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A commentator says the public’s reaction to Spare stateside probably has Prince Harry and Meghan Markle “shocked.” And not in a good way. They say the couple’s likely surprised due to a general “lack of sympathy” following the memoir’s Jan. 10 release.
“It’s very difficult to speak for Harry and Meghan in terms of what their overall objective was with the Netflix docuseries, with the book,” commentator Victoria Arbiter told TalkTV (via Express).
“I think Harry, with his book in particular, was very keen to get his side of the story across. So mission accomplished in that regard,” Arbiter said. “He doesn’t hold anything back, as anyone who has read the book knows. He’s very willing to share every facet of his life.”
A supposed physical altercation with Prince William, a frostbitten “todger,” and King Charles III doing headstands in his underwear are among the most talked about revelations from Spare.
“In that regard, I think yes, he has achieved his objective,” the commentator added, noting Harry probably expected something different.
Commentator expects ‘negative pushback’ on ‘Spare’ to have ‘shocked’ Harry and Meghan
Arbiter went on to explain the public’s reaction to Spare may have thrown the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“There are people that remain hugely sympathetic to him [Harry], but there’s been a lot of criticism,” she said. “So the broader public is talking about him in a way that I think he perhaps didn’t anticipate.
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“I think they thought there would be a similar level of sympathy to that following the Oprah interview, so I think they probably have been quite shocked,” the commentator continued, referencing the couple’s March 2021 bombshell sit-down with Oprah.
“Americans, in general, are a sympathetic bunch, and I am generalizing when I say that,” Arbiter explained. “Harry and Meghan have enjoyed that level of sympathy that they perhaps weren’t given in the U.K. But I think they will have been shocked by some of the negative pushback, I don’t think that was expected at all.”
Since excerpts of Spare leaked in the days before its global release, Harry and Meghan’s popularity has taken a dive both in the U.K. and stateside. Harry, 38, has received criticism for oversharing in Spare.
Another commentator thinks Harry and Meghan are ‘winning’ despite sinking popularity in the wake of ‘Spare’
Harry and Meghan are actually ahead, according to the Los Angeles Times’ culture critic Mary McNamara.
“If the end game is Harry and Meghan regaining popularity in Britain, it doesn’t seem like that’s happening,” McNamara said on The Assignment with Audie Cornish after Spare’s debut.
“But I don’t think that’s what they’re trying to do,” she explained. “I think they’re trying to establish themselves in the United States, in the world, as sort of like truth-tellers to power. Whether or not that’s legitimate, that is what they are trying to establish themselves as.”
“I’m sure the polls say that they’re unpopular in Britain, but his book has like broken all records, so how unpopular could he be?” McNamara asked. “It’s kind of early to tell, but right now, who’s winning? They are. Everybody’s talking about them.”
