The Duchess of Sussex has been accused of copying ideas from other celebrities, spanning her brand logo, cooking show, and even dance moves. Meghan Markle has been building her business empire since leaving the UK and settling in California, but her efforts to become a lifestyle influencer have been met with criticism.
Brand Rebrand and Logo Controversy
When Meghan rebranded her lifestyle brand from American Riviera Orchard to As Ever, she faced backlash over alleged claims of copying logos and names. Shortly after the rebrand, Meghan shared a promotional video that viewers noted was oddly similar to one from Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle brand, Goop. The video showed the Duchess cooking a chicken, with one viewer commenting: "She's totally copying one of Gwyneth Paltrow's early Goop videos - the roasted chicken one." Another agreed: "Oh my God, lemons and all!"
Cooking Show Comparisons
Last year, Netflix released her cooking show, With Love, Meghan, which led TV fans to notice similarities between her show and cooking shows from Gwyneth Paltrow and Pamela Anderson. When Netflix released a trailer for season 2 of With Love, Meghan, fans said it resembled Pamela Anderson's show, "Cooking With Love," with the two shows even sharing similar names. The openings of both trailers include the hosts walking in a garden to admire the produce before inviting chefs into the kitchens for family and friends to try out the homecooked meals. The dialogues are also similar - Pamela said: "I just always have wanted to take things to another level", while Meghan said: "I've always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it."
Her cooking show has also been compared to lifestyle guru Martha Stewart's show. The 85-year-old made a remark about Meghan's Netflix show: "If you're an actress, it's hard to then transition to a princess and then from a princess into a homemaking guru on a television show. It doesn't sort of follow."
Speech and Style Accusations
Back in 2015, Meghan was accused of copying a famous quote from former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt when she was invited to give a speech at International Women's Day. She said: "It isn't enough to talk about equality. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it." The original quote from Eleanor was: "It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it."
Meghan was also accused of imitating Victoria Beckham in her birthday dance video. Posted on August 4, Meghan danced in her kitchen inside her Montecito mansion. Fans said Meghan's dance moves bear "striking resemblance" to Victoria Beckham's when she was on her family vacation in Canada in 2024. "I knew I had seen that dance somewhere," one said and another wrote: "Not only did Meghan happily copy Diana's jumping-into-the-water pose with jewellery, but now she's happily copying the Beckham's dance."
As royal fans mentioned, Meghan's birthday post was said to be "cosplaying" Princess Diana. The Duchess wore a scoop-back Hunza G swimsuit when she enjoyed a beach day with Prince Harry and children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Critics compared the photo to one of Princess Di's iconic beach outfits.
Podcast and Book Similarities
Other than celebrities, Meghan's "copycat" claims did not stop there. Royal fans were convinced that Meghan had read author Caroline Myss' book, Archetypes: Who Are You, and "copied her entire podcast idea from it". The book looks at the 10 types of archetypes that have appeared in today's society, and Meghan's podcast, Archetypes, uncovers the origin of these stereotypes and have uncensored conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narrative.
A British author has claimed Meghan's now-cancelled Netflix series, Pearl, bears striking similarities to her book, Pearl Power. She told Daily Mail: "Meghan is a feminist who sticks up for other women, so I was disappointed and confused to see how similar Netflix's proposed show Pearl was to my own Pearl Power, who had been created seven years earlier. Of course, I can't know if anyone on her team had seen it and been inspired by it, but the similarities were too great for me to ignore."
