The 'Something Borrowed' author received backlash after her critical comments on Wednesday.
Emily Giffin has issued an apology for the "impact" of her comments about Meghan Markle.
The Something Borrowed author made headlines Wednesday after she blasted Markle on Instagram, calling her "unmaternal" and "phony" following the duchess's new video of herself reading to her son, Archie. Hours later, Giffin posted an apology for how her comments were interpreted by readers. She defended herself against allegations of racism and said she used to be a fan of Markle's, but her feelings have since changed.
"I enjoy following celebrities and analyzing them with my readers. I post dozens of IG stories a day in a very honest, unfiltered way, as if I’m confiding directly with close friends," Giffin began. "Further, I’m very interested in the British monarchy. I always have been. See the link in my bio for an essay I wrote in the days before Meghan and Harry wed."
"To be clear, I absolutely loved that a biracial, American woman was marrying into the Royal Family. It seemed a wonderful, happy thing for everyone. I celebrated their wedding by hosting a gathering here at my home and posting many, many photos. Further, I was appalled by any signs of racism against her," she continued. "Over recent months my feelings about BOTH Harry and Meghan changed. But I can say from the bottom of my heart that my criticism of Meghan has never had anything to do with her race."
Giffin concluded: "Further, I understood why she wanted to leave the monarchy and carve out her own path. I do, however, find fault with the way BOTH she and Harry handled things, and those feelings bled over in later posts, including the ones today. I can see how some of my posts may have felt mean-spirited, and could be construed as having racial undertones. It was not my intent, but I understand that intent and impact are two very different things. And I am truly sorry for that negative impact."
In addition to calling Markle "phony" on her Instagram story, Giffin also slammed the former Suits star in a comment on an account called What Meghan Wants.
"Adorable child and book. But… Holy 'me first.' This is the Megan [sic] show," Giffin wrote. "Why didn't she film and let Harry read? And why didn’t she take the moment at the end to say 'He said daddy!' Because that would make it about Harry for a split second. God forbid. Also, you want privacy for your child so you put out a video (by your authorized biographer) of him … wearing no pants?! Ooookay."
The video of Markle reading to Archie was posted to Save the Children's Instagram account, in honor of his first birthday. The clip was created to help with Save the Children's Save With Stories campaign, in which celebrities read children's books and urge viewers to donate to the organization.
See more on Markle in the video below.
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