Bethenny Frankel Slams Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Over Paparazzi Incident

Bethenny Frankel is convinced Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have alienated their fans following their paparazzi incident in New York City earlier this week.

The former Real Housewives of New York City star took to Instagram on Friday and opined on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claiming they, along with her mother, Doria Ragland, were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" with paparazzi following an awards reception. Harry's mother, Princess Diana, died after a car crash involving paparazzi in Paris, France, on Aug. 31, 1997. She was 36.

"Some of you say to me, why do you talk about Meghan and Harry? I think, ‘They’re right. Why do I?’" Frankel says to start her video. "Then I start reading what people are saying and the news and you can’t believe that it’s real. Why? Because they’re demanding that the photo agency turn over the footage? I swear you to this woman needs to get on the Housewives. Just get on the Housewives."

While Meghan and Harry requested the footage, the photo agency involved, Backgrid, denied the request in a fiery letter.

Frankel continued, "Just be a Housewife. Lean in. Be infamous 'cause it’s not going that great. You alienated your base of fans."

The TV personality also said she used to be Team Meghan.

"I need you guys to know something -- I was team Meghan. That’s what you don’t get," she added. "I was so excited. It was a woman of the people marrying into royalty and I watched the wedding. And I was excited. I thought the dress was ill fitting, but I was excited.  ... and then they left [the royal family] and I thought, 'Oh God."

After the couple left the royal family, they gave Oprah Winfrey a "no subject off-limits" interview in March 2021, in which Meghan and Harry made a number of accusations against the royal family. Ahead of the interview, Frankel ripped the couple saying, "cry me a river." 

Fast forward to now, Frankel says the remark resulted in coming "dangerously, razor-edge close to cancellation" and that she also lost business deals as a result. She said the episode was "not fun" and that she "got reamed" and "destroyed" for the comment. But she still felt compelled to offer her take on Harry and Meghan.

"The problem is sometimes when you get too far in and you don’t know which way to go," she said. "They’re swimming  halfway between Cuba and Florida and they don’t know whether to go back or to keep swimming so they keep swimming and we just hope that they don’t drown."

Frankel also brought up mega stars like Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber and Harry Styles, saying she's never heard them "talk like this."

It's not the first time Frankel has connected Meghan with the Real Housewives. Back in September, the entrepreneur compared Meghan to a former Housewives star who stepped away and then is "always talking about the very thing you're trying to extricate yourself from."

"I want to separate myself from the royal family. I was treated horribly..." Frankel said in the voice of Markle. "I want my privacy, but I want my podcast. I want my privacy, but I want a Netflix special."

Frankel's advice to Meghan at the time was, "Let it go, Elsa. Move forward, create change in the future and leave that family behind because it's only creating more drama for your husband [Prince Harry]."

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