Meghan Markle has sparked fresh controversy after a selfie with a divisive right-wing politician went viral.
The image, taken during her recent trip to Geneva, shows Meghan smiling alongside Wille Rydman, Finland’s Minister of Social Affairs and Health.
Amid backlash over the photo, Meghan denied having any direct affiliation with Rydman and admitted she did not know who he was before the picture was taken.
Meghan appears to have unwittingly sparked fresh controversy after posing for a selfie with Rydman.
In recent years, the Finnish politician has faced criticism over allegations of racism, including claims that he once used a derogatory term to refer to people from the Middle East. He has also faced backlash over separate allegations of inappropriate conduct involving several women.
As speculation continues to grow about any possible connection between Meghan and Rydman, fueled in part by their friendly appearance in the photo, the Duchess has now denied any association with him.
According to a spokesman for Meghan, she had no idea who Rydman was before taking the selfie and was unaware of the allegations against him.
“To be absolutely clear, the Duchess does not know Mr. Rydman, had no prior awareness of him attending the event, and was unfamiliar with the concerning reports relating to him,” the rep said, per the Daily Mail.
Meghan’s Rep Explains How The Viral Selfie Happened
Meghan’s team has now explained how she came to take a selfie with Rydman, whose past controversies have placed the photo under scrutiny.
According to a representative for the former actress, the minister asked the Duchess for a selfie after a meal at the Geneva meeting, where several ministers and delegates were in attendance.
Given the size of the gathering, the rep explained that it would not have been possible to vet every person who approached Meghan for a photo.
“The Duchess attended a dinner hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva, where more than 25 ministers and delegates were present ahead of the World Health Assembly,” they said. They added, “As she was leaving the venue, a number of attendees approached her requesting photographs. As is often the case at public engagements, and where time permits, the Duchess politely obliges such requests.”
Meghan Markle Was In Geneva For Child Advocacy
Meghan was in Geneva to advocate for children’s online safety and delivered an emotional speech at the inauguration of the Lost Screen Memorial, per Hello Magazine.
In her remarks, the Duchess posed powerful questions about the dangers children face online, asking, “How many more millions of children will be harmed by products that, while innovative, are still designed without sufficient safeguards?”
“When will children be able to enjoy the extraordinary potential of technology without it compromising their wellbeing?” she also posed.
At the same time, the mother of two shared real-life stories of families whose children were affected by the harmful side of social media and issued a call for parents to take action.
“Let our children look back at this moment, and let them feel proud of us… That we chose something better. For them, and for us all,” Meghan said.
Megyn Kelly Slams Meghan’s Geneva Speech
However, Meghan’s speech did not go down well with everyone, with political commentator Megyn Kelly disparaging her for the apparent low turnout in Geneva.
“Would you take a look at the crowd that showed up or didn’t… literally nobody is on the side,” Kelly said on Tuesday, May 19, episode of “The Megyn Kelly Show.”
“No one is listening to her. We have video of a woman behind her who basically is like putting the jacket on… yawning, stretching,” the podcaster continued.
She added, “This is the crowd. It’s the public’s verdict on, we don’t give a sh-t about you. Shut up and go live your life, and stop bothering us with your fake profundities and fake title. It’s officially OVER.”
Meghan Markle Slammed Over Post Featuring Daughter
Meghan also faced backlash after posting a photo of her daughter on social media shortly before traveling to Geneva for the child advocacy event.
The image showed Princess Lilibet helping her prepare for the trip, alongside the caption: “Mama’s little helper.”
Journalist Tom Sykes slammed the move as “staggeringly tone-deaf,” arguing that it undermined Meghan’s message about protecting children from the harms of social media.
“A woman who is about to stand alongside the world’s most senior public health official and talk about the measurable and preventable harms of exposing children to social media has just — voluntarily, for no apparent reason other than self-promotion — exposed her own child to social media,” he wrote.
