Picture this: A glossy podcast mic, a room full of wide-eyed guests, and Meghan Markle, the self-styled global humanitarian, dropping a revelation so seismic it could rewrite her entire brand overnight. “I’m 43% Nigerian,” she declared in October 2022 on her Spotify hit Archetypes, casually tossing out the stat like it was last week’s grocery list.
No fanfare, no family tree diagram – just a breezy chat with comedian Ziwe Fumudoh that had Nigerian women gasping, “What?!” and the internet exploding into a frenzy of memes, skepticism, and outright accusations of grift. dailymail.co.uk
Three years later, as her Netflix flops gather dust and her “lifestyle empire” teeters on the edge of irrelevance, that 43% claim is back under the microscope. Why? Because in a world starved for authenticity, Meghan’s heritage bombshell smells less like a heartfelt homecoming and more like a Hollywood script – one where the plot twists just in time for the next big tour or tell-all.
But here’s the kicker: Where’s the test? Where’s the proof? And exactly which part of the Duchess of Sussex is waving that Nigerian flag so proudly? Is it her cheekbones? Her “brave, resilient” spirit? Or just the part that needs a fresh narrative to stay relevant?Let’s rewind to that fateful episode.
Meghan, fresh off Megxit and knee-deep in her “empowerment” era, is unpacking the “Angry Black Woman” trope with Ziwe, Issa Rae, and professor Emily Bernard.
The vibe is electric – sisterhood, unfiltered truths, the works. Then, out of nowhere: “I just had my genealogy done a couple years ago… [I’m] 43 per cent Nigerian.” dailymail.co.uk Ziwe’s jaw drops.
“This is huge for our community!” she squeals, joking that Meghan looks like her “Aunt Uzo.” It’s a feel-good mic-drop moment, the kind that racks up headlines from The Daily Mail to Newsweek. newsweek.com Meghan beams, promising to “dig deeper” into her roots – Igbo? Yoruba? Who knows? – because “anybody that I’ve told, especially Nigerian women, are like ‘What!'” Cue the applause, the viral clips, and suddenly, the biracial actress-turned-royal is the poster child for reclaimed Black excellence.
Fast-forward to May 2024: Meghan and Prince Harry jet into Abuja for their “unofficial royal tour” of Nigeria, ostensibly to hype the Invictus Games but really to remind the world they’re still somebody. She’s dubbed “Ifeoma” – Igbo for “good thing” – by adoring crowds, and in a tearful panel with WTO boss Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, she gushes: “The first thing I did was call my mom…
Being African American, part of it is really not knowing so much about your lineage… and it was exciting for both of us.” ndtv.com She calls Nigeria “my country,” hugs it out with local women, and even twerks (sort of) at a cultural event. The press eats it up – WION headlines it as a “wait, what?” moment, The Mirror hails her “proud” embrace of heritage. mirror.co.uk +1
Harry’s right there, beaming like the supportive sidekick, even riffing on her “Nigerian descent” at the 2023 Invictus opening ceremony: “Now, I’m not saying we play favorites… but it’s likely to get a little bit more competitive this year!” newsweek.com It’s peak Sussex: polished, performative, and perfectly timed for PR gold.But peel back the glamour, and the cracks show – big ones.
For starters, where’s the damn test? Meghan’s been peddling this 43% stat since 2022, yet in three years of podcasts, Netflix specials, and “As Ever” lifestyle drops, not a single screenshot, report, or lab envelope has surfaced. No Ancestry.com pie chart pinned to her Montecito fridge. No 23andMe kit unboxing on Instagram. Zilch.
In an era where celebrities like Oprah and Michelle Obama flaunt their DNA deep-dives with full transparency, Meghan’s revelation feels suspiciously… verbal. “A couple years ago,” she says vaguely – pre-Megxit? During Suits? Who knows? And why drop it now, in a podcast that’s already on life support (Spotify dumped Archetypes after one measly season), only to trot it out again for a Nigerian jaunt that reeks of damage control after her polo flops and cookbook duds?Skeptics – and there are legions – aren’t buying it. On Reddit’s r/SaintMeghanMarkle, users eviscerate the claim: “Either put up or SHUT UP.
Be the Global Role Model you claim to be and not a Global Race Baiter. Prove your 43% Nigerian.” reddit.com X (formerly Twitter) is a battlefield: @MeghansMole demands, “Tell me again which part of Meghan Markle is 43% Nigerian? Where is this genealogy test… Oh it doesn’t exist ,” racking up thousands of likes and reposts. @MeghansMole Another viral thread from the same account questions her history of “pretending” to be Jewish, Maltese, Italian – anything but Black – before this convenient Nigerian pivot. @MeghansMole Even Wikipedia shades it: “Doria’s daughter Meghan Markle has claimed… though genealogical science would suggest a value of 12.5% African as more appropriate.” reddit.com Oof. That’s not a footnote; that’s a forensic takedown.And let’s talk science, because this isn’t just tabloid fodder – it’s pseudoscience masquerading as memoir. DNA tests like 23andMe or AncestryDNA estimate ethnicity based on reference populations, but “43% Nigerian” is a stretch for someone whose mother, Doria Ragland, is African American with documented enslaved ancestors from South Carolina. vanguardngr.com
African Americans average 15-25% West African DNA due to centuries of admixture – European, Native American, the works. Doubling that to 43% for Meghan (half from Doria) implies her mom is pushing 86% Nigerian, which experts call “nonsense.” reddit.com As one r/23andMe commenter puts it: “Its unlikely shes 43% she probably took myheritage which exaggerates ‘nigerian’ category bc they lack african samples.” reddit.com Another AA user chimes in: “AA here and I get 39.7% Nigerian w/ 23&me… 43% is not necessarily high,” but even they concede variability. reddit.com
Fair, but without the raw data, it’s all speculation. Is Meghan cherry-picking a test that inflates African hits for that “wow” factor? Or worse – fabricating for the applause?The timing screams strategy. Pre-2022, Meghan’s racial identity was a fluid prop: In her 2016 Elle essay, she’s “biracial” – half Black, half white, checking “other” on forms. fandomwire.com Post-Megxit, as the “race-baiting” accusations fly (remember the Oprah tell-all?), she amps up the Blackness: Suits throwbacks, Essence covers, and now this Nigerian “awakening.”
Her 2024 Nigeria trip? It wasn’t charity; it was a heritage hail-Mary after With Love, Meghan bombed and Harry’s memoir sales tanked. She arrives, gets a Yoruba name? Igbo? Wait, which tribe, Meg? You said you’d “dig deeper” – three years later, crickets.
Nigerians themselves are divided: Some embrace her (@yabaleftonline celebrates with 11K likes), @yabaleftonline but others, like in a viral clip from @TheWantonWench, call her out for “lack of family values” and cultural cluelessness. @TheWantonWench “These educated and articulate Nigerians… doubt the authenticity,” the post blasts, with 2.6K likes. @TheWantonWenchSo, interrogating the icon: Why the secrecy on the test? If it’s real, release it – empower those “Nigerian women” you claim to rep.
Is 43% her ego, her elbow grease, or just the spotlight-grabbing limb she needs to wave at the next audience? And in 2025, with her brand hemorrhaging (hello, empty jam jars), is this “heritage” less a homecoming and more a hustle? Meghan’s built an empire on vulnerability – but vulnerability without verification is just vapor.We’ve watched the claw, the tears, the tell-alls. Now, for the love of lineage, show us the swab.
Until then, that 43% hangs like a ghost: Haunting, hazy, and horribly convenient. What’s your verdict, world? Drop a comment – or better yet, a DNA kit.This article draws from public statements, expert commentary, and online discourse. The Sussexes’ team has not responded to requests for the test results.
Her mother said, ‘Not true”