There is such a thing as bad press.
In this clip from tonight, March 22’s all-new E! True Hollywood Story, Meghan Markle‘s high school friend, named Simone Burns Dilley, reveals the concerns she had about the Suits actress turned duchess joining the royal family.
“We were excited for her,” she shares with the THS camera. “But I can be honest, at the same time, I was worried.”
Simone continues, “She was divorced, she’s half-Black. I was like, ‘Oh my god, they’re gonna be so mean to her.'”
And it appears that Simone’s concerns were justified as Sarah-Jane Crawford, who is a television and radio presenter, goes onto explain the reputation of the U.K.’s press. “The British media do have a reputation for wanting to build someone up and bring them down again,” she relays in a confessional. “And there were racial undertones.”
Meghan and husband Prince Harry have both spoken out against British tabloids on several occasions. In fact, in a sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan discussed the negative attention she received from the press.