MEG SPEAKS OUT
Meghan Markle claims she’s been labelled ‘crazy and hysterical’ in new podcast
MEGHAN Markle says she has been labelled "crazy" and "hysterical" in the latest episode of her podcast.
The Duchess of Sussex also claimed to have been called "nuts" and "insane" while speaking on episode five of Archetypes.
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In conversation with actresses Constance Wu, Jenny Slate and Deepika Padukone, Meghan said: "Raise your hand if you've ever been called crazy or hysterical, or what about nuts, insane, out of your mind, completely irrational?
"Okay, you get the point.
"Now, if we were all in the same room and could see each other, I think it would be pretty easy to see just how many of us have our hands up?
"By the way, me too."
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During the 55-minute instalment, titled The Decoding of Crazy and released today, the former Suits star added that she feels "pretty strongly" about the word "crazy".
And she said families have been "shattered" by its use.
"The way that it's thrown around so casually and the damage it's wrought on society and women, frankly everywhere," she said.
"From relationships to families being shattered, reputations destroyed and careers ruined."
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Meghan also took a swipe at two US sitcoms for their portrayal of "crazy" women.
She said: "The use of these labels has been drilled into us from movies and TV, from friends and family, and even from random strangers.
"The fact is, no one wants this label."
Several clips are played, including one from How I Met Your Mother in which Neil Patrick Harris says as character Barney: "If she's this crazy, she has to be this hot."
And in another, Scrubs character Elliot, a female doctor played by Sarah Chalke, says: "I can't take it, Carla. I cannot hide the crazy a minute longer.
"I'm just this big mountain of coocoo is about to erupt and spew molten crazy, all over him and he's gonna die like this."
I feel pretty strongly about the word 'crazy', and the way it's thrown around so casually.
Meghan Markle
The duchess goes on to say the "stigma surrounding the word" has a "silencing effect" - particularly for those experiencing "real mental health issues".
"They get scared," Meghan said. "They stay quiet, they internalize, and they repress for far too long."
At no point while discussing being branded "crazy" does Meghan reveal who who has done this to her.
But she has previously spoken about feeling suicidal while a working member of the Royal Family.
During her tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey, the duchess said her mental health battle left her feeling like she "didn't want to be alive anymore" - but she was never offered support as it "wouldn't be good for the institution".
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In a previous Archetypes episode, Meghan described growing up as an "ugly duckling" who "never had anyone to sit with at lunch".
And in another - the first since the death of the Queen - the mum-of-two told listeners to disregard "societal frameworks" and ignore the "loud voice coming from a small place".
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