Meghan, ever the connoisseur of self-promotion, apparently believed that CBS’s *Sunday Morning* would be run by none other than Oprah’s best friend, Gayle King. In reality, *Sunday Morning* is helmed by Jane Pauley—a fact that seemingly escaped Meghan’s royal radar. For someone who fancies herself a media maven, it’s baffling that she didn’t grasp this minor detail. Clearly, her extensive knowledge of the media world didn’t extend to the basics of television scheduling.
The issue didn’t stop there. Meghan’s insistence on launching the interview on her birthday—because, why wouldn’t the world stop for Meghan’s special day—turned out to be a spectacular miscalculation. CBS wanted to air the interview in the fall, a period when people are back from summer vacations and more likely to tune in. But Meghan’s team decided her birthday was the perfect time, despite the network’s strategic advice. The result? The interview flopped. The show struggled to capture an audience and ended up overshadowed by other programs. The lesson here: birthday parties might not be the best time for media events, especially when trying to engage a broader audience.
Adding to the comedy, CBS had invested heavily in promoting the interview, expecting it to be a game-changer. However, when Meghan’s team insisted on unapproved modifications to the interview format, CBS had to rely on clips instead of a full promotional push. It almost felt as though Meghan and her team were playing a game of how to sabotage a media opportunity.
It’s not just the interview that’s been a mess. Meghan’s charitable efforts, particularly with the Archewell Foundation, have similarly faltered. Once touted as a grand philanthropic platform, Archewell has become a symbol of her lack of genuine commitment. The foundation’s supposed focus on charitable work is laughable, given that Meghan reportedly devotes less than an hour a week to it.
Despite these setbacks, Meghan seems perpetually stunned by the backlash. The interview didn’t give her the headlines she craved, perhaps because the world is more interested in pressing global issues than in Meghan’s repetitive stories. Instead of learning from these experiences, she and her team appear to double down on their approach, proving that they might be the only ones who haven’t figured out the formula for success in the grand theater of Meghan Markle’s media career.
The latest act is yet another example of how high-stakes gambles frequently flop. It seems that every attempt to reposition a public image ends up as another act in a farcical play. Perhaps, in time, Meghan will learn that a touch of humility and a lot more listening might just turn the tide.