Celebs Who Have Spoken Out About Kate Middleton's Disappearance
For the first few months of 2024, it seemed like all anyone could talk about was Kate Middleton withdrawing from the public eye. After Kate had her abdominal surgery in January 2024, the royal's whereabouts became major news, and even A-list celebrities weighed in on the topic.
When Kensington Palace announced that Kate had "planned abdominal surgery," no one really blinked an eye. However, once the Princess of Wales skipped some royal duties, people realized she'd been laying low since Christmas 2023. The internet went wild with theories as to what was going on, and royal watchers put together timelines of Kate Middleton's disappearance. The questions grew even louder when the royal family posted a clearly edited photo of Kate alongside her three children for Mother's Day in early March 2024 on Instagram. The unbelievable rumors about Kate Middleton continued to pour in.
On March 22, 2024, the royal family released a video of Kate answering the question people have been obsessing over. The Princess of Wales revealed that she'd taken a step back from her regular royal duties because she had been diagnosed with cancer following her abdominal surgery. This news cast a totally new light on the wild takes that'd been shared by average citizens and celebrities alike.
Stephen Colbert created a frenzy addressing Kate Middleton's absence
On an episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," talk show host Stephen Colbert dove into one particularly sticky rumor about Kate Middleton's whereabouts. Said rumor involves the speculation that Prince William had an affair with one of Kate's former friends, Rose Hanbury. The cheating allegations against William weren't new, but with Kate's absence from the public eye, the rumor was reignited in a major way.
On March 12, 2024, Colbert took some time out of his opening monologue to address the question of whether or not the future monarch of England cheated on Kate. "I'm afraid I have some troubling news about England's royal family," he began. The talk show host then talked about how the internet would not let up on Kate's disappearance before digging into the theory of the affair. He said, "Internet sleuths are guessing that Kate's absence may be related to her husband, and the future King of England, William, having an affair. Oh no, my heart goes out to Kate." The talk show host noted that the infidelity rumor has been in the air since 2019. He also mentioned that, according to the gossip mill, William supposedly laughed off the cheating allegations.
Hanbury did not appreciate being dragged into the speculation. On March 21, 2024, In Touch revealed that her legal team had reached out to "The Late Show." "We have written on our client's behalf to CBS and various other reputable media organisations to confirm that the allegation is false," they said.
Jamie Lee Curtis backed up Kate Middleton
Jamie Lee Curtis always speaks her mind, even with the royals. The Oscar winner shared a lengthy post on Instagram defending Kate Middleton just hours before the news of her diagnosis was revealed. The "Halloween Ends" actor wrote, "Can we please just STOP with this bulls*** conspiracy theory? This is a human being with young children, and clearly some sort of a health issue. That is a private matter." Curtis told her followers there are many more important things to worry about than Kate's whereabouts. She said, "It's a really low poin[t] in our society when there are SO MANY crucial issues that need our attention."
Many appreciated Curtis' defense of the Princess of Wales. "Like for real. I mean we are all concerned about her and hope whatever is going on, that she is ultimately ok. But leave the woman alone. Leave the family alone," one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. However, others called out Curtis for speaking out about Kate but not standing up for Meghan Markle, who they believed received harsher treatment during her time as a royal. As one person tweeted, "So defending Mehgan, her fellow actor, American and Californian, was not on her radar? Good grief that poor woman has been raked over the coals for eight years. Save me your concern Jamie." Again, it is worth remembering this was all before Kate's cancer diagnosis was revealed.
Piers Morgan raised more concerns about Kate Middleton
Piers Morgan is a man of many opinions, and he had some strong feelings about Kate Middleton's disappearance. On a March 13, 2024, episode of "Piers Morgan Uncensored," the British commentator raised more red flags with the public after insinuating that something was seriously wrong with the royal.
Morgan started the episode by addressing the photoshop issue and one of the major problems with the image. "Why is Princess Catherine, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, spending time hunched over photoshop, making amateur edits of official portraits when they literally have servants to do that?" he asked. "Most baffling of all, why not edit in the missing wedding ring?" For the most part, it seemed the journalist knew about as much as the public did at the time, but he ended on a concerning note: "I've been told some stuff that, if even half of it is true, it's pretty alarming what is happening. I don't know what to believe, nor do any of us — we're not there."
The TV personality doubted Kate's well-being and continued to raise alarming information about the royal. Morgan reportedly told TMZ in March 2024 that he believed the photo of the royal on Mother's Day was edited because a source reportedly told him that Kate looked much thinner in person. Morgan only caused more worry as it's unclear whether he had an idea about her diagnosis or not.
Whoopi Goldberg defended Kate Middleton
Even though she has criticized the royals in the past, Whoopi Goldberg wasn't into the rumors about Kate Middleton's whereabouts. During an episode of "The View," the commentator shared her thoughts about the frenzy that surrounded the Princess of Wales before her cancer diagnosis. She told the audience and her co-hosts, "When you buy into this stuff, when they start doing it to your family, or they start doing it to your kids, it's not cute. It's not fun. It really irritates me."
As for the photoshop mess, the "Sister Act" star believed Kate wanted to take control of the narrative. "I think Kate took a picture and said, 'Ooh, his lips look wrong, her butt looks wrong, this looks wrong, let me fix it,'" she explained. "I believe that she took the picture and gave it to [the Palace] because she wanted to take charge of the story that's being put out." Goldberg was aware that the public didn't know what was happening, so she didn't want to put too much emphasis on Kate's situation.
Goldberg was adamant about not speaking or adding to the rumors about Kate. On the March 19, 2024, episode of "The View," the topic came up again. However, this time around, Goldberg refused to participate. Kicking her feet up on the table, Goldberg let her co-hosts say what they wanted to say but didn't contribute to the conversation.
Andy Cohen fell into the conspiracy theories
On March 18, 2024, after questions about Kate Middleton's whereabouts had reached fever pitch, TMZ released a video of the Prince and Princess of Wales walking around a local farmer's market in Windsor. However, the video didn't help squash the conspiracy theories that'd been brewing. The footage was grainy and not as clear as the public would have hoped, and some skeptics wondered if the woman in the video was not actually Kate, but a body double. "Watch What Happens Live" star Andy Cohen was one of many public figures to share their take on Kate Middleton's re-emergence.
After the video went viral, Cohen took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and wrote, "That ain't Kate...." Over on Instagram, the TV personality posted a poll in an IG Story and asked his followers a simple yes or no question: "Is this Princess Kate?" (via Us Weekly). "No" won by a landslide.
On the March 22, 2024, episode of the "Daddy Diaries Podcast," Cohen brought up the conspiracy theories surrounding Kate, including the rumors about Prince William having an affair with Rose Hanbury. It is worth noting that the podcast dropped a mere few hours before Kate shared her cancer diagnosis with the world.