Meghan's Debut First-Person Reel

I thought she would nail this, but it was a nose dive.

I have a notification on Instagram that is supposed to alert me anytime Meghan posts to her Instagram. I have had that enabled for almost a month now and nary a peep, so I almost didn’t comprehend the banner that dropped on my phone yesterday: “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex shared a reel…” Is this a fan account sending me something, I wondered? Then it clicked. After almost a month…we had content from Montecito!

I zipped to Instagram and shared the reel before even watching it. Then I sat back to enjoy. Wow, I thought, in the first 1.5 seconds, she is actually going all in and posting organic content—just like I advocated she should! This is where she is really going to be successful. Well, that thought evaporated in about three seconds. I actually couldn’t finish the reel. I got close to the end, but bailed before she wrapped it up. I had to come back later and watch the final few seconds.

Now, I speak for myself, but I found this highly, highly cringe. Pausing briefly on the absurdity of the substance: Meghan isn’t a nameless suburban mom, how hard can it be for the Duchess of Sussex to get a message through to another celebrity? These people just tell their publicist to call the other person’s publicist and next thing you know, the two famous people are chatting. Because famous people talk to other famous people. Unless she is saying Billie Eilish wouldn’t take her call, making this connection should not be a heavy lift. It seems like Meghan projects the attitude she wants the audience to receive her. We are supposed to be squealing with excitement and wowed this happened…I guess. Anyway, the substance of the reel aside, the delivery is what really has everyone uncomfortable.