Meghan Markle Mocked by 'Real Housewives' Alum Bethenny Frankel Before Oprah Interview

While most celebrities have shown support for Meghan Markle, former Real Housewives of New York [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

While most celebrities have shown support for Meghan Markle, former Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel is not. On Saturday, Frankel commented on the hype surrounding the Duchess of Sussex's CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey, later prompting her to suggest Markle had nothing to complain about because she lived in a palace. Frankel also accused Markle and Prince Harry of taking a $7 million paycheck for the interview, but Winfrey's studio confirmed they were not paid.

"Not since [Monica Lewinsky] interview, have people been obsessed with a young female interview like this #MARRY interview. Remember the famous lip gloss?" Frankel wrote late Saturday. This started a conversation between two of her followers. One said they were not interested in the interview because of allegations that Markle bullied royal staffers, allegations Markle has since denied. Then another fan responded by sharing screenshots of reports about how the staff was allegedly disrespectful to Markle.

"Cry me a river...the plight of being a game show host, fairly unknown actress, to suffering in a palace, w tiaras & 7 figure weddings for TWO WHOLE YEARS to being a household name w [Winfrey] on speed dial, fetching 7 m for interviews, hundreds of millions in media deals," Frankel quickly responded. The "fetching 7 m for interviews" comment was a reference to a Wall Street Journal report that CBS paid Winfrey's Harpo Productions between $7 million and $9 million in licensing fees to air the interview. A Harpo representative told E! News that Harry and Markle were not paid for the interview or received any of the licensing fees.

Later, Frankel wrote that she does support Harry though. "I [100] give Harry a break," Frankel wrote in a separate tweet, in which she also pitched her podcast. "This isn't the way to generate less press & cannot be filed under the guise of wanting privacy to prevent a repeat of previous events. If you hate me for saying it here don't listen to my podcast #justbwithbethenny it's littered with my opinion."

In another tweet, Frankel compared her own life choices to Markle's. "I chose reality tv, to work towards making $, to be scrutinized & criticized," Frankel wrote. "I took the trappings & the beatings along with it. It's a rose w petals & thorns. People beg to enter the often toxic institution I signed up for. That WAS the life I chose. You can't play stupid & smart."

Frankel's comments drew out a spirited response from another reality television star. Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause fired off a strong defense of Markle. "Not a white housewife comparing her struggle to Meghan's. A woman of color joining the Royal Family. It's the delusion for me," Stause wrote. "Everyone is working overtime trying to silence her. Let us hear what she has to say!"

Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special airs Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. This is Markle and Harry's first major interview since they stepped down from royal family duties and moved to California. The special will also be available on ViacomCBS' Paramount+ streaming platform the day after it airs.

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