Celebrities Who Publicly Shaded Meghan Markle

Love her or hate her, you can't deny Meghan Markle's it factor. The polarizing former royal can't seem to stay out of the headlines, from officially leaving the royal family back in 2020 to sporting expensive designer clothing on her new Netflix series. By constantly staying in the news, many celebrities have made their feelings known about the "Suits" star. 

In the past, some very famous faces have come to the Duchess of Sussex's defense. Kim Kardashian spoke up for the royal in 2019 at the Armenia Technology Convention (via CNN), "I think that everyone makes their own choices and decisions ... No one's going to be perfect. I'm not, they're not. I don't know who is." Oprah Winfrey has also been vocal about her support, telling her pal Gayle King on "CBS This Morning" that same year, "I think she's being portrayed unfairly... She just has a wonderful, warm, giving, loving heart."

While Markle has had some big names in her corner in the past, she's also garnered a whole lot of criticism from some surprising stars ... especially lately. We're taking a look at the celebrities who have publicly shaded Meghan Markle.

While hosting "The Tonight Show," Meghan Markle has provided plenty of fodder for Jimmy Fallon's comedy. Though most of it is lighthearted — like saying ABC wanted to offer them a show called "Royal-ish" — occasionally the jokes have taken a shadier turn. On a March 2025 episode of his late-night show, Fallon took aim at the former royal for some odd behavior on her Netflix series, "With Love, Meghan." 

In a much buzzed-about scene from the show, the Duchess of Sussex prepares a welcome basket for a friend and shows how to move peanut butter pretzels from a store-bought bag into a smaller, clear plastic one. Fallon took aim at the star during a trivia segment with Steven Higgins, who joked that the number one question that mystified scientists wasn't if there was life on another planet, but was actually "Why does Meghan Markle make her own pretzel bags?" Fallon sarcastically answered, "That's interesting. She takes it from one bag and puts it in another bag, and that confuses people." 

While it's par for the course for a late-night host to poke some fun at a high-profile celebrity, it's not every day a fellow A-lister takes a swipe. But when Ryan Reynolds stopped by Conan O'Brien's podcast, "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" in May 2025, Meghan Markle became a topic of conversation, resulting in the actor poking some fun at the former royal. 

The funny guys touched on the Duchess of Sussex's latest venture, a lifestyle brand called As Ever, that launched in April with some unconventional offerings — like tea, honey, baking mixes, and most notably, jam. While discussing Reynold's father, Jimmy, being a "food broker," the "Deadpool" actor said his dad told him he was a "middleman for jars of jam." 

The quick-witted O'Brien didn't miss a beat, asking, "What? He works for Meghan Markle?" He then launched into a deeper voice, feigning an announcer cadence and adding, "Tiny jams. Harvestable jams. Made from the oils of Montecito." Reynolds agreed, adding, "If Jimbo Reynolds wasn't dead, I'd say he is Meghan Markle... well, adjacent." 

O'Brien finished off the funny exchange, adding, "Many people have likened the two!"

Bethenny Frankel is no stranger to launching business ventures. The successful entrepreneur created the Skinnygirl brand, which she reportedly sold for $100 million in 2011, so the former "Real Housewives of New York" star felt comfortable weighing in on Meghan Markle's attempt at launching a celebrity brand. Frankel didn't mince words when speaking about the Duchess of Sussex to Us Weekly, noting, "They didn't want the fame, but they didn't want to give up the lifestyle, because it's expensive. Now they're living in Montecito, and it's hard for things to land."

The mogul had strong opinions about the way Markle has been handling her different business ideas, sharing, "It's hard to land all of those things, and they wanted to do it in a timely manner because they realized there was a certain window of opportunity, so they made all these different deals. And business is really hard... If it was so easy, everybody would be good at doing it." Ouch!

When Chris Rock took the stage to film his 2023 Netflix special, "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage," the comedian didn't go easy on Meghan Markle. Rock unleashed on claims Markle made back in 2021 about her time in the royal family, including allegations that a member wondered about the skin tone of the couple's unborn child. The comedian insisted that the skin tone curiosity wasn't actually racism, likening it to selective outrage and calling it "in-law s—." Rock explained it further. joking, "'What the f— is she talking about? 'They're so racist, they wanted to know how brown the baby was going to be...' I'm like, 'That's not racist,' cause even Black people want to know how brown the baby gon' be. S—. We check behind them ears."

The funny guy also took issue with Markle trying to be a victim, pointing out that the Duchess of Sussex "seems like a nice lady, just complaining... Like, didn't she hit the light-skinned lottery, and she's still going off complaining?" 

After the special was released, People reached out to the couple's representatives for comment and received no response.

Joe Rogan sounded off about his true views on Meghan Markle and her relationship with Prince Harry on his show "The Joe Rogan Experience." In a January 2020 episode, the popular podcaster sat down with Mike Baker, a former CIA agent, and the topic of England came up. Baker revealed he held dual citizenship and was angry at Prince Harry for leaving the royal family and allowing his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to find out about it with the public. 

Rogan then launched into an impression of the Queen. "It's that little American hussy he's hooked up with. She's going to turn him into a Kardashian. That little American hussy has ruined my prince," Rogan said in a high-pitched British accent. He doubled down on likening the Duchess of Sussex to an influencer-like Kardashian, adding, "They're already so popular all they need to do is start endorsing f—— makeup lines and sneakers and watches and s—."

Rogan's teasing was pretty prescient — aside from launching a line of jam, honey, and other baking products, Markle started her own ShopMy page in March 2025 to make a commission off her affiliate links.

Meghan Markle was making major headlines following the release of her Netflix documentary with her husband, Prince Harry, in December 2022. The six-episode series, "Harry and Meghan," lets fans see behind the scenes of their love story and their 2018 wedding, as well as their time within the royal family and their decision to leave the UK. Unfortunately, the revealing docuseries didn't endear them to audiences, with many celebrities weighing in on Markle's behavior, including shock jock Howard Stern.

Stern took to his Sirius XM series (via Page Six) to criticize the couple after watching the series. "They come off like such whiny b——, I gotta tell you, man," he ranted. He also had a pretty valid point in his tirade, adding, "It's just weird to see two people who keep screaming, 'We wanted our privacy, we wanted the press to leave us alone,' and then what is their special that they put out on Netflix? Showing you them and their kids and their life." He added, "It's like the Kardashians, except boring."

Stern wasn't the only one to point out that the series seems to contradict Markle's desire for privacy. In fact, they received so much backlash the couple issued a statement to The New York Times via their press secretary, Ashley Hansen, which read in part, "Their statement announcing their decision to step back mentions nothing of privacy and reiterates their desire to continue their roles and public duties." 

Megyn Kelly has never been a big fan of Meghan Markle. In June 2023, Kelly spoke to Sky News Australia about the collapse of Markle's podcast, Archetypes, a short-lived project with Spotify from 2022 that only ran for one season. 

"The fact that she couldn't even make 12 episodes without complaining is absolutely pathetic... 12 episodes? I do that in two weeks — what is she complaining about? The problem is once you have an actual job as opposed to a stupid lifestyle website that nobody looks at...it actually requires some effort, some elbow grease, you have to prepare," Kelly ranted. The former Fox News anchor, who now hosts a popular podcast herself, also accused Markle of committing "fraud" by having producers conduct her interviews, saying, "You would never cut your own questions into the interview and try to pawn it off on your audience like it was yours. That's grossly unethical."

Two years later, Kelly attacked Markle about how she allegedly treated her coworkers. On an episode of her podcast, "The Megyn Kelly Show," the host explained, "She's a bully, all the young women who worked for her quit in tears, she wore them down, she was so nasty... Then when she started her own company, similar reports were coming out from Montecito that nobody can work for her, she's a nightmare behind the scenes."

The ladies of "The View" have taken jabs at Meghan Markle over the years. In April 2025, the Duchess of Sussex made headlines for sending her friends a jar of her homemade jam accompanied by a card signed 'With compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex'. Following the controversy, host Alyssa Farah Griffin was vocal about the oddly formal move, saying, "I find it a little cringe to give a gift to a close friend and sign it, 'Her Royal Highness.'" 

Sara Haines also took issue with the decision, adding, "It's kind of like a doctor when you keep referring to them as Doc and they're like, 'Call me Susan.' I would never refer to myself as Her Royal Highness."

Despite multiple hosts of the morning show shading the pretentious move, Sunny Hostin came to the former royal's rescue. She argued that Markle was using the title privately, so technically it was fair game, explaining, "The agreement that was made did not remove the title. It restricted the way it was to be used. It was not to be used publicly. And she was giving a friend some strawberry jam that she made herself ... That was a private gift."

People actually verified Hostin's claims in the wake of the scandal, noting that while the titles aren't meant to be used for commercial profit, they can be used in their personal lives. 

British star Sharon Osbourne has never shied away from blasting Meghan Markle in public. In April 2024, Osbourne ranted about Markle's decision to start her own brand, originally called American Riviera Orchard and later rebranded to As Ever, speaking to TalkTV about the former royal's latest business venture. While discussing the latest move, Osbourne quipped (via The Sun), "I think that, you know, they've tried so many different things, you know, a production deal, their podcasts... Now they're flogging household stuff. I mean, what else are they going to do? They've tried a bit of everything, and nothing's worked so far."

Aside from giving them a jab, Osbourne also offered some free advice to Markle and her famous husband, noting, "I think they've got to stop making themselves so accessible... It's like, you know, they turn up to the opening of an envelope, and I think that they've got to really pull back." 

That was hardly the first time Osbourne went after Markle. In the past, she has told Newsweek that the Duchess of Sussex is "hardly a victim," and claimed, "I think that you have to be over a certain bank balance for her to talk to you."

There's no love lost between these two Meghans! Meghan McCain was originally a self-proclaimed "Meghan Markle supporter," penning a lengthy X post in January 2025 explaining that while she had initially found the "Suits" actor "cool, stylish and refreshing," she now has a completely different take. Reacting to the trailer for Markle's Netflix series "With Love, Meghan," McCain wrote, "Now that she wants to be American again instead of British aristocracy what she seems to forget is Americans want real, raw, uncensored. All of this even in the trailer is highly curated, produced and out of touch."

McCain went on to criticize the tone of the Duchess of Sussex's glitzy new series in the X post, noting, "This concept is ill advised. I would have told her to do a show helping bring fresh food to food deserts in low income neighborhoods. Do something to help people instead of your ego. This is why the world doesn't like you, nothing else. Just completely and utterly tone deaf to the moment." 

One month later, McCain took to her podcast, "Citizen McCain," to go on another rant, stating, "I cannot stand her. I love people that I can relate to, like every other 40-year-old mom. I don't want to eat her jam ... I don't know what she's doing. This is like her ninth rebrand. I actually had to review her show and her podcast, and it was horrible. It was so boring."

It's not every day a president of the United States tells the world he doesn't like you, but that's just a day in the life of Meghan Markle. Back in 2020, on the heels of Markle and her husband, Prince Harry, making a video about the importance of voting ahead of that year's election, Trump made it clear he wasn't impressed with Markle. 

At a White House press briefing during his first term that September, Trump told reporters (via Bloomberg News), "I'm not a fan of hers." The president then took things one step further, adding, "I would say this – and she probably has heard that – I wish a lot of luck to Harry, because he's going to need it."

That occasion wouldn't be the last time Trump took a public swipe at Markle. Two years later, while appearing on "Piers Morgan Uncensored," Trump surmised about the end of the couple's marriage, noting, "I wanna know what's going to happen when it ends." When Morgan asked if Trump really thought their marriage would eventually end, Trump doubled down, responding, "I do. I've been a very good predictor, as you know. I've predicted almost everything. It will end, and it will end bad." Yikes!