"It’s really on the people": Melissa McCarthy defends Meghan Markle from online hate

Bridesmaids actress Melissa McCarthy exclusively said in a statement to Page Six that she is perplexed by the hate her friend and Suits alum Meghan Markle gets from the public. For those uninitiated, the duo collaborated to launch the latter’s 40x40 mentorship program in 2021. The former’s statement comes after Markle addressed the online animosity she was subjected to at her recent South By Southwest’s Opening Day Keynote Panel appearance.

During the Broadway opening for her Suffs show on Thursday, April 18, Melissa McCarthy told Page Six:

“It bums me out for every woman and every person, that for no reason, people just like to attack.”

Speaking about the Duchess of Sussex, McCarthy also said:

“A smart interesting woman that has her own life, for some reason, is incredibly threatening to some people.”

While opining that Meghan Markle is “wonderful” and “awesome,” the 53-year-old also said:

“I always think, how inspiring! I’ve never once been threatened by someone who is amazing. I just think how inspiring. It’s really on the people throwing the hate.”

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Meghan Markle and Melissa McCarthy collaborated on the former’s 40x40 campaign in 2021

It comes as no surprise that Melissa McCarthy recently defended Meghan Markle. In 2021, the former joined the royal to celebrate her 40th birthday by launching the 40x40 program.

The campaign that was unveiled to the public encouraged experts around the world to support women by giving them 40 minutes of their time to assist them in getting back to work.

In the playful video, Melissa McCarthy asked Meghan Markle what she wanted for her birthday, while the latter said that she was asking 40 of her friends to lend 40 minutes of their time to:

“help mentor a woman who’s mobilizing back into the workforce.”

The campaign secured pledges from several industry leaders, including Deepak Chopra, Adele, Gloria Steinem, Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, Stella McCartney, and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, among others.

Speaking about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who also made an unexpected appearance in the campaign video, McCarthy exclusively told Access Hollywood:

“They were so sweet and funny. I just found them very inspiring. They’re carving out their own lives. They’re carving out their lives for their kids.”

Melissa McCarthy’s opinions on the mother of two were made public after the latter said on the South By Southwest’s Opening Day Keynote Panel in March this year that she experienced severe online bullying when she was pregnant with her children, Archie and Lilibet, who are four and two years old, respectively. Meghan Markle said:

“To really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful. It’s not catty, it’s cruel. And why you would do that, certainly, when you’re pregnant, with a newborn, we all know as moms, it’s such a tender and sacred time.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry also shared the tremendous amount of scrutiny the former received in their 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which discussed the couple’s exit from the Royal Family. In the same, Markle revealed that she was not “just being thrown to the wolves” but being “fed” to them.

During the couple’s 2021 CBS tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, Markle also discussed the mental health struggles she battled while facing criticism in the U.K. for her marriage to Harry. Markle revealed that she began developing suicidal thoughts, which she did not want to admit to her husband.

Prince Harry also released a public statement in 2016 after his relationship with Meghan Markle was made public. While addressing the abuse she received from the British press, Harry stated that he was “deeply disappointed” by the news outlets and he also believed that it was unfair for Markle to be “subjected to such a storm” of criticism, which was not only harsh but also racist.