At the Broadway opening of Suffs on Thursday night, Melissa McCarthy took a firm stand against the relentless attacks targeting Meghan Markle.
In March, the Duchess of Sussex opened up about the cruelty directed her way via social media, which she said reached a boiling point during each of her two pregnancies.
“I keep my distance from it right now just for my own well-being, but the bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and Lili,” said Markle, who shares her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter with Prince Harry.
Expressing her dismay at the vitriolic onslaught faced by Markle, McCarthy told Page Six, “It bums me out for every woman and every person, that for no reason people just like to attack.”
The 53-year-old actress highlighted the troubling trend of unwarranted hostility toward women who dare to be smart and interesting, observing, “A smart, interesting woman that has her own life, for some reason, is incredibly threatening to some people.”
Emphasizing her admiration for individuals like Markle, McCarthy emphasized, “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.”
McCarthy’s impassioned defense of Markle comes amidst a barrage of negative commentary and online abuse that has plagued the duchess since she entered into the royal family. Despite the unwarranted scrutiny, McCarthy praised Markle, describing her as “wonderful” and “awesome.”
In August 2021, in honor of Markle’s 40th birthday, McCarthy starred in a video alongside the duchess, which encouraged other women to contribute 40 minutes of mentorship to a woman who’s reentering the workforce. It was an opportunity McCarthy called “just amazing.”
“I’m impressed and inspired by her. I love [when] someone chooses to lead their life the way they want to and give their children the life they want to give them,” McCarthy said, seemingly referencing Markle and her husband, Prince Harry‘s, decision to step down as senior royals.
“It’s her 40th, [I was wondering,] ‘What fun thing does she want?’ and instead she’s like, ‘How can I get more people to help other women that need help?'” McCarthy recalled of Markle. “I was like, ‘That’s what we need. We need a billion more people like that in the world to do that, to take a little bit of time, then you can really help somebody.'”
“She’s like, ‘That’s how I would like to celebrate my 40th,’ and I was like, ‘Sign me up,'” the actress added. “How do you not want to do that?”
Markle, who has been an advocate for various social causes and has spoken openly about her experiences with racism and sexism, has often found herself at the receiving end of unwarranted criticism and tabloid scrutiny.
Last week, Abigail Spencer took a moment to praise the Duchess of Sussex. Spencer shared a series of photos on Instagram alongside Markle and Kelly McKee Zajfen, the co-founder of Alliance of Moms, who is grieving the loss of her 9-year-old son, George, following a sudden illness.
In the post, Zajfen sits between the Suits stars as they pose for the camera and share a few laughs while wearing matching T-shirts with the words “Love like a mother” emblazoned on the front.
In the caption, Spencer, mother to 15-year-old son, Roman, shared a caption celebrating all mothers for their relentless determination and unconditional love.
“We lift each other up with love. We inspire & build community with this love,” she shared in her caption. “We give it to each other and receive it — so deeply & boldly.”
Spencer, who also shares daughter Lily with husband Julian, went on to say she’s proud to support the Alliance of Moms community and “their mission to build bright futures for young parents who have experienced foster care.” Spencer also shared that proceeds from the sale of the T-shirts the trio is wearing “will benefit the impactful work of the Alliance of Moms & support essential services, education, & advocacy so that young parents in foster care & their children can heal & thrive.”
In honor of George, the Zajfens set up a fundraiser benefiting the pediatric electro-physiology fund at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, where Markle recently visited as part of the Make March Matter campaign.
Spencer and Markle starred on the hit USA Network series Suits. Spencer had a recurring role as Dana “Scottie” Scott, the powerhouse attorney who traveled to and from London to square off against Harvey Specter (Gabriel Macht) both in and out of the courtroom.
Suits premiered in June 2011 on USA Network and aired 134 episodes in nine seasons. The final episode aired in September 2019. The series starred Markle (Rachel Zane), Spencer, Macht, Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross), Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen), Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt) and Gina Torres (Jessica Pearson).
The show enjoyed quite the resurgence when the series hit Netflix. Spencer spoke to ET in December and shared her reaction to the show’s renewed popularity. She also shared with ET that she had no idea the show had hit a streaming milestone until the cast group chat enlightened her.
“I was actually in Europe at the time, and I was walking around, and all of a sudden, everyone knew my first and last name,” recalled Spencer, who, among other co-stars, attended Markle and Harry’s royal wedding. “And I was like, what, what is going on? And so then I was on a text chain with the cast, and they were like, ‘We’re the number one show in the world.’ And also, it was during the strike, so we couldn’t talk about it. We couldn’t promote the show. And it was really interesting how this new wave of streaming and shows can come back around again. It’s been crazy.”
On the heels of that success, the Suits universe is expanding, with Bryan Greenberg the latest actor to join the spinoff dubbed Suits: L.A.
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