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Filmmaker, author, and former actress Justine Bateman has criticized Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for their alleged “photo op” at an evacuation center for the Los Angeles wildfires.
“Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers. What a repulsive ‘photo op’ they achieved. They are ‘touring the damage?’ Are they politicians now? They don't live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists. #PalisadesFire,” Justine Bateman tweeted.
Her post was in response to @hrrysgreysuits’ tweet, which showed a Fox 11 Los Angeles coverage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit to the victims in Pasadena on January 10, 2025.
“The dumb reporter called her Princess Markle. The two disaster chasers came out for some new PR and attention,” the original post was captioned.
Harry and Meghan were seen interacting with those affected and the Pasadena Mayor, Victor Gordo.
Justine Bateman, the sister of actor-director Jason Bateman, has also condemned Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and her administration in the wake of the wildfires and their disastrous aftermath.
Exploring the relationship between Jason and Justine Bateman
Justine Bateman, 58, is the elder sister of Jason Bateman, 55. They were born and raised in Rye, New York, before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, and later to California. Their father, Kent Bateman, is a former actor, writer, director, and producer from Hollywood, while their mother, Pan Am, was an English-born flight attendant.
The brother-sister duo began their acting careers as child artists in Hollywood. Jason starred as James Cooper Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie at the age of 11 before being cast on Silver Spoons. Meanwhile, Justine Bateman was 16 when she debuted on the popular TV series Family Ties, which starred Michael J. Fox and ran for seven seasons through the 1980s.
Despite their common interest in the industry, they both took hiatuses at different times in their careers. Jason took a break in the 1990s before returning in 2003 for his Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated role in Arrested Development.
“Having thought, 'This is really fun,' and staying at the party a little bit too long, I'd lost my place in line in the business; it was a case of trying to claw that back towards the end of the 90s, and not getting a lot of great responses,” Jason said during a January 2022 interview with The Guardian.
Calling it his “wilderness years,” he shared that he stopped “everything on purpose, to catch up with all these inabilities I had as a kid because I was always working.” He added that the hiatus let him “get the wiggles out.”
In 2013, Jason shared with GQ how Justine took time off work to focus on motherhood and explore other ventures.
"I think her passion for it had waned a bit. And so the fact that her activity is not as frequent or as high-profile as it was back then, I don’t think bothers her as some might think. In fact, her interests have gone into other areas. She’s now studying, I think, computer science,” Jason shared.
He added that Justine was “far too smart to sort of be at the mercy of somebody else’s agenda or rhythm or schedule — at an industry’s rhythm or schedule.” He mentioned that she was “happy” with whatever she was doing.
While Jason continued his acting career, Justine Bateman published Fame: The Hijacking of Reality in 2018. The book discussed the pros and cons of exposure to the limelight at a young age, a topic Justine explored during an interview with People Magazine that same year.
“We were at the level of fame where you just can’t go anywhere. You just try to keep your head above water ... [and] stay alive… [For one], I found it frustrating having no control over what people thought of you. I’m not saying I’m ungrateful for fame at all. I’m just saying it’s a crazy emotional experience,” she shared.
During his 2013 interview with GQ, Jason Bateman also discussed early fame. He shared that he didn’t “recommend” parents put their kids into the entertainment industry, as his own experience made him realize that at the age when kids try to figure out who they are, child artists such as himself “grew up training myself to pretend to be other people.”
He mentioned how it slowed down an “organic process” of growing up and finding one’s "identity."
“I didn’t really have a great engine to navigate this confusing period of my life,” he said.
In 2021, Justine Bateman, an advocate of natural aging, released another book titled Face: One Square Foot of Skin. In it, she interviewed 25 people about aging naturally and turned their anecdotes into a fictional novel. The same year, she tapped into filmmaking with her debut film, Violet.
Justine and Jason Bateman maintain close relationships with each other and their respective families. He’s married to former actress Amanda Anka, the daughter of Canadian singer Paul Anka.
Bateman and Anka have been married since 2001 and share two kids, daughters Francesca (born October 2006) and Maple (born February 2012). Amanda has appeared in films and shows, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Renegade, Beverly Hills, 90210, ER, The Fosters and Bone. She is now the co-producer on The Morning Show.
Meanwhile, Justine Bateman has been married to Mark Fluent for over 23 years. The couple has two children: a daughter, Gianetta, and a son, Duke.
More about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's involvement in the relief efforts of wildfires amid Justine Bateman's criticism
Amid the ongoing Southern California brushfires, Justine Bateman spoke to Fox News’ Jesse Watters on January 10, 2025. The Hollywood Hills resident shared that she was “pretty p*ssed” by her city’s condition and slammed the government's inefficiency.
“If you’re going to run a city, or run a state, you have to take care of the basics. And that’s [to] make sure that your fire and police department[s] are well funded. If you’re not doing everything you can to take care of those problems if they arise, then get out. You are useless to us,” she shared.
Representatives of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have not commented on Justine Bateman’s criticism of their “photo op.” However, as per Fox News Digital, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have opened their $29 million Montecito home (90 miles from LA) to friends and family impacted by the blazes.
They have actively been involved in relief efforts, including raising funds, evacuating, and donating clothes, food, and other essentials to the community. Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo even called them “great people” with “great personalities” while talking to reporters.
“They really buoyed the spirits of the first responders. We visited the command post at the Rose Bowl and people were very happy to see them… 'They (Harry and Meghan) want to be as helpful as they can be and really they just want to be supportive,” Gordo said.
“They took the time to meet the people who were affected and spend time. They are just very caring people who are very concerned for their friends and neighbours.”
The Pasadena Mayor also mentioned that the British royal couple visited fire sites in the city and Altadena and spoke to the victims. They visited the Pasadena Convention Center and were seen interacting with Jose Andres, the founder of World Central Kitchen.
Meghan Markle has postponed the release of her Netflix show With Love, Meghan from January 15 to March 3 in solidarity with the crisis.
