Oprah Winfrey’s recent decision to revisit her explosive 2021 conversation with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has sparked renewed backlash online, with critics questioning why the television icon felt compelled to justify her interviewing technique half a decade later.
In a segment for Vanity Fair’s “Scene Selection” series published yesterday, the 72-year-old broadcaster reviewed memorable career moments and offered a behind-the-scenes look at her approach during the March 7, 2021, CBS special that drew more than 17 million American viewers on linear television. The sit-down ran more than three and a half hours and required three separate reschedules before finally taking place.
Winfrey zeroed in on a particular exchange that became widely quoted: her question about whether Meghan’s silence surrounding royal life had been voluntary or mandated. The duchess answered with a single word: “The latter.”
The Defense That Backfired
The veteran broadcaster maintained that her word choice sought to nail down specifics — whether palace officials had actively barred Meghan from speaking publicly. She described her phrasing as deliberate and crafted to forestall any future distortion of the duchess’s testimony. While viewing the footage, she also made light of her own reaction captured on camera.
Royal followers on X responded with skepticism and outright scorn. Many described her justification as empty rhetoric and accused her of trying to create distance from a broadcast she had previously championed without reservation. Some noted that she appeared visibly uneasy while watching herself, interpreting the discomfort as evidence she had weathered intense blowback for her handling of the couple.
Numerous commenters complained that Winfrey never applied the same rigorous follow-up to other Sussex assertions that later crumbled under scrutiny. They pointed to the couple’s declaration that they exchanged private vows before the official ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor — a claim officials subsequently contradicted — and Meghan’s insistence that she conducted no research into the Royal Family before dating Harry.
A Broadcast That Rocked the Monarchy
The two-hour CBS special marked the couple’s first extended on-camera interview following their 2020 departure from Britain and their decision to step back from royal responsibilities. By the time it aired, they had already settled in Montecito. A visibly pregnant Meghan told Winfrey that unnamed royals had speculated about baby Archie’s complexion before his birth, and she charged the institution with spreading lies about her and Harry. The revelations sent shockwaves across continents.
Winfrey, who attended the Sussexes’ 2018 wedding and is believed to have met Meghan through CBS connections, has remained a vocal champion of the pair throughout their rift with the monarch and his eldest son and daughter-in-law. She had sought an earlier interview, but the duchess declined at the time, reportedly feeling the moment was inappropriate.
Awkward Timing as Royals Seek Detente
The resurfacing of the interview footage comes as Harry and Meghan work toward rapprochement with the monarchy, having met privately with King Charles earlier this month. One observer on social media asked bluntly why the topic was being dredged up now. Another remarked that the entire broadcast had failed to hold up over time.
Several users invoked the late Queen Elizabeth II’s restrained reply to the couple’s allegations of bigotry and abuse — that “recollections may vary” — a phrase that has come to encapsulate the Palace’s cautious stance toward the Sussexes’ narrative.
The Vanity Fair feature also covered lighter terrain, including Winfrey’s recollection of the celebrated 2004 giveaway in which she distributed 276 automobiles valued at more than $7 million. Yet it is her renewed commentary on the Sussex interview that has dominated reaction, raising questions about whether her attempt at clarification will quiet lingering disputes or simply ensure the conversation drags on. For now, the 2021 broadcast continues to cast a long shadow.
