Gayle King has defended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary series after an interviewer joked it was a “reality show”.
The CBS Mornings anchor appeared on a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, hosted by Andy Cohen.
King, who met Prince Harry and Meghan Markle through her friend Oprah Winfrey, took part in a segment called “Do They Give A Damn?”
Asked if she “gives a damn” about the royal couple’s new show, Harry and Meghan, the TV presenter answers: “Yes, I can’t wait.”
Cohen then jokes: “[Meghan] told me she would never do a reality show.”
King is quick to defend the Sussexes, saying: “But it’s not a reality show. It’s not a reality show.”
After Harry and Meghan gave their explosive interview to Winfrey in 2021, a year after stepping down as senior members of the royal family, King said it “opened up conversations that people weren’t prepared to have or didn’t want to have”.
She told Drew Barrymore during an appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show: “I think, ultimately, it’s about a family that wants to be united and be together and I’m hoping that will be the case.”
King also revealed following the interview that she contacted the royal couple “to see how they were feeling” about Harry’s strained relationship with his father, King Charles III, and his brother, the Prince of Wales.
Speaking on CBS This Morning, she said: “I did actually call [Harry and Meghan] to see how they were feeling, and it’s true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too. The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive.”
The first three episodes of Harry and Meghan were released on Thursday (8 December) and saw the couple reminiscing about the early days of their romance, as well as recalling how the press and the rest of the royal family received Meghan’s arrival.
Critics have alleged that the series, which has been split into two parts, contradicts the couple’s desire for privacy.
On Friday (9 December), a spokesperson for the Sussexes shared a statement with The New York Times pointing out that they never said a desire for privacy was a factor in making their decision to step down from the royal family.
“Their statement announcing their decision to step back mentions nothing of privacy and reiterates their desire to continue their roles and public duties,” Ashley Hansen, the couple’s global press secretary, said.
“Any suggestion otherwise speaks to a key point of this series. They are choosing to share their story, on their terms, and yet the tabloid media has created an entirely untrue narrative that permeates press coverage and public opinion. The facts are right in front of them.”
