Family Ties and Desperate Housewives star Justine Bateman has accused Meghan Markle and Prince Harry of turning being victims into an Olympic sport.
The sister of Hollywood actor Jason Bateman, who is an actress, has expressed her opinion on the Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix show, stating that it has not been well-received because people are not interested in watching someone pretend to be something they have not achieved themselves.
Referring to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as ‘ambulance chasers’ and ‘disaster tourists’ for their appearance at the LA wildfires in January, Justine believes that the public is becoming weary of Harry and Meghan and what she calls their continuous involvement in the ‘Victims Olympics’.
For her RACE TRACK Substack, Ms Bateman has even created the couple their own gold medal.
She goes on to explain that in her view, Meghan Markle (along with Prince Harry) is facing issues because every opportunity they have pursued or taken advantage of in recent years has been a result of their aggressive promotion of a ‘Victim Olympics’ narrative.
She went on: ‘The difference between doing that two years ago and doing it now is immense. It’s 2025, and no one wants to see victims anymore. No one wants to watch someone playact at something they didn’t earn’.
Justine said that she doesn’t believe ‘anyone wishes her ill’ and that she has every right to have a cookery show or ‘start a podcast or two’.
But she added that the public also have the right not to ‘go along with another’s “narrative” anymore’.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured in Whistler) have been warned: ‘No one wants to see victims anymore’
For her RACE TRACK Substack, Ms Bateman has even created the couple their own gold medal.
Justine Bateman, 58, took to X/Twitter to blast the couple for their ‘victims Olympics’
Meghan and Harry visit LA wildfire victims in January. Justine said at the time they were ‘disaster tourists’ and ‘repulsive’ for going
In January Ms Bateman called Meghan and Harry ‘disaster tourists’ and ‘repulsive’ after they popped up as volunteers during the LA wildfires.
The royal couple were on TV news coverage speaking with victims and other helpers alongside political leaders.
They held a pseudo-royal visit at an evacuation centre and Ms Bateman wrote online: ‘Meghan Markle and Harry are no better than ambulance chasers.
‘What a repulsive “photo op” they achieved. They are “touring the damage”? Are they politicians now?
‘They don’t live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists.’
Video captured by Fox 11 Los Angeles showed Harry and Meghan in Pasadena on Friday, mingling with volunteers and the city’s mayor, Victor Gordo.
Ms Bateman’s criticism of the couple and Meghan’s show is another blow to the couple and their 2025 relaunch.
Netflix won’t be renewing the Sussexes’ $100million contract, multiple sources have claimed.
But one expert believes they may make one-off shows with them going forwards just in case they get divorced.
Journalist and screenwriter Marina Hyde has said other streamers may also fight to work with the couple ‘to keep a vague hand in’ if one day Meghan and Harry split up.
‘The reality is that a lot of people are hanging around in case there’s a divorce’, she said.
Marina added: ‘I would have married him [Harry]. Got the two kids, got divorced, then ran back to Hollywood to be Julia Roberts for my 40s, but she’s not followed that plan’.
It came after yet another Netflix star has laid into Meghan Markle’s new show, claiming it is a gigantic ‘f*** you’ to the Royal Family.
Whitney Cumming, who has two hit stand-up programmes available on the streaming service, has said that With Love, Meghan is about trolling King Charles and Prince Harry’s other close relatives.
The focus on making tea and jam as well as her outfits and hair are all a ‘burn’ aimed directly at the British royals, she claims.
‘I don’t think she cares if you like the show. This has nothing to do with making a good show. It is just her subtly roasting the Royal Family. This isn’t made for us. This is made for like 30 people in that castle. That’s all she’s doing’, she said in a video.
Ms Cumming is the third Netflix star to take aim at Meghan after fellow comedian Christina Pazsitzky said the show – and the Duchess – came across as ‘highly inauthentic’, ‘fake’ and ‘phony’.
Stand-up Katherine Ryan, previously a supporter of Meghan, accused her of ‘cosying up to celebrities and acting humble’, adding: ‘She is very Hollywood – even for me – and I don’t like that in people’.
Whitney Cumming claims With Love, Meghan is packed with direct ‘burns’ aimed at Harry’s family, comparing the Duchess of Sussex to a scorned woman posting on social media just so an ex-boyfriend would notice.
‘It’s just a big f*** you to the prom court over there across the pond’, she said in a Twitter post. She added: ‘She’s just trolling them’.
Netflix will not be renewing their $100million deal with Meghan and Harry after her latest show struggled with poor reviews – but they may keep them on side if the worst were to happen with their relationship, it has been claimed
Whitney Cumming has laid into Meghan Markle’s new show, claiming it is all a big ‘f*** you’ to the Royal Family
Meghan makes ‘easy tea’ that can be percolated in the sunshine. Whitney has said this is another burn aimed at the British royals
Christina Pazsitzky, a famous stand up and Netflix star, also panned Meghan’s new show
It came after Katherine Ryan became the latest Netflix star to criticise the Duchess of Sussex – saying it feels like she has lied and puts on an act of ‘oh, I’m just so humble’ in her new TV show.
The comedian insisted she had ‘liked’ Meghan, was ‘rooting for her’ and believed the Duchess’s claim that she suffered from ‘institutionalised racism’ while in Britain.
But after the release of new lifestyle series ‘With Love, Meghan’ on Netflix last week, Ryan – who has three shows on the streaming platform herself – has hit out at her.
Ryan is the latest Netflix star to criticise the Duchess after fellow comedian Christina Pazsitzky described the show – and her – as ‘highly inauthentic’, ‘fake’ and ‘phony’.
A Netflix insider revealed the firm does not see the show as ‘a runaway success’, while TV viewing figures revealed subscribers prefer her on screen with Harry.
It comes after comedian John Mulaney joked at a Netflix season launch event in January that the prestigious evening was a ‘fun experiment’ and ‘not since Harry and Meghan has Netflix given more money to someone without a specific plan’.
Now, Ryan has described Meghan as putting on a ‘very manicured and very forced’ act, adding: ‘She is very Hollywood – even for me – and I don’t like that in people.’
She also said it ‘does feel like she has lied about whether she knew who Prince Harry was’ and that ‘details about her childhood change and don’t add up’.
