Meghan’s new Netflix series With Love, Meghan launched to global attention. The show, centered on joy, food, and lifestyle, quickly climbed Netflix’s top ten lists in multiple countries. But before it could even settle, critics rushed to tear it down. With Love, Meghan review discussions became more about backlash than the actual content.

The media reaction followed a predictable script. British tabloids and certain entertainment outlets wasted no time in branding the series as shallow, unnecessary, and an ego trip. Social media trolls latched onto the criticism, dissecting everything from the show’s aesthetic to Meghan’s fruit platters. But the real issue is not Meghan’s show. The real issue is who is allowed to create content without being picked apart.

The Media’s Negative Reviews of With Love, Meghan

Certain media outlets are mocking Meghan for encouraging parents to make fruit salad with their children. According to them, no mother has time for that. One of the strangest attacks came from tabloids claiming Meghan stole ideas from food bloggers. Food influencer Meg Quinn was one of the people whose name was dragged into this fake controversy. Instead of fueling the outrage, Quinn set the record straight. She made it clear that food content is naturally repetitive and no one invented the idea of a fruit board or taco spread. But the media needed something negative to say about Meghan, so they invented a scandal.

White and Male Critics Always Think They Set the Standard

With Love, Meghan debuted as the 10th most popular show globally, proving audiences are watching despite biased reviews. The What’s on Netflix account, managed by Kasey Moore, a well-known Meghan critic, misleads by appearing as an official Netflix source and falsely claims the show is critically panned by both audiences and critics.

White male critics are leading the charge against the show. Variety’s Daniel D’Addario, The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage, and The Irish Times’ Ed Power—who have reviewed cooking and lifestyle content before—suddenly find Meghan’s show laughable. Ed Power loves a good cooking show—when it’s Gordon Ramsay yelling at terrified chefs. But Meghan calmly making fruit salad? Unforgivable. Stuart Heritage, familiar with lifestyle TV, acts as if the concept With Love, Meghan is absurd. Daniel D’Addario calls it an “ego trip” instead of reviewing it fairly. Their issue isn’t the genre—it’s her.

A collage of negative reviews from The Guardian, Variety, and The Irish Times criticizing Meghan Markle’s Netflix series With Love, Meghan. The headlines label the show as “pointless,” an “ego trip,” and “bland.” The image highlights the pattern of white male critics leading the negative discourse around the show.

Dan Wootton, another critic, admitted to hate-watching just to bash the show. These men feel entitled to dictate the value of a series that was never made for them. Women, especially Women of Color, constantly face this double standard. White celebrities launch lifestyle brands without backlash, yet Meghan is ridiculed for the same.

The media still lets white men control the narrative WOC-led projects. Yet, despite their attacks, Meghan is still winning becuase the numbers don’t lie.

Meghan’s Success is the Real Problem

The criticism is not about the show. It is about Meghan succeeding on her own terms. The media was ready to call the show a failure before it even aired. When it debuted as a top Netflix show, those same critics tried to dismiss the numbers. But the facts speak for themselves. The show is popular. The audience is engaged.

Entertainment outlets like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter ran negative reviews while ignoring the show’s growing success. Some of the harshest takes came from male writers who are not the target audience. They did not watch the show in good faith. They approached it looking for flaws. Meanwhile, viewers who actually enjoyed the series pointed out that it is wholesome, well-produced, and far from the disaster critics claim.

The Double Standards Are Impossible to Ignore

The media has spent years attacking Meghan for leaving the royal family and building her own success. Their hypocrisy is glaring. The same critics who call Meghan’s Netflix show shallow have spent decades glorifying royal traditions, no matter how outdated or frivolous they may be.

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British taxpayers fund a royal institution that parades billionaires in golden carriages while urging the public to tighten their belts. That is acceptable, but Meghan cooking in her California kitchen is somehow offensive? The backlash only makes sense when you realize Meghan was never supposed to succeed in their eyes.

If Kate Middleton launched a Netflix show about family, food, and wellness, the press would praise it as elegant and relatable. Instead, Meghan’s show faces endless scrutiny. Meanwhile, the British media conveniently ignores the underwhelming performance of royal projects. Prince William’s documentary We Can End Homelessness flopped, drawing just 1.5 million viewers for the first episode—below its time slot average—and dropping to 1.2 million for the second. In contrast, Prince Harry’s ITV interview in January 2023 attracted 4.7 million viewers. Kate Middleton’s Together at Christmas also underperformed.

The same outlets that claim Meghan’s show is a failure are silent when royal projects underdeliver. The real issue has never been about quality—it is about who is allowed to win. Meghan was never meant to thrive outside the royal bubble, and that is what truly unsettles her critics.

Viewers Decide What Succeeds, Not the Media

The numbers prove that viewers are tuning in. With Love, Meghan ranked in the top ten on Netflix in over 40 countries within a day of release. It secured fourth place in Canada, Ireland, Kenya, and South Africa, and landed in the top six in the US. Even noted Sussex critic Chris Ship had to admit that despite the harsh reviews, With Love, Meghan secured a spot at #6 on Netflix UK’s most-watched list, proving that audience interest does not align with the media’s relentless negativity.

The series also performed well across Europe, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, reaching the top five in countries like Croatia, Cyprus, and Trinidad and Tobago. While critics scramble to discredit Meghan’s success, they cannot control the audience’s response. People are watching, and the numbers speak for themselves.

Meghan is building something beyond the royal institution that tried to control her. That alone is enough to make her critics furious. But at the end of the day, their opinions do not matter. Viewers are tuning in, and that is what truly determines success.

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