A listener production.
Hello, my lovely listeners.
I'm sitting here in front of the microphone,
my very favourite place to be
because I can talk with you about my big question this week.
And it's a biggie, it's controversial.
The question is why we need to give Megan a break.
Now I've been thinking about this for a long time.
Megan seems to bring out the worst in some people.
And you know what?
I do not understand why.
I am team Megan all the way.
I'm the only one in my household who is team Megan,
but I'm a big fan of hers.
And let me explain why I think Megan rocks.
She is someone I believe who is herself.
She says what she believes in.
Even if it's something that perhaps ruffles your feathers,
she says what matters to her.
Why do we have a problem with that?
I started to think about this quite some time ago.
Now I was lucky enough to meet Megan and Harry.
It was when they were here for the Invictus Games.
And as you know, I'm a mental health advocate.
Mental health is something that's very close to this couple.
And they were coming along to support a charity
that I was involved with.
And I was lucky enough to be in sort of the greeting party.
Let me paint the picture for you.
I was like a meerkat.
I was at the back of the group
and I kept poking my head up,
looking around, where are they?
Have they arrived?
And I'd put my head back down
and then I'd poke it back up again.
Suddenly, there they were right in front of me.
I'm not often short for words,
but I was a little bit in awe.
And then I was trying to remember, do I bow?
I don't have a problem bowing or curtsying
if that's the protocol.
So I sort of did a bit of both
and then I couldn't remember, do I take?
No, I don't put my hand out
because you have to wait for them to put their hand out.
So this was pre-COVID.
They put their hand out.
It was Harry first and I was looking at him
in this really sort of glazed excited way.
I'm sure he's thinking, who is this lady?
He then moved along and then Megan put her hand out
and I launched into this thing of you are so inspiring.
You are so inspiring to women and oh, you're amazing.
And there was a minder behind her
and I could see the minder very gently
sort of moving her along.
But they had star power and I thought, this is a moment.
I was thrilled to meet them.
They're passionate about mental health.
Here they were with a small Australian charity
giving it attention.
The charity was all around helping kids
whose parents have a mental illness.
So this charity was able to get some incredible recognition
simply by Megan and Harry being there.
So I thought, good on you.
Why else we need to give Megan a break
She is someone who since that time has been open
about her own mental health challenges.
Look, I was really ashamed to say it at the time
and ashamed to have to admit it to Harry especially
because I know how much loss he suffered.
But I knew that if I didn't say it, that I would do it.
And I just didn't want to be alive anymore.
And what made me so angry during this time
when she opened up was the level of hate
that was then directed her way.
She was mocked for talking about her struggles.
She was criticised.
She was put under intense public scrutiny
and that is not fair.
We wonder why people don't want to stand up
and talk about their mental health challenges.
Well, why would you?
When someone like Megan does it
and she is ridiculed for that, that is not on.
That is why we need to give her a break.
A whole lot of people said, oh, come on, boohoo.
You don't have to put up with this.
You know, you are privileged.
You have all these things going for you.
Yes, she is privileged.
But as I know, and as I'm sure many of you are aware,
privilege does not insulate you
from experiencing a mental illness.
Privilege does not insulate you
from needing to reach out and ask for help.
I share this because there are so many people
who are afraid to voice that they need help.
And I know personally how hard it is to not just voice it,
but when you voice it to be told no.
So why is it that we are willing to tear someone down
simply because she is in the public eye
and we think she has all of these things?
Why then do we have permission to do that?
I don't think we do.
Also, what I didn't understand was the level of vitriol
that was directed at her by sections of the British press.
What crime had she committed?
Okay, she was an American, she's an outsider,
she's a woman of colour, and she's strong.
Why does that give anyone permission to tear her down?
Some of you may disagree,
but I think a lot of this criticism
is all about being sexist and racist and also misogynistic
because we're being very critical of a strong woman
and that is not on.
That is why we need to give Megan a break.
Someone who I do admire enormously
is a guy called Matt Hague and Matt, he's English,
he's an author, he's also a mental health advocate
and he's been very public and open about his own struggles,
but also he's been very supportive of Megan.
And I like these words that he used.
He basically said, what is wrong with both Harry and Megan
saying we wanna step out of the spotlight?
Why do they have to put up with crap?
Because it's expected, because it's a part of the job,
it comes with the territory.
I mean, this is at odds with the advice that we give people,
people who were bullied in their workplace.
We don't say to them, oh, come on, suck it up.
It's just part of the job, deal with it.
No, what we say to people who are being bullied
is you can leave.
You need to do things that protect yourself and your family
and that is simply all that Megan and Harry were doing.
Please give them a break.
What is wrong with saying, I don't wanna live this life anymore.
If you're a royal and it's your duty in inverted commas,
surely as well it is your duty to protect yourself
and your family from being bullied,
but also being put in a position
where your mental health is seriously jeopardised.
Here is something that Prince Harry said.
I have a fear that history is repeating itself.
I lost my mother and now I see my wife falling victim
to the same powerful forces.
Here is this young man whose mother died.
He saw the struggles that she had to endure
and now he's seeing his wife be the target
of the most terrible bullying.
Why can't he say, you know what?
We're gonna make a choice and step back.
We're going to move to America.
There is nothing wrong with that.
And just finally, let's think about
when Megan spoke about her mental health struggles.
She was a new mum.
She had a brand new baby.
I know when I was a new mum, I struggled terribly.
I wasn't having to get dressed
and be going on royal tours and talking to people.
She was doing that.
She was back in the public eye.
That's a lot on her shoulders.
Surely we can give her a break over that.
At my worst point, being finally connected
to someone that my husband had found a referral for me
to call and I called this woman.
She didn't know I was even calling her.
And she was checking out at the grocery store.
I could hear the little beep, beep.
And I was like, hi, I'm introducing myself.
And you could literally hear her going, wait, sorry.
I'm just, who is this?
And saying I need help.
And she could hear the dire state that I was in.
But I think it's for all of us to be really honest
about what it is that you need
and to not be afraid to make peace with that,
The fact that she was open during that time,
I think helped so many other people.
So please, even if Megan and Harry aren't your favourite
people, before you decide to jump on the bandwagon,
give them a hard time, roll your eyes, criticise them,
have a think about them as human beings,
as people entitled to a happy life.
Isn't that what we're all entitled to?
Surely we have a choice about the things we do,
the people we surround ourselves with,
the choices we make in our work life,
the choices we make in our personal life.
Surely they are entitled to those very same choices,
regardless of how much money they have,
regardless of their backgrounds.
Have a think about it.
Have a think about why we need to give Megan a break.
I know you can tell what I think.
Now, I'm gonna be back next week with one of my guests.
Until then, beautiful listeners,
enjoy your morning cup of coffee,
think about Harry and Megan,
and you know what?
None of us know what other people are going through.
We all wear our masks,
we all put on whatever sort of facade we need
to get through the day.
But none of us really know what someone is going through.
So be gentle and be kind.
Until next week, lots of love.