Grammys 2021: Trevor Noah Pokes Fun at Meghan Markle’s Royal Family Drama During Monologue

The Daily Show anchor Trevor Noah included a brief joke about Meghan Markle and the royal family during his opening monologue at the 2021 Grammy Awards. The Grammys are being held a week after Markle and Prince Harry‘s interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which Markle dropped several bombshells about the family she married into. Noah hosted the Grammys from a stage set up near the Los Angeles Convention Center and with the Staples Center as a backdrop.

“This isn’t a Zoom background. This is real,” Noah joked at the beginning. “This is real. My uncle isn’t gonna walk behind me naked even though I told him I have an important meeting.” Noah then explained that many of the nominated artists are sitting under a tent in front of the stage. “Tonight is gonna be the biggest outdoor event this year besides the storming of the Capitol,” Noah said, referencing the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. “There’s more tension in that tent than at a family reunion at Buckingham Palace.”

The last line was a reference to the ongoing drama between Markle and the royal family. During her interview with Winfrey, Markle revealed that she once contemplated suicide when she was still living in the U.K. with Harry’s family and Buckingham Palace tried to dissuade her from seeking help. Markle also told Winfrey that there were discussions about how “dark” her first child with Harry would be.

Before their son Archie was born in May 2019, Markle said the royal family decided he would not be given a royal title or royal protection. During these conversations, there were “also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” Markle claimed. Markle and Harry refused to go into further detail on this because they thought it would be too damaging to the royal family.

On the day after the interview, Winfrey appeared on CBS This Morning and shared more details about that part. Winfrey said Harry never said which member of the family had concerns about Archie’s skin color. However, Harry said that both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were not part of the conversations.

Markle also told Winfrey she had suicidal thoughts, which she did not tell Harry about at the time. “I didn’t want to be alive anymore,” she said through tears. “I was ashamed to admit it to Harry but I knew if I didn’t say it, I would do it. I just didn’t want to be alive anymore. It was clear, it was real, it was frightening, and it was a constant thought.” She later added that the “institution” of the monarchy did not allow her to get mental health help.