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Just In: The View’ Hosts Debate Whether Meghan Markle’s New Netflix Series Is ‘Tone Deaf’ or ‘Aspirational’ | Video…..See More
When Martha Stewart first started doing this, no one was saying all these things,” Sunny Hostin argues
Meghan Markle’s new series “With Love, Meghan” hits Netflix this month marking a return to television for the former “Suits” star. But, the lifestyle series has the hosts of “The View” a bit split.
In Saturday’s inaugural episode of “The Weekend View,” the women were divided almost down the middle as they discussed Markle getting trolled online for the series. For host Sunny Hostin, the hate that Markle is facing stems simply from people wanting to hate on her specifically.
When Martha Stewart first started doing this, no one was saying all these things,” Hostin argued. “This has more to do with the fact that people want to hate on Meghan Markle than, I think, you know, this topic.”
But for host Alyssa Farah Griffin, the criticisms were more warranted, even if she is a fan of Markle herself.
“Respectfully — and I love Meghan Markle — but my favorite Meghan Markle is the one who’s doing charitable works abroad, meeting with underprivileged kids,” Farah Griffin said. “This felt just, it’s beautifully shot, but it just feels a little bit, maybe, tone deaf.”
As Hostin questioned why Markle should be expected to be “one-dimensional,” Farah Griffin pressed on.
“I feel like people are struggling to make ends meet,” she said. “You’re working around the clock, you’re maybe microwaving a meal because you got to feed your kids, work, and get a bunch done. I would love to have, like, pretty pastries, and honey,and all that but like, I don’t have time!”
At that though, Joy Behar chimed in and actually changed Farah Griffin’s mind just a bit by adding a little context.
“During the Depression, back in like 1929, Hollywood only had movies about rich people,” Behar explained, with Farah Griffin agreeing that it was “aspirational” at the time.
“Not just that,” Behar retorted. “People were sick of seeing themselves poverty stricken, they wanted to see how rich people do it. So sometimes, it works to see somebody who’s married to a prince, who’s beautiful, who knows how to garden and make (inaudible).”
Farah Griffin conceded that it could be seen as “aspirational,” but host Sara Haines still felt the series, based on just the trailer, “lacks a certain authenticity.”
You can watch the full “Weekend View” in the video above.