Meghan Markle’s BFF Jessica Mulroney Fired From TV Show After ‘White Privilege’ Spat With Black Influencer
Fashion stylist, television personality and Meghan Markle’s BFF Jessica Mulroney has been fired from a Canadian TV show after alleged ‘very problematic behavior’ towards a Black fashion influencer.
UPDATE (6/12/2020 @ 2:51 p.m. ET): ABC’s Good Morning America has also announced that Jessica will not be appearing on their show going forward. “As Jessica Mulroney said last night, she is stepping away from her professional engagements and that includes Good Morning America. She will no longer appear on our show,” a tweet from the long running morning show read. Jessica was also dropped from Toronto daytime show Cityline as well as her contract with Canadian department store Hudson’s Bay Company.
As Jessica Mulroney said last night, she is stepping away from her professional engagements and that includes Good Morning America. She will no longer appear on our show.
— Good Morning America (@GMA) June 12, 2020
Meghan Markle‘s best friend Jessica Mulroney just lost a big TV job in her native Canada. CTV has pulled the 40-year-old fashion stylist’s reality show I Do, Redo and fired Jessica following allegations of “very problematic behavior and antics” by Black Canadian fashion influencer Sasha Exeter. Less than 24 hours after Sasha posted the 11 minute video to her Instagram on June 10, accusing Jessica of “sending me a threat in writing,” Jessica’s show had been yanked from the network. It comes despite the Good Morning America fashion consultant issuing an apology.
A June 11 statement to the media by CTV’s parent company read: “Bell Media and CTV encourages our entire team including on-air talent to practice respect, inclusivity and allyship as we pledge to work better and more openly to listen to and amplify black voices, and not minimize them.”
It continued, “Because recent conduct by one of our shows hosts, Jessica Mulroney, conflicts with our commitment to diversity and equality, CTV has removed I Do Redo from all Bell Media channels and platforms effective immediately.” It comes after Sasha said she had an “Amy Cooper experience” with Jessica, referring to the White woman in New York’s Central Park who called the police on a Black bird watcher. He had asked her to leash her dog, while she told a 911 operator he was threatening her life.
Sasha explained that she had put out a “generic call to action” last week for fellow social media influencers to use their platforms and voices to support Black Lives Matter and the Black community. She said she didn’t mention anyone by name, but claimed Jessica “took offense” to it, and “what happened next was a series of very problematic behavior and antics that ultimately resulted in her sending me a threat in writing last Wednesday, June the 3rd.”
She cautioned, “Listen, I am by no means calling Jess a racist. But what I will say is this: She is very well aware of her wealth, her perceived power and privilege because of the color of her skin. And that, my friends, gave her the momentary confidence to come for my livelihood in writing. Textbook White privilege really, in my personal opinion.”
“Jessica never wanted to stand up and use her voice in the first place and didn’t understand why she needed to,” Sasha continued. “This I found quite strange because she’s very vocal about supporting many causes. Also, her best friend is arguably one of the most famous Black women in the world. I just don’t get it.” She added that, During the span of about a week or so, Jessica basically ticked every single box of what a white woman should absolutely not do during the biggest racial uproar in history.”
Sasha claims that Jessica blocked her from her Instagram account on June 2 and that was followed by “a trail of offensive messages to me that ended in her saying and I quote, ‘I have also spoken to companies and people about the way you’ve treated me unfairly. You think your voice matters. Well it only matters if you express it with kindness and without shaming people who are simply trying to learn. Good luck.'” Sasha said it left her “shaking my head” at “Jessica’s audacity.” Sasha said that just like Amy Cooper, “She spewed out that threat so effortlessly. ”
Jessica, who is married to former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney‘s 44-year-old son Ben, responded in the comments to Sasha’s IG post with an apology. She wrote, “You are right when you say ‘this sh*t needs to stop.’ As leaders, we need to join hands and call out wrongs. I know we have different experiences. And that is something that, even in the course of a heated argument, I need to acknowledge and understand. I am unequivocally sorry for not doing that with you, and for any hurt I caused.”
Jess added, “As I told you privately, I have lived a very public and personal experience with my closest friend where race was front and centre. It was deeply educational. I learned a lot from that. I promise to continue to learn and listen on how I can use my privilege to elevate and support black voices.”