Meghan Markle Makes Emotional Appearance Following Criticism of ‘As Ever’ Collection

Meghan Markle has stepped out publicly for the first time since she was torn apart for her ‘rip off’ As Ever range earlier this week. 

On Thursday night, the Duchess showed resilience by proceeding with her plans despite facing recent criticism. She enjoyed dinner with friends at the upscale Polo Bar in Manhattan and later attended the Broadway production of Gypsy, which premiered in November 2024.

The mother of two, who was accompanied by a four-car motorcade according to the New York Post, later shared photos from her night out on Instagram.

In the post to celebrate the occasion, Meghan, 43, emotionally gushed about meeting actress Audra McDonald. 

The initial photo she posted included Audra, the actress portraying Momma Rose, the central character who endeavors to transform her two daughters into Vaudeville performers.

Meghan shared a black-and-white photo of herself embracing the stage actress as she gazed directly into her eyes, with dozens of other cast members gathered behind them.

The Duchess – who appeared to be without Prince Harry for the evening – also shared pictures of her with the rest of the cast and crew, including a video of the moment when she met Audra.

Meghan wore a $1,390 Houndstooth Linen-Blend Maxi Skirt by designer Carolina Herrera with a $448 silk button down by Veronica Beard TK for the grand occasion – and thankfully for fans, she linked it on her ShopMy page to buy. 

She tied the look together with a pair of black suede pumps by Aquazzura for $609. 

The last photo that Meghan included in the series was another snap of her embrace with the Tony-award winner.

‘If you get a chance to see @gypsybway, you absolutely must. Congratulations to the tremendously talented cast and crew for creating magic on that stage,’ Meghan wrote in the caption of the photo carousel.

‘And meeting @audramcdonald for the first time last night…’ she continued, including a smiley-face emoji with tears in its eyes. 

‘Her performance will leave you absolutely speechless. Full body chills. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house, and if the theater didn’t have to close for the night, the standing ovation would still be happening,’ Meghan’s message concluded.

Meghan’s night out in New York comes amid the launch of her lifestyle brand, As Ever, and new podcast with Lemonada Media, Confessions of a Female Founder.

The new product range, which included her infamous raspberry spread as well as flower sprinkles and pancake mix, sold out in just under an hour.

And, the most expensive item, the wildflower honey with honeycomb, was out of stock in five minutes.

However, many didn’t seem to be a big fan of the launch, with DailyMail.com columnist Maureen Callahan ripping it as ‘snobby, salty, [and] superficially sweet.’

‘Meghan’s crepe mix, meanwhile, resulted in a flavor and mouthfeel most akin to undercooked pancakes,’ Callahan wrote this week. 

‘It was bland, as was the shortbread cookie mix ($14), which yielded cookies that tasted both a little too sweet and a little too salty, but ultimately lacked any distinctive punch,’ she continued. 

‘Same with the edible ‘Flower Sprinkles’ ($15), which looked like colored lint you’d pick out off your sweater and felt rough on the tongue and teeth — almost like roasted hay.’

FEMAIL also put all eight of Meghan’s products to the test – but found none of them to be worth the wait.

In particular, DailyMail.com issued a scathing review of Meghan’s hyped-up jam, where it crumbled, or rather dripped, under the pressure of a taste test.

The confection, which Meghan has cheesily described as ‘her jam’ many times, has had much hype surrounding the launch, as she sent 50 jars last year to famous friends such as Kris Jenner under the company’s former name, American Riviera Orchard.

But make no mistake – her brand has now been rebranded to As Ever, and the company claims that the raspberry fruit spread ‘is inspired by the recipe Meghan crafted in her home kitchen.’

The Duchess previously explained in an episode of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, that her preserves can’t technically be called jam, because ‘jam is equal parts sugar and fruit.’

‘I just don’t think you can taste the fruit that way,’ she suggested on the show.

Per Food & Wine, jam is regulated by the FDA, and it must come from a single fruit, containing at least 45 percent fruit and 55 percent sugar.

They wrote that the jam was ‘extremely sweet’ and was more reminiscent of a sugary dessert sauce.  

The flavor was also surprisingly strong, which meant we could taste the sour lemon in the spread, which Meghan had promised in the product’s description. 

It was difficult to eat the spread with toast, as it was so thin that it dribbled everywhere and made a mess. Our once nicely toasted piece of bread became a sopping wet disaster after just a few minutes.

The spread is so sweet that it masked the flavors from the sourdough, with only the sugar from the fruit and tang of the lemon coming through.