On the internet, being both a girl and annoying is the biggest crime you can commit. A prime example of this is Meghan Markle’s new show “With Love, Meghan.” Based on the fact that it debuted in the Netflix top 10 and has already been renewed for a season two, it should be considered a moderate success. Yet, the same show has irritated and, more accurately, angered, those who hate her (and those who don’t). Since the release, the Cut has explained that Markle has been called “painfully cringy” and “simply nauseating.”
My question is, what has Markle done other than launching a TV show with the purpose of showing viewers some easy recipes? Her show was by no means a work of genius. But, it fills its intended purpose of being comfortable, fun and extremely unrealistic.
Yes, the show doesn’t ever acknowledge that it is promoting the kind of lifestyle that many of us will never live. In that way, it could be called “out of touch.” But, there is something to be said about the entertainment we get from watching wildly rich people doing casual things, like cook. It’s a tale as old as television—Markle isn’t really doing anything new.
So, why do similar lifestyle TV shows not garner the same kind of negative attention that Markle’s has? The show isn’t the reason she is getting awful feedback; it’s the fact that people find her annoying, and the release of her show is their go-ahead to unleash what they’ve already been.
And this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this happen to a woman that has a knack for making the internet mad. You know her, you probably hate her… Blake Lively. While there was a huge controversy over who was lying about what really went down on the set of “It Ends With Us,” most scrollers sided with Justin Baldoni, even though he was accused of sexual assault, for no clear reason other than the fact that Lively annoys them.
Baldoni’s supporters have called for Lively’s public apology, showed their continued support for him and have even themselves said sorry for “what [Lively] is putting [him] through.”
The fact is that the case has not been resolved yet, and somehow, many are still siding with the man. While I hope the sexual-assault allegations against Baldoni are false, it’s better to simply believe the victim first. Finding a woman that you don’t even know irritating is not a way to justify accusing her of lying about assault.
I have never had any ill will toward Markle or Lively and hadn’t even thought about either of them until their recent scandals. While I don’t find either of the women annoying in the same way so many trolls on the internet do, I do think it’s OK to have opinions about people online. These celebrities are choosing to be in the public eye, and therefore must deal with the criticisms that come with the job. What does bother me is that I can’t seem to remember a time when a man, whether his “crime” be online irritation or sexual assault, evoked the same kind of rage that so many women do by simply being an annoyance—a crime that isn’t worthy of an eye roll, let alone thousands of cruel hate comments. It’s about time we put a stop to people making a hobby out of hiding behind a screen and finding any reason to pick women apart.
