Meghan's friend hits out: ‘Sickening and cruel'
IN LONDON
With opinion divided across the millions of people who have viewed Meghan's pregnancy dancing video, one of her friends has spoken out passionately in her defence.
Christopher Bouzy, who appeared in the Harry & Meghan Netflix docu-series, defended her against the wave of criticism she received recently after posting the throwback clip showing the couple dancing to the viral Baby Mama song in a birthing suite.
Some of the more extreme reactions from trolls also included unsubstantiated accusations that her pregnant bump may even be fake.
'Imagine, for a moment, what it would feel like to have some of the happiest and most vulnerable moments of your life turned into ammunition for hate,' Bouzy told Newsweek.
'Every maternity dress and every baby video becomes 'evidence' for strangers obsessively trying to prove your pregnancies were a sham. It is sickening and cruel.'
The social media expert, whose company has investigated the online trolling of Meghan, also pointed out that she had previously spoken about her 'suicidal thoughts at the height of the abuse'.
'One doesn't have to stretch to see a link between that despair and the ceaseless torrent of vilification she endured,' he told the publication.
'Beyond the personal toll on Meghan and Harry, there's a broader societal damage to consider. When conspiracy theories like these flourish, they corrode our collective grasp on reality and decency.'
Meghan's dancing post was part of her online tribute to her and Harry's daughter, Princess Lilibet, in honour of her fourth birthday last week.
The pair are also parents to six-year-old Prince Archie.
While her dancing video may have prompted a fair bit of mockery, it also managed to rack up thousands of likes and millions of views.
'Meghan is very pleased with the video,' a source close to Harry and Meghan told the Daily Mail this week, in the wake of the viral reaction.
'In the UK, everyone's reaction has been a bit prudish, but everywhere else, particularly in America and especially with young people, it has been a huge hit.
'She and her team count [the video] as a 'win,' which can only be a boost for sales. Her new products are marketed at Americans and not at the UK market.'
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