<\/p>\n
Oprah Winfrey<\/a><\/strong> just rewatched her now-viral 2021 interview with Meghan Markle<\/a><\/strong>. And fans still have some pretty strong thoughts.<\/p>\n The media mogul recently looked back at her career, talking to Vanity Fair<\/a><\/em> about her most memorable moments\u2014including \u2018the\u2019 interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n Back in 2021, when Oprah<\/a>\u2019s CBS<\/a> special originally aired, Markle and Prince Harry<\/a><\/strong> opened up about their decision to step away from their royal duties and move to California. The couple spoke out about their battle with the British tabloids and Harry\u2019s family.\u00a0<\/p>\n But allegations against the royals and inconsistencies in some of Meghan and Harry\u2019s accounts led to a backlash against the couple and Oprah, making the interview one of the most legendary in recent history.\u00a0<\/p>\n Harry told Oprah, \u201cI need to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody. It\u2019s really sad that it\u2019s got to this point, but I\u2019ve got to do something for my own mental health, for my wife\u2019s, and for Archie\u2019s as well, because I could see where this was headed.\u201d<\/p>\n Meghan shared, \u201cI\u2019ve always valued independence. I\u2019ve always been outspoken, especially about women\u2019s rights. I mean, that\u2019s the sad irony of the last four years is I\u2019ve advocated for so long for women to use their voice. And then I was silent\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And that\u2019s when Oprah asked the question that would lead to a legendary soundbite, \u201cWere you silent or were you silenced?\u201d And Markle replied, \u201cThe latter.\u201d<\/p>\n As Oprah reminisced about the interview, she revealed, \u201cThey didn\u2019t know, obviously, anything that I was going to ask them. But I had said to them ahead of time, \u2018I\u2019m going to cover everything.\u2019 This interview took three and a half hours\u2026I was just carefully trying to go through everything that had come up in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n She continued, \u201cI wanted to be clear, because was she silenced? Were people telling her not to talk? Were people? That\u2019s why I said that. I said it for clarification because I didn\u2019t want later to hear, \u2018Well, no, it wasn’t that. It really was that I was silenced. They wouldn’t let me talk.\u2019 So it was all for clarification.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n When Vanity Fair<\/em> posted a snippet of this clip on the magazine\u2019s Instagram page<\/a>, fans were quick to give their opinions. One pointed out, \u201cRecollections may vary!\u201d while others added, \u201cThis was not an interview. This was a story line\u201d, \u201cToo bad Oprah didn\u2019t clarify the other tidbits (lies) in that interview,\u201d and \u201cOprah could have used some fact checking.\u201d<\/p>\n It looks like Winfrey’s rewatching of the controversial 2021 interview sparked its own 2026 controversy.\u00a0<\/p>\n The comments kept coming: \u201cWow she looks like she is embarrassed about this interview and is backing out\u201d, \u201cCan\u2019t admit that was probably one of her worst interviews ever\u2026nothing was clarified but only looking for more sensation,\u201d and \u201cWhen Oprah did that interview with Markle. That was the day I totally lost respect!\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, the critics didn\u2019t just jump on Oprah. They also had plenty to say about Markle, adding, \u201cAnd why is Meghan so silent about all the women\u2019s issues? Selling jam. Selling $300 candles,\u201d and, \u201cThe only female rights Meghan advocated for were her own.\u201d Now that\u2019s harsh!<\/p>\n This story was originally published by <\/em>Parade<\/a><\/em> on Jul 24, 2026, where it first appeared in the <\/em>Celebs<\/a><\/em> section. Add Parade as a <\/em>Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n