September 18th 2023.
Good Morning Britain viewers have expressed their fury over the way in which Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley defended Thomas Markle Sr on the ITV programme. During the interview, Thomas – the estranged father of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex – issued another plea to be permitted to see his grandchildren, who he has never met.
The 79-year-old, who is still recovering from a stroke, insisted that he feels he has done nothing wrong amid his rift with Meghan. Their relationship showed signs of fracturing back in 2018, when Thomas was accused of staging paparazzi pictures ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, which he later apologised for.
Thomas has continued to speak to the tabloids about his relationship with his daughter, despite her telling Oprah Winfrey in a televised interview that his actions in doing so have made her feel ‘betrayed’. During Monday’s GMB, Susanna, 52, admitted that while in the past she wasn’t a fan of his ‘tone’ when speaking about his daughter, she had since ‘slightly changed her view’ on him.
The broadcaster explained that after the release of Prince Harry’s book Spare and his joint Netflix series with Meghan, she feels what the couple have revealed about their familial relationships has ‘contributed to rifts, rather than healed them’. Susanna stated that in her view, Thomas is therefore ‘entitled’ to speak publicly as well, while Meghan is ‘entitled not to have any contact with him’.
Later on the programme, they played footage from the Netflix docu-series, when Prince Harry stated that Meghan no longer had a father. Repeating the claim made by the Duke of Sussex, Richard, 67, then remarked: ‘What has he actually done?’ Thomas and Meghan no longer have contact with one another.
During their interview with Thomas, Susanna asked him whether he felt he should say sorry for anything, or if he needed any forgiveness. He insisted that in his opinion, he hadn’t done anything wrong, describing himself as a ‘really loving father’.
Susanna also told Thomas directly how her view on him had changed after Prince Harry’s book and the Netflix show. She said: ‘I think it changed my view a little bit, because they are very open about the rift in the family, and they have not remained quiet, and so I think you are entitled to speak about family relations and rifts, and I know that you don’t have direct contact so I can understand why you want to use television channels to get your message across. And Meghan of course is entitled to heed or not heed what you say.’
Later on the programme during a debate on Thomas and Meghan, Susanna added in reference to the duchess not having contact with her father: ‘She’s entitled to do what she wants, but I can’t really see what he’s done that’s so dreadful.’
On Monday, GMB viewers raged over the way in which the presenters appeared to side with Thomas. Someone said that it was ‘despicable’ for Susanna and Richard to portray Thomas a ‘victim’ and ‘saying he’s done nothing wrong to her’. Another remarked that they ‘massively misjudged the public’s reaction to that car crash interview’.
One person brought up Meghan’s request to her father not to talk to the press, despite his continued insistence in doing so, questioning how he ‘doesn’t understand why she’s cut him off’. Another wrote directly to Susanna, stating: ‘Dear Susanna Reid, You are better than this. The interview with Thomas Markle is beyond a bad joke. Nobody knows Meghan’s reasons. Shame on you #GMB.’
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