10 COMMENT
Prince Harry hits out at media
Royal condemns ‘racist’ press coverage of his relationship with Meghan Markle Caragh Medlicott
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The reaction of both the media and the general public suggests to me we’re all a lot more old fashioned than we like to think.
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Hugh Doyle
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As it is a symbol which some may find offensive, prohibiting it being worn during these upcoming football matches is probably for the best.
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ress attention has been swirling around Prince Harry and his American girlfriend Megahn Markle in recent weeks after he confirmed the pair’s romantic relationship in an official statement. It wasn’t all love hearts and roses though as Prince Harry hit out at media for their coverage of the relationship, and – in particular- their representation of Markle. The statement describes a ‘wave of abuse and harassment’ against her, damning much of the content in the press as ‘outright sexism and racism’. The reaction of both the media and the general public suggests to me we’re all a lot more old fashioned than we like to think. While both celebrity culture and the obsession with the royal family - (come on people, they’re just a rich family born into a name!)- s somewhat mind-boggling to me. What is truly disheartening is the downright awful treatment of Markle. People seem enraged that Prince Harry is romantically connected to someone who is, 1) mixed race and 2) an actress who has partaken in some more “steamy” scenes in the US drama series Suits. The implication being that these things somehow lessen her worth as a person, think about that for a minute, that’s really bad, isn’t it? It is racism and it is slutshaming. No matter how you dress it up, it’s pretty ugly. The general consensus seems to be that by grace of being a Prince,
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Harry should be with some white, conservative, pristine daughter-of-alord. Because this is someone who is the ‘right match’ for a Prince, because a Prince is inherently better than the average person, right? And any woman who is not white, ‘respectable’ or from a rich family, is ill fitting of his status. Now I’m sure a lot of people would argue with this, say that’s not what the media or people ranting online have meant at all. But if you strip it back to the bare bones, that is what people have been implying. There’s an overriding sense that people think Markle is just not good enough for Harry. When ultimately they are two people that none of us actually know. They may be public figures, but we don’t know them on a personal level so the ‘who’s punching’ debate isn’t one we can legitimately have. The articles I have seen swirling online have truly amazed me. The things people pick at make you weep for humanity. There’s been stories on how big (or, apparently, small) Markle’s mother’s house is. A breakdown of her ‘ancestry’ with nod, nod, wink, wink comments about her statements on being proud of her heritage (the undertone being, she’s proud of her history!? Pah! Could you imagine?). The backlash after Harry’s statement wasn’t much better either. The Sun even said Harry needed to ‘get real’, explaining that as a Prince he can’t expect the same level of privacy as a normal person. While I
Pictured: Prince Harry is used to receiving attention in the media. (Source: KoenbrNZ via Flickr)
don’t want to be caught agreeing with The Sun, there is an extent to which Harry can’t expect to receive the same privacy as us lowly commoners. Just as he is afforded many privileges and luxuries most of us could never dream of. However, The Sun are somewhat missing the point in that, Harry wasn’t just calling for privacy, but respect. He was calling for the press to refrain from making racist and sexist comments about his girlfriend, and that is, after all, a bit more reasonable. Others have come out to moan about the amount of attention the
story has received, asking why we care about the royal family so much in the first place. I can’t say I disagree with this sentiment, but the unfortunate reality is, a lot of people do care. And while their relationship still gets attention in the media, Markle deserves to be treated with the same level or respect and privacy we would give any other human being with. To me this whole case ultimately reveals that as a society we still have prejudices to fight and hierarchies to break down. No human is inherently better than another, so maybe we should stop acting as such.
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Harry was calling for the press to refrain from making racist and sexist comments about his girlfriend.
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Should Rooney be a role model?
feel bad for Wayne Rooney. Maybe I’m biased as a United fan, but England’s all-time record goalscorer seems to be getting a bad rap as of late. Firstly, for his early season form (which even I admit was dire) but more recently for his antics off the pitch. If you haven’t heard, Rooney went for a drink at the team’s hotel bar with some teammates on the Saturday after England’s match with Scotland. At the same time, a wedding was taking place and the wedding party asked if they could take some photos with Rooney and others. They obliged by this point however Rooney was, as one source said so eloquently to The Sun “really s***faced”. The Sun then published these photos and Rooney has had to apologise to Gareth Southgate and some of the FA’s top brass. But why should Rooney have to apologise? The FA says it’s because “England personnel have a responsibility to behave appropriately at all times”. Sure, that makes a bit of sense. England players are in the public eye and therefore can be role models. But really, always? Ultimately the reason this has kicked off is because Rooney was drinking at a hotel bar, got carried away while drinking with friends and someone from the wedding asked
to take a few pictures. If the wedding wasn’t there then it’s unlikely we have ever known about this. So really, is Rooney the culprit here or a victim of his own fame? I obviously don’t have the experience of being a celebrity but I think I’m allowed to make an assumption or two about being one. One that with the fortune and fame comes a lot of pressure from the public and two celebrities like to have a good time like us normal people. Then why not let celebrities, especially when under such pressure from the media and in Rooney’s case, disgruntled United fans like myself, have a good time? Rooney may be the England captain and therefore a role model for people around the globe nevertheless I think in this case he has been unfairly treated and scrutinised to such an extent by the media. I could take this opportunity to question whether Rooney or footballers, in general, should be seen as role models. However, I don’t want to go down this path because I feel I would be flogging a dead horse since we ask this question every time some form of celebrity does something controversial (*cough*, Kim Kardashian) and yet they remain role models no matter what they do. What I will say however is that this
Pictured: England vs Scotland was played at Wembley. (Source: Mick Backer via Flickr)
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is one incident and Rooney has done a lot of work for charity, for example, he is aiming to raise five million pounds for charity in his testimonial year and having footballers as role models does at least promote exercise among young people. What we should be questioning here is why this is a story. I’m not questioning the need for freedom of the press but almost the opposite. With the freedom given to the press, there is a responsibility to hold peo-
ple to account and report the stories which affect people. However, with this story, if you can call it that, this hasn’t happened. Instead a few photos have led to an overreaction by the FA who have now banned England players from going out. Rooney has fallen victim to a new age of journalism which relies on social media and the number of clicks generated. It says a lot we know more about Rooney’s Saturday night than our own Brexit plans.
Rooney has fallen victim to a new age of journalism which relies on social media and the number of clicks generated.
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