Romance author Emily Giffin has offered an apology for calling out Meghan Markle and unambiguously questioning the maternal qualities of the Duchess of Sussex.
Her comments came in response to an Instagram video of Markle reading a children's book to Archie, her and Prince Harry's son who celebrated his first birthday on 6 May. The short video was recorded for the charity Save the Children.
Giffin posted a text-message conversation to Instagram in which she called Markle "phony" and "unmaternal" in the video, according to screenshots posted to Twitter.
"Adorable child and book", Giffin said in one Instagram post. "But...Holy ‘me first.’ This is the Megan show. Why didn't she film and let Harry read?"
The posts prompted a storm of criticism, with some alleging that Giffin might have some racial bias towards the Duchess.
"Where does novelist Emily Giffin find the energy to hate Meghan Markle so much", one weighed in, with others echoing:
The attacks even led the author to switch the settings of her account to private - a move that hasn't gone unnoticed on Twitter either, with quite a few taking a dig at her over her "double standards":
Giffin later apologised arguing that there were no racist undertones in her comments.
Continuing to clarify her stance, the writer noted in her apologetic remarks that she "absolutely loved that a biracial, American woman was marrying into the Royal Family", despite admitting at the same time that she felt bothered by how both Markle and Prince Harry handled their departure from royal duties earlier this year.
"Burying the hatchet?", a Twitterian inquired provocatively.
"Only apologising because she got dragged even by her fans", another suggested adding ROFLing smileys below the comment.
"You called this an apology?", another fumed, while many more noted they would never open her book again and branded her apology "fake":
Shortly before the Canadian-US border closed due to the global pandemic, the Sussexes, who stepped down from royal duties earlier this year, left their rented Vancouver home and moved to Markle's hometown of Los Angeles, close to where her mother lives. The couple formally shut down their UK foundation and Buckingham Palace office last week, and is understood to have embarked on a new venture - a health counselling and well-being empire called Archewell.