‘Fake perfection’: Former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown slams Meghan Markle over ‘preposterous’ Netflix show

Meghan Markle’s latest Netflix project, With Love, Meghan, has seemingly stumbled right out of the gate. After suffering a delayed release, the show officially premiered on March 4. However, it quickly lost the hype Markle had worked hard to build since late last year, with streaming numbers nosediving in a matter of days. But that’s just one of the Duchess of Sussex’s worries — since she’s now being hit by criticisms left and right.

Former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown recently put out a scathing review of Markle and her show, and she made sure to call out what she thinks the Duchess did wrong with the series, which was intended as a platform to boost her image. In the latest Substack newsletter, Fresh Hell, Brown did not mince words as she poured out her honest thoughts after watching With Love, Meghan.

“With her unerring instinct for getting it wrong, Meghan has come out with a show about fake perfection just when the zeitgeist has turned raucously against it,” she wrote. “[Markle] has never figured out a convincing persona. Masquerading as an influencer, she’s the ultimate follower, which inevitably means she is behind the curve.”

Brown also didn’t hold back when she discussed the show more broadly, slamming it as “preposterous” and ridiculing the opening scene. “With Love, Meghan never really recovers from its preposterous opening scene of Meghan, dressed in a veiled beekeeper’s space suit, whispering with her apiarist about the wonder of bees,” she wrote.

As if that wasn’t enough, Brown claimed Markle’s career was spiralling in reverse from the looks of things. “[The show] is a testament to how far the beleaguered Duchess of Sussex has rowed herself backward in time since she first burst into the public consciousness more than eight years ago,” Brown wrote.

Beyond her new series, the former editor went on to slam Markle for exiting the Royal Family with Prince Harry instead of sticking it out until Queen Elizabeth II’s passing. “All Meghan had to do was shut up and wait. Go quiet for a couple of years, start a family, keep her eyes trained on the splendid royal real estate that would soon come up for grabs,” she wrote, while noting that the royal couple could have established a bigger following and influence as royals by now.

Brown’s criticism of Markle and her new show did not come as a surprise, however, since she’s made it clear in the past that she’s not a fan of the royal couple. During an appearance on The Ankler podcast in October 2024, Brown even slammed both Markle and Prince Harry for being allegedly “addicted to drama.”

PSA 📢: Watch The Oprah Interview, The Me You Can’t See, Harry & Meghan Netflix Documentary Series & read SPARE.

The only point of reference, on anything pertaining to Harry & Meghan. All these projects are historical records.

Their story, in their own words#HarryandMeghan pic.twitter.com/2jNAxht6JU

— Lili (@angellilix) January 18, 2025

Despite the backlash, Markle is getting the last laugh since Netflix has already ordered a second season for her lifestyle and cooking series even though it was only streamed in 526,000 U.S. households in its first five days on the platform. In comparison, Part 1 of the Harry & Meghan series pulled in 2.1 million households in the same period.

Considering that the Sussexes’ new project is losing steam quickly and their royal ties are in tatters, it’s possible that Markle and Prince Harry’s Hollywood fairytale could face a harsh reality check sometime soon.