Australian MP draws backlash for tweet claiming Meghan Markle married Prince Harry to become queen
Opposition MP Jarrod Bleijie claimed the Duchess of Sussex was after the queen's title all along
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Liberal National Party MP in Queensland, Australia has come under fire for a disparaging tweet about Meghan Markle, days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aired their frustrations with the British media and royal family in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Jarrod Bleijie stirred up controversy surrounding Meghan and Prince Harry's tell-all interview, which saw the duchess make the jaw-dropping claim that the palace's human resources department denied her access to professional help when she experienced suicidal thoughts. Meghan and Prince Harry also claimed a member of the family raised "concerns and conversations" about how dark their son Archie's skin color would be.
Bleijie on Tuesday claimed on his verified Twitter account that Meghan's falling-out with the British royals dates back to whenever she learned she wasn't in line to be queen.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The problem started when American actress Meghan Markle was told William would be King not Harry. It was at this time that she realised that she married the wrong Prince," Bleijie wrote on Tuesday from his verified Twitter account.
"So if she can't be the future Queen, she'll attempt to take down the institution. The Crown will prevail!" Bleijie's tweet continues.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Queensland opposition MP was denounced by Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace on Wednesday. According to local outlet Perth Now, Grace called Bleijie's tweet "disgraceful" in parliament.
"The suggestion is that she made a mistake, married the wrong prince when she realised, she's nothing really but a gold digger - I think it's disgraceful and I called it out in the House this morning," Grace told reporters in Australia.
Grace also took issue with the timing of Bleijie's tweet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"What was suggested in that tweet is absolutely disgraceful, particularly during International Women's Day," she said.
Meghan and Harry's wide-ranging interview was the couple’s first since they stepped down from royal duties. Harry told Winfrey that he felt "trapped" by royal life and was surprised that he was cut off financially and lost his security last year. He also said he felt his family did not support Meghan, who acknowledged her naivete about royal life before marrying Harry, as she endured tabloid attacks and false stories.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Tuesday, July 10, 2018 file photo Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry stand on a balcony to watch a flypast of Royal Air Force aircraft pass over Buckingham Palace in London. In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were stepping back as senior members of the British royal family. (AP)
"I went to it naively because I didn't grow up watching the royal family," Meghan said. "It wasn’t something that was part of conversation at home. It wasn’t something that we followed."
Meghan said she and Harry were aligned during their courtship because of their "cause-driven" work. But she did not fully comprehend the pressure of being linked to the prestigious royal family.
"There was no way to understand what the day-to-day was going to be like," she said. "And it’s so different because I didn’t romanticize any element of it."
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Harry admitted that he also "went to a very dark place" when Meghan was feeling suicidal and was hesitant to speak up to his family about the issue.
On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace issued a short statement in response to the allegations that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made to Oprah Winfrey. (Getty)
The duke added that he's "acutely aware" of the fact that his family is "scared" of the British tabloids turning on them and pointed out that some tabloids are chummy with the Crown.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The interview has spurred several celebrities to weigh in. While many continue to speak out in support of Meghan, others, like Piers Morgan have also faced intense backlash for criticizing the duchess' statements.
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Morgan's on-air take was so severe that 41,000 complaints were filed, prompting an investigation by the United Kingdom's "Ofcom," or Office of Communications, under its "harm and offense rules."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The ITV network later announced that Morgan severed ties with the talk show following him abruptly walking off the show’s set this week.
Fox News' Nate Day contributed to this report.