to keep their private family matters out of the press.

After five of her best friends spoke out about Markle’s treatment in the press, one of her famous friends is also defending her, with George Clooney offering his thoughts during a press panel for his upcoming Hulu series Catch-22.

“I do want to say, I just saw this piece,” Clooney told reporters, according to Australia’s Who magazine. “They’re just chasing Meghan Markle everywhere, she’s been pursued and vilified.”

He even compared Markle’s situation to that of Princess Diana, Prince Harry‘s late mother. Diana had a notoriously difficult relationship with the British press and died in a car accident in 1997 after her driver attempted to evade paparazzi.

“She’s a woman who is seven months pregnant and she is being pursued and vilified and chased in the same way that Diana was, and it’s history repeating itself,” Clooney said of Markle. “And we’ve seen how that ends.”

“I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to see that,” the actor continued. “You’re taking a letter from a daughter to a father and broadcasting it everywhere. She’s getting a raw deal there, it’s irresponsible. I’m sort of surprised by that.”

Clooney and his wife, Amal Clooney, are close friends of Markle and Harry, and the pair have been rumored to be on the short list to be godparents to the royal couple’s upcoming child, who is due in April.

“Oh yes, I’ll be the godfather of the royals apparently,” Clooney told reporters with a laugh before saying, “No!”

He added, “I’m the father of twins, I have enough sh— to deal with — literally!”

Clooney and Amal, a human rights lawyer, welcomed twins Ella and Alexander in June 2017. Once Markle and Harry’s baby is born, there is a definite possibility for royal playdates, as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have previously visited the Clooneys at their home in Lake Como, Italy.

Several of Markle’s best friends recently spoke out about the way the mom-to-be is being treated, telling PEOPLE that they wanted to come together to “stand up against the global bullying we are seeing and speak the truth about our friend.”

“Meg has silently sat back and endured the lies and untruths,” one of Markle’s former co-stars said. “We worry about what this is doing to her and the baby. It’s wrong to put anyone under this level of emotional trauma, let alone when they’re pregnant.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Michael Tran