Oprah says she was surprised by Meghan Markle racism claims in interview
‘I had no idea that it would have the reverberating impact that it has had and continues to have,’ media mogul says
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After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview last month, host Oprah Winfrey has opened up about her thoughts on it.
The unprecedented discussion between Oprah and the couple saw accusations of racism and other revelations about the inner workings of the Royal Family “Firm” brought to the fore.
Speaking on Nancy O’Dell’s TalkShopLive streaming show, Oprah has revealed her thoughts about the controversial interview, saying she was “surprised” Meghan “went all the way there”.
Oprah said: “I had no idea that it would have the reverberating impact that it has had and continues to have.
The media mogul spoke about how the shared goal between her as the interviewer and them as a couple was to be “truthful”.
She said: “Our shared intention was the truth. They wanted to be able to tell their story and tell it in such a way that allowed them to be as truthful as possible.”
Oprah continued: “What makes [an interview] powerful is when you have somebody else who is willing to be as open, as vulnerable, as truthful as they were, so I don’t give myself credit for that.”
The claims raised by Harry and Meghan, that include an unnamed royal in the family raising concerns about how dark their future child’s skin colour might be, surprised the 67-year-old interviewer.
She described her thoughts about the revelations, saying: “What? You’re going there? You’re going all the way there.”
Oprah revealed a huge amount of trust was placed on the crew members who witnessed the interview not to leak information to the press ahead of its airing, to avoid anything raised being “misconstrued”.
The tell-all interview aired on ITV on 8 March, the day after it aired on CBS in the US.
Buckingham Palace released a statement on behalf of the Queen following the interview.
It read: “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
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