Serena Williams is proud of her friend Meghan Markle.
In the debut episode of Stuart Weitzman’s “Shine Series”, the tennis icon reflected on why he publicly supported the Duchess of Sussex after his bombastic interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“Meghan is a great person and I think the epitome of strength, the epitome of trust, the epitome of selflessness, and the epitome of everything is just her and everything she went through,” said the 39-year-old woman to the head of Weitzman Director of Marketing Behnaz Ghahramani on Wednesday.
“And I know it is not easy, and you can see from the interview that it was not easy,” Williams continued. “But she was very balanced and still had a lot of class.”
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On March 7, CBS broadcast a two-hour narrative that Markle, 39, and her husband, Prince Harry, 36, gave Winfrey, 67.
During the television session, Markle described feeling so isolated and miserable within the royal family that she had thoughts of suicide. The former television star also said she sought mental health help through the palace’s human resources department, but was told there was nothing that could be done.
Markle, who is biracial, also claimed that a member of the royal family had “concerns” about the skin color of her unborn child.
The family member was not Queen Elizabeth II, 94, or Prince Philip, 99, according to Harry, sparking a wave of speculation about who it might be.
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Serena Williams (left) and Meghan Markle reportedly met at the 2010 Super Bowl in Miami.
(Getty Images)
After the interview aired, Williams quickly went to Instagram and defended the former “Suits” star.
“Meghan Markle, my selfless friend, lives her life – and leads by example – with empathy and compassion,” wrote Williams. “She teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble. Her words illustrate the pain and cruelty she experienced.
Williams said he knows “firsthand the sexism and racism that institutions and the media use to defame women and people of color to minimize us, to destroy and demonize us”.
“We must recognize our obligation to condemn malicious and unfounded gossip and tabloid journalism,” she shared. “The consequences of systematic oppression and victimization for mental health are devastating, isolating and often lethal.”
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This image provided by Harpo Productions shows Prince Harry, from the left, and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, talking to Oprah Winfrey.
(AP, Archive)
“I want Meghan’s daughter, my daughter and her daughter to live in a society driven by respect,” wrote Williams.
After Harry and Markle were married in May 2018 at Windsor Castle, the royal family seemed to welcome the Duchess of Sussex, a glamorous former TV star. The pair was seen as a new youthful face for the monarchy of an increasingly multicultural nation.
It didn’t take long for the fairy tale to unravel.
The couple moved away from royal duties last year and settled in California, saying they wanted to escape racist coverage and unwanted intrusions into their privacy by the British media.
During the interview with Winfrey, the Duke and Duchess shared that they are expecting a girl this summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report