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Meghan Markle Fans Are Sending Her Powerful Messages of Support on Twitter


It’s not often that a member of the royal family gets vulnerable with reporters. But on Friday, October 18, a revealing interview with Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle made the rounds online, in which she opens up about the intense media scrutiny that’s followed her since she became a royal. Fans are now responding to the interview by rallying behind the Duchess of Sussex with messages of support.

An upcoming documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey follows Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their recent royal tour of Southern Africa. In a teaser clip from the film, director Tom Bradby asks Markle how she’s minding her physical and mental health amid the media scrutiny she’s faced in recent months. Her answer is gut-wrenching. “I would say…look, any woman, especially when they’re pregnant, you’re really vulnerable,” Markle says. “So that was made really challenging. And then when you have a newborn, you know?

“And especially as a woman, it’s really, it’s a lot,” Markle continues in the clip. “So if you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed, it’s um…. Yeah, well, I guess, and also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I’m okay. But it’s a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes.”

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Fans online were stunned at the Duchess’s honesty—and at the difficulties she’s faced in silence. So Greg Hogben, a writer, asked royal fans to share posts with #WeLoveYouMeghan to show their support.

The response was overwhelming. Thousands of fans have written messages to the Duchess with #WeLoveYouMeghan. One called her “a true warrior”; several others noted that her story’s a potent reminder to treat everyone with kindness. Here’s just a sample of the messages fans sent.

High-profile voices have chimed into the conversation to share their support for the duchess, and to remind their followers that any role that comes with press attention can feel isolating. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez retweeted the clip, noting that Markle’s quick rise to notoriety was not unlike her own. “Sudden prominence is a very dehumanizing experience,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “There’s a part of your life that you lose, & it later dawns on you that you’ll never get it back.”

The official Sussex royal accounts haven’t responded to the trending moment, but fans can hope that Markle may have seen their messages of support and love—and that Markle now knows she’s not alone.



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Maleficent: Mistress of Evil Review: This Fairy Tale Updates the Disney Princess in Subtle, Powerful Ways


Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Disney’s sequel to the 2014 retelling of Sleeping Beauty with Angelina Jolie that’s in theaters now, is sort of strange and dark for a fairy tale. And naturally, that’s what makes it so great. The movie covers a lot of things—motherhood, the loss of innocence, love, hate, immigration, power, magic—without losing focus. The costumes are, and I cannot stress this enough, excellent. And best of all, it honors the most enduring tropes of Disney fairy tales (spoiler: good triumphs over evil) while updating the princess narrative in subtle and powerful ways.

Just look at Aurora’s (Elle Fanning) story. She’s now 21 years old and engaged to Prince Philip. It’s hardly surprising or revolutionary that she’s marrying her first boyfriend, but we then learn they’ve been dating for five years. Five years! Compare that to the “love at first sight, married the next day” plot of, well, just pick a movie. Aurora is no sleepy princess, either. She’s the strong-willed barefoot queen of the Moors, the forest wonderland where magical creatures live, having given her previous castle to “the people.” We stan an egalitarian monarch.

Jaap Buitendijk / Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

Of course, this will come as no surprise to those who saw the first film, a decidedly feminist reboot of Sleeping Beauty. But Linda Woolverton—the screenwriter behind both Maleficent films and basically your entire childhood (Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, hello!)—tells me that turning a tale of problematic true love on its head was a challenge at first. While writing the first film, she struggled with making the Disney villain sympathetic. “What on Earth happened to this woman that she was that pissed off?” she asked herself. And so, “I had to give her a real reason.”

The answer: She wrote a scene in which Maleficent is drugged by a paramour and wakes to find he’s cut off her wings. “It was…nothing we ever said out loud, but it feels like a date rape,” she tells me. “It’s funny, I worked really closely with Angelina Jolie on the whole script—she was fantastic—and we never actually said date rape. It wasn’t until after that it was like, ‘Oh, huh, that’s what that is.'”

That powerful metaphor in Maleficent’s backstory wasn’t the only twist in the first film, though. You may recall that it’s actually Maleficent herself who breaks the sleeping curse by kissing Aurora on the forehead. (Turns out the unconditional true love of a mother is greater than that of a random paramour’s.) That moment was yet another instance of Woolverton realizing, after the fact, what she had written. “For the first Maleficent, I was talking [in an interview] about the moment when Maleficent wakes Aurora up and gives this speech, and I broke down,” she says. “It was so terrible. I realized that the whole movie was an apology to my daughter for getting a divorce.” She adds, “I didn’t even realize it until that moment that the whole movie was about that.”



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Anne Hathaway's Modern Love Episode Is a Powerful Example of Dating as a Bipolar Woman


Modern Love, the popular New York Times column turned Amazon anthology series, premieres today (October 18) with a full lineup of talented stars—Tina Fey, Dev Patel, Julia Garner, and Andy Garcia among them—and each 30-minute story takes viewers on a journey of self-discovery and love.

The first episode alone nearly wrecked me, but it’s the series’ third, starring Anne Hathaway as a bipolar woman navigating her career and relationships, that is most striking. At times, it even feels like a Broadway musical thanks to the song and dance numbers (there’s even a Mary Tyler Moore theme song homage). But it’s the overarching message about mental health that’s the most important takeaway.

The episode—inspired by author Terri Cheney’s Modern Love column “Take Me As I Am, Whoever I Am,” as well as her memoir, Maniac—follows Lexi, a brilliant and charismatic attorney who’s been hiding her bipolar diagnosis from friends and colleagues. “Anne conveyed the charisma of mania beautifully,” Cheney says of the performance. Cheney knows firsthand how difficult it is to get right on screen. “Mania is often charming, but depression is another story. It’s sometimes an off-putting experience and very hard to describe or portray. Anne captured it in a way that not only showed its anguish, but also moved the viewer to empathy.”

Christopher Saunders/Amazon Studios

At first, Lexi appears to have a rewarding and glamorous life: She’s got a fantastic wardrobe, a spacious apartment, and a full dating life. But then, her depression plows through like a tornado. “I’ve seen people like Lexi, I have people in my life like Lexi, and I love people like Lexi,” Hathaway tells Glamour. “But I haven’t really seen someone like her ever on screen. So the idea that I was asked to represent someone who maybe hasn’t seen themselves on screen and could see themselves in this was exciting for me.”

To prep for the role, Hathaway spoke at length with Cheney and used her memoir as a guide. “I just let Terri’s story be my story,” she explains. “She took me through the physicality of what being manic feels like, how heavy objects become when you’re in this state of being.”

Cheney hopes viewers will take away a greater understanding of how complicated mental illness can be and recognize when loved ones might be struggling. “When you think of the illness in terms of a familiar face, it’s less frightening and easier to understand,” she says. “That’s why having someone as famous as Anne portray a woman with bipolar disorder is so terrific: It’s an antidote to shame.”

It’s also a reasons why it was so important for Hathaway to tell Cheney’s story. “I have people in my life who I love so deeply who have received various mental health diagnoses, and that’s not the whole story of who they are,” Hathaway explains. “But in many cases, because of an intolerant society, that’s the space of fear they’re kept in.”



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Meghan Markle Kicked Off Her Royal Tour of Southern Africa With a Powerful Speech


Long before she was the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle was a self-identified feminist and an activist for women’s rights. Since marrying Prince Harry and becoming a member of the royal family, she’s continued to champion causes around female empowerment, including her recent capsule fashion collection for Smart Works, an organization that helps dress and prepare women to re-enter the workforce.

So, it should come as no surprise that the duchess’s first speech during her latest royal tour of southern Africa touched on these issues. After arriving in Cape Town with baby Archie, she and Prince Harry made their way to the Nuyanga township where they were greeted with music and dancing by representatives of human rights group the Justice Desk.

Markle addressed the crowd, many of whom are doing important work to curb violence against women in their country.

“So to be able to meet all of you today who are standing up for what’s right in the face of adversity, I applaud you. We are encouraged to hear your president take the next steps toward preventing gender-based violence through education and necessary changes to reinforce the values of modern South Africa,” she said. “I do have to say I feel incredibly humbled to be in the presence of all of you as you stand firm in your core values of respect, dignity, and equality. I read a quote a few weeks ago and it resonated with me as I’ve been watching what’s been happening here and your active efforts. Maya Angelou, a legendary poet and civil rights activist, once said, ‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it, possibly without claiming it, she stands up for all women.'”

She continued, “Now I know it’s not easy and I know it must feel insurmountable at times, but your commitment wot what is right gives all of us hope, especially your brothers and sisters here in your community who need you to continue to shine your light brightly. Your commitment is inspiring. It is energizing. And it is extraordinary. You must keep going. You must know that what you are doing not only matters, it is vital because you are vital.”

Markle ended things with, “And just on one personal note, while I’m here with my husband as a member of the royal family. I want you to know, I am here with you as a mother, a wife, as a woman, as a woman of color and as your sister. I am here with you and I am here for you and I thank you so much for showing my husband and I the spirit of ubuntu. And I look forward to our time over the next few days together. Thank you so much for having us.”

Now, that’s one fantastic way to kick off a tour.



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Read Every Word of Michelle Williams' Powerful Emmys Speech About Equal Pay


On Sunday, September 22, Michelle Williams won the Emmy for her performance of Gwen Verdon in the FX drama miniseries Fosse/Verdon. And once on stage to give her acceptance speech, she dedicated her time to a very important cause: equal pay.

“Thank you so much to the television academy for this and to the incredible cast and crew who have worked so hard to make this TV show, especially you Sam Rockwell. I know how hard you worked,” she began. “I see this as an acknowledgment of what is possible when a woman is trusted to discern her own needs, feel safe enough to voice them, and respected enough that they’ll be heard.”

Williams then explained that every time she asked for anything she needed in order to do her job—big or small—she heard “yes” in reply. “When I asked for more dance classes, I heard yes,” she said. “More voice lessons, yes. A different wig, a pair of fake teeth not made out of rubber, yes.”

She continued, “All of these things, they require effort and they cost more money. But my bosses never presumed to know better than I did about what I needed in order to do my job and honor Gwen Verdon.”

More important, they didn’t just support her with props and lessons. They supported her with equal pay.

“And so I want to say, thank you so much to FX and to Fox 21 studios for supporting me completely and for paying me equally because they understood that when you put value into a person it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value. And then where do they put that value? They put it into their work,” she said. “And so the next time a woman and especially a woman of color—because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white, male counterpart—tells you what she needs in order to do her job listen to her. Believe her. Because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed because of her workplace environment and not in spite of it.”

She finished the speech with a shoutout to her daughter. “Matilda, this is for you, like everything else.”

Fans quickly took to social media to share their praise for Williams’ speech.

“That Michelle Williams speech belongs on a plaque,” one tweeted. “Michelle Williams thank you for acknowledging that there is a far greater wage gap for women of color than literally everyone else including white women,” another noted.

Celebrities including Kerry Washington and Debra Messing also took to Twitter to celebrate Williams.

Fans also called out how supportive Williams’ best friend, Busy Phillips, was during the speech:

Backstage, Williams spoke out more about equal pay. “I’d know from the inside how difficult it was to feel like you were ever really getting ahead. And no matter how many accolades [I got], I couldn’t make it translate into long-term security, so the discrepancy with All the Money in the World illustrated not just a larger point for me, a woman of privilege, but how difficult it is for women of all [backgrounds],” she told press. “When you look at all numbers, 52% on the dollar is what a hispanic woman will make compared to a white male.”

For the record, Williams is spot on with her speech. August 21 marks Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, the point in the year when the average black woman’s wages finally equal what a white man earned the year before. It’s time we all start talking more about pay disparity—on the Emmys stage and off.



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Global Climate Strike: The Most Powerful Scenes Worldwide


In more than 3,600 locations around the world today, students walked out of classrooms and took to the streets to demand action to fight climate change. This is the third climate strike that teens have led in 2019 and it will kick off the first-ever UN Youth Climate Summit in New York on Saturday. The movement began 12 months ago, when 16-year-old Greta Thunberg started protesting alone on Fridays outside of the Swedish Parliament building in Stockholm to call attention to the environmental crisis. Thunberg—who addressed Congress on the subject earlier this week—spent the afternoon marching in New York, alongside other teen activists.

And nationwide, girls in particular took a stand, demanding more from their parents and their politicians. Kate Puharich, a Chicago-based high school freshman told the Chicago Tribune that she’d “always been told, ‘Just wait when you’re older to get into politics.'” But when she saw the United Nations report that the damage done to the environment will become irreversible by 2030, she thought, “Wow, I can’t wait that long.”

Others echoed her demand for urgent action. “I’d rather go protest about the Earth and how something’s going wrong than sit in my classroom and act like nothing’s happening,” one high school student shared with the radio station WOSU in Columbus, Ohio.

“It’s our futures—if we don’t stand up now then eventually it will be too late,” San Francisco eighth grader Lily Salazar told Mercury News. “We’re going to have to live with it.”

Here, we’ve collected the most powerful and hopeful scenes from the Global Climate Strike.



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