Prince Harry Gets Candid About 'Vile, Toxic Abuse' From Social Media Trolls

Prince Harry is opening up about life in the public eye and the toxicity he has experienced from those on social media. The Duke of Sussex, who in February of this year officially retired as a working royal, appeared on a recent episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, where the two opened up about the struggles they have experienced living in the limelight, with Harry admitting he has experienced "vile, toxic abuse" from online trolls.

The candid discussion began after Shepard compared his life to The Truman Show, the 1998 Jim Carey-starring film that follows the life of a man who is living in a reality TV program and is unaware millions of people are watching him. According to The Sun, Harry said he could relate, explaining that"it's a mix between The Truman Show and living in a zoo." He said, "the biggest issue for me was that being born into it, you inherit the risk; you inherit every element of it without choice." One of those elements, the prince said, is the "vile, toxic abuse" he has received online, something he has opened up about numerous times in the past, particularly regarding tabloids and their treatment of wife Meghan Markle. While that online abuse can be "vile," Harry described it as a "form of project which derives from "unresolved pain" Although he said it could be "really hard when you're on the receiving end" of harsh comments, he tries to have "compassion" for social media trolls.

"When it comes to trolling on social media, the best way I look at it is like, ok, take a moment, be aware of what this is doing to me and how it's making me feel, but then look at them and go: 'How's your day going?'" Harry, who is now working to combat some of the negative experiences of the digital world, said. "The reality is, flip it and say: 'What happened to you? What made you want to come at me like that when clearly we've never met and you don't know me? 'Like, what's your goal? What are you actually doing? I know it might make you feel better in the moment, but long-term, it's not going to help.'"

While Harry acknowledged that some might not believe he can truly experience suffering due to the privileged life he was born into, explaining that people say. "How bad can it be? You had people running around and doing this and that" and he knows "people are looking at me saying, you're a prince, you're from a palace, where's your crown and where's your cape," he said his life gave him "a front-row seat - my education was not in school but was in meeting people across the Commonwealth." He added that "the reality is, meeting people from all around the world puts it into context."