Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s ‘step back’ divides Twitter. Even Baby Yoda weighs in
Prince Harry and former actress Meghan Markle shocked the world — including their family — on Wednesday by announcing their plans to “step back” as senior members of the royal family.
In a statement on their Instagram account, the couple said they plan to “work to become financially independent” by “starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution.” Their announcement was preceded by months of scrutiny and rumors that they would be reducing their workloads as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Buckingham Palace followed with a statement saying discussions about the duke and duchess’ plans are “at an early stage” and “complicated.”
Reactions to the developments on social media were swift, with “Meghan” topping U.S. Twitter trends during the afternoon. Some even took to using the hashtag #Megxit in response the news.
Responses included many expressing disbelief at how events unfolded, particularly regarding reports that the royal family was not given advance notice of the announcement.
Many voiced their support of the royal couple’s decision and called out what they saw as racist “media bullying” against Meghan.
Others were critical of Harry and Meghan’s announcement (including some with racist takes that will not be reposted here).
Still others took the occasion to bring up other royal controversies or raised questions about the implication of the duke and duchess’ move.
Of course, there were plenty of people who just seized on the occasion to make jokes.
Parody Twitter accounts also got in on the fun.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
