Meghan Markle has weighed in on Drew Barrymore’s touchiness with the guests on her talk show.
On Thursday, the Duchess of Sussex appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show to promote the release of her new Netflix show With Love, Meghan, which came out on Tuesday.
At the beginning of the interview, Barrymore warned Meghan that she might get close to her as she does with the majority of her guests.
“I feel like once I'm with someone I like to connect,” the 50 First Dates actor said.
“I’ve heard you like to connect,” Meghan responded while laughing and reaching out to touch the host’s arm.
“I'm such a warm person, and I love affection. How do you feel about that?” Barrymore asked her.
Meghan explained that she was all for the physical connection, highlighting the lack of it the world experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I just think it's really important. We've missed human connection, certainly after the pandemic and everything else; we crave that... We crave being able to go, ‘Hi, my friend, you're here!’” Meghan said.
“And to really be able to hold and touch and embrace someone, and so I think about that with the show. Certainly, what hospitality has felt like for me is, how do you make people feel comfortable? How do you show up for them in spaces where they might feel like, I don't know, is this really where I should be? Yes, you belong here,” she said.
Throughout the interview, Meghan appeared to prove her point as she held onto Barrymore’s arm and reciprocated all of her touches.
Throughout the last four years of hosting her talk show, Barrymore has become known for her intimate and tactile interview style, often affectionately touching her guests and cozying up to them on the sofa.
She will frequently hold their hands, touch their shoulder, or pull them into a hug. This demeanor has resulted in mixed reactions from fans, which she spoke about last September.
During an episode of her show, she said she was trying to “practice physical distance.”
“I get in trouble for physical proximity on this show,” she told guest Dax Shepard at the time. “I guess a lot of people say like, ‘You’re too touchy,’ about me. And I’m like, ‘Oh that’s so…’ talk about shame and embarrassment. I’m horrified when I hear that, and yet I can’t stop.”
Barrymore was also the first celebrity to publicly call the Duchess of Sussex “Meghan Sussex” after the former Suits actor reprimanded Mindy Kaling for not using her royal title.
Meghan corrected The Office star for using her maiden name during an episode of With Love, Meghan — a moment that has since gone viral on social media.
During the segment, the host dropped the former actor’s renowned moniker in favor of “Meghan Sussex.”
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