Meghan Markle found herself laughing through an unexpectedly awkward exchange in the second season of her Netflix series With Love, Meghan.
While filming an episode with her friend Heather Dorak, the Duchess of Sussex struck up a conversation with a mixologist who casually revealed that he once worked as a lawyer in New York.
When Meghan eagerly asked if he watched her former show Suits, his blunt answer stunned her.
Meghan Markle’s guest called Suits “basic cable” during a candid interaction
Image credits: With Love, Meghan / Netflix
The guest in question, mixologist Payman Bahmani-Bailey, wasn’t shy about his opinion.
After Meghan, 44, mentioned Suits, where she played Rachel Zane for seven seasons, he quickly replied, “No, no, I don’t watch basic cable.”
Image credits: meghan / Instagram
The remark caught Meghan off guard, but she managed to chuckle as he doubled down, adding that he preferred shows with “curse words and stuff.”
Meghan laughed out loud, saying, “Great, I love it!”
Image credits: With Love, Meghan / Netflix
Some netizens bashed Meghan for her reaction to her guest’s comment, with some stating that her actions didn’t seem genuine at all.
“Well, what a ridiculous thing to ask. It’s again just a way to make it about herself. He was an actual lawyer. She played a bit part in a TV drama series set in a law firm. There’s no commonality there,” one commenter wrote.
Image credits: With Love, Meghan / Netflix
Others also noted that Suits was not a popular show in New York anyway, since the series really blew up in Canada, not the United States.
“A New York lawyer wouldn’t have even HEARD of the show Suits. It was filmed in Canada and not on ANYONE’S radar in the States,” a netizen wrote.
Image credits: With Love, Meghan / Netflix
Some, however, also called out the negativity surrounding Meghan and her projects.
“Why all the hate from the British? You people need to move on. You’re obsessed with her. You blame her for everything even though Harry chose her. Get over it. Grow up,” one commenter wrote.
Image credits: With Love, Meghan / Netflix
“Too many sad, pathetic individuals hating on a woman they don’t personally know, as she lives her life just fine despite you all,” another stated.
Meghan was reportedly concerned that her Suits character could affect how people perceive her in real life
Meghan Markle left the hit legal drama in 2018 before marrying Prince Harry, but the show has remained a defining part of her public image, according to the Daily Mail.
Image credits: With Love, Meghan / Netflix
According to royal biographer Tom Bower in his book Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors, Meghan worried that her character’s storylines could affect her real-life reputation.
“Uppermost in her mind was her image. Convinced that she was on the cusp of international celebrity, she had become preoccupied with Rachel Zane’s character.
“Constantly, she absorbed (Suits creator) Aaron Korsh’s vision for Zane, the feisty opportunist with extraordinary manipulative skills. Her own reputation, she feared, was threatened by her portrayal in Suits as an ‘unfaithful woman,’” Bower wrote.
The royal biographer also claimed that Meghan had asked Aaron Korsh to terminate her character’s affair storyline because she was worried about “potential backlash.”
“Korsh agreed, aware that he was not only writing a good story but also Meghan’s real-life character and personality,” Bower stated.
Meghan recently clarified why she loosely uses “Sussex” as a last name
Beyond her viral interaction with her Netflix guest, Meghan Markle recently sparked headlines by addressing her surname.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang, the Duchess explained that she and Prince Harry use “Sussex” loosely as a family name for themselves and their children, Archie and Lilibet.
That being said, Meghan said that her official name is “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.”
Image credits: Suits Official / YouTube
“My legal name is Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, but Sussex for us works as our family name, and it’s the name we share with our children. Since I’ve been married, that’s what I’ve been called,” she said.
She admitted that the naming situation is confusing, but it was the result of her marrying into royalty.
Image credits: Suits Official / YouTube
“When I got married, I changed my name, but it’s a complicated one for people to understand because our last name is not typical in that construct.
“It sounds so silly to say because I went there and I’m American, and then you come back and as an American you go, ‘I’m so confused!’ But it’s a dukedom,” she said.
Image credits: With Love, Meghan / Netflix
Meghan’s comments about her legal name have received polarizing reactions among netizens, with some royal fans arguing that her surname is actually “Mountbatten-Windsor,” not “Sussex.”
Meghan, however, did not mention a surname of “Mountbatten-Windsor” during her conversation with the Bloomberg host.
Netizens shared their thoughts on Meghan’s awkward interaction with her Netflix guest on social media
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