It’s been nearly a month since Emily Giffin made headlines for calling Meghan Markle “phony” and “unmaternal,” but the author still has another apology to get off her chest.
“I need to be more careful about the impact of my words,” the Something Borrowed author told AP, via the Huffington Post. “Being unfiltered, which is what I’ve chosen to be and the person I am in real life, and the person that you see on social media, definitely means that I’m going to make mistakes, too.”
As readers may recall, Giffin made the comments against Markle publicly on social media on the day of her son’s first birthday Archie Harrisonafter she uploaded a video of herself reading a children’s book to him. In text message screenshots shared by Giffin, the Something Blue also said the video was “uncomfortable to watch” and that Markle was “such a phony,” among other things.
Now she’s admitting to the publication that her comments “were not legitimate” and that in face, “they were just mean.”
In May, when Giffin made those comments, the author issued a statement published on her Instagram after receiving backlash.
“I enjoy following celebrities and analyzing them with my readers. I post dozens of IG stories a day in a very honest, unfiltered way, as if I’m confiding directly with close friends. Further, I’m very interested in the British monarchy. I always have been. See the link in my bio for an essay I wrote in the days before Meghan and Harry wed. To be clear, I absolutely loved that a biracial, American woman was marrying into the Royal Family. It seemed a wonderful, happy thing for everyone,” she wrote. “I celebrated their wedding by hosting a gathering here at my home and posting many, many photos.”
She went on, “Further, I was appalled by any signs of racism against her. Over recent months my feelings about BOTH Harry and Meghan changed. But I can say from the bottom of my heart that my criticism of Meghan has never had anything to do with her race. Further, I understood why she wanted to leave the monarchy and carve out her own path. I do, however, find fault with the way BOTH she and Harry handled things, and those feelings bled over in later posts, including the ones today. I can see how some of my posts may have felt mean-spirited, and could be construed as having racial undertones. It was not my intent, but I understand that intent and impact are two very different things. And I am truly sorry for that negative impact.”
