In a moment that has royal watchers and ordinary viewers alike recoiling in collective horror, Meghan Markle’s latest television appearance has once again highlighted the Duchess of Sussex’s complete lack of basic etiquette. A widely circulated clip from her guest-judging stint on MasterChef Australia shows the former actress sampling dishes while repeatedly protruding her tongue in a way that can only be described as crude, animalistic, and utterly unbecoming of anyone who once claimed royal status.
The host’s face says everything. As Markle leans in, tongue extended and eyes wide, the woman beside her freezes in visible disgust and shock—eyebrows raised, mouth slightly open in pure secondhand embarrassment. Viewers have flooded social media with the same reaction: pure nausea.
This is not an isolated slip. Markle has a long, well-documented history of the exact same bizarre habit. From her Netflix cooking series With Love, Meghan to earlier public appearances, she has been repeatedly caught sticking her tongue out to meet food before it even enters her mouth, licking around her lips, and chewing with an open, exaggerated style that critics have compared to everything from a toddler to a farm animal. Collages of these moments have circulated for years, and each new one only confirms what many have said all along: this woman has no instinct for grace.
Her appearance on the popular Australian cooking show, filmed during the couple’s self-styled “tour” of the country earlier this year and aired on July 26, was already under fire before it even broadcast. Viewers vowed boycotts, pointing out the obvious—she is not a chef, her previous cooking content was widely panned for basic recipes and questionable kitchen hygiene (raw chicken left uncovered in the fridge, anyone?), and her presence felt like pure celebrity stunt casting. Ratings may have temporarily spiked out of pure curiosity, but the lasting impression is one of awkwardness and cringe.
And where was Prince Harry in all this? Right on cue with a staged FaceTime call that critics immediately labeled as manufactured for maximum airtime. The once-second-in-line to the British throne has reduced himself to a prop in his wife’s endless quest for relevance, dialing in to say “G’day” while she continues her tone-deaf performances. Their marriage, already the subject of relentless speculation about strain and unhappiness, looks less like a loving partnership and more like a PR vehicle that keeps breaking down in public. Harry’s decision to abandon his family, his country, and his responsibilities for this woman has left him looking weak, diminished, and complicit in every embarrassing spectacle she creates.
Markle’s defenders will inevitably cry “bullying” or “misogyny.” Spare us. Pointing out that a grown woman who once lived in a palace cannot eat without looking repulsive is not bullying—it is basic observation. Royal life demands composure, restraint, and an awareness of how one appears to others. Markle has never possessed any of those qualities. Instead she has specialized in performative victimhood, opportunistic media deals, and a relentless need to center herself—even when the result is a host staring at her in open disgust over a plate of food.
The Sussexes left the royal family claiming they wanted privacy and a quieter life. What they delivered instead is a never-ending circus of self-promotion, flopped projects, and moments like this one that make the public wonder how anyone ever took them seriously. Meghan Markle’s tongue-out eating habit is not a quirky personality trait. It is a perfect symbol of the couple’s entire post-royal existence: clumsy, attention-seeking, and impossible to watch without wincing.
Harry should be mortified. The rest of us are simply tired of being forced to look.
