Chris Rock calls out Meghan Markle’s racism claims in ‘Selective Outrage’

In Chris Rock’s latest Netflix standup comedy special ‘Selective Outrage’, the comedian called out Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex’s claims that the royal family treated her with racism during her time living with them.

The comedian says that rather than racism, what the duchess experienced was not racism but animosity on the part of her in-laws that any relationship, royal or not, may experience.

Rock doesn’t believe the royal family was being racist toward Markle

While Rock has acknowledged that the royal family are the “OGs of racism”, calling them the “Sugarhill Gang of racism” and that they “invested in slavery like it was ‘Shark Tank’”, during the stand-up special, he doesn’t believe that what Markle experienced was necessarily racism.

“Sometimes it’s just some in-law s—,” the comedian began. “Because she’s complaining, I’m like, ‘What the f--- is she talking about? ‘They’re so racist, they wanted to know how brown the baby was going to be...’ I’m like, ‘That’s not racist,’ cause’ even Black people want to know how brown the baby gon’ be. S---. We check behind them ears.”

Rock also said that he believed that Markle “seems like a nice lady, just complaining.”

“Like, didn’t she hit the light-skinned lottery,” Rock added. “And she’s still going off complaining?”

Despite Rock’s belief that Markle was victimizing herself, he still understood that she was in a difficult predicament.

“Black girl trying to be accepted by her white in-laws,” Rock said. “Oh, it’s hard. It’s so hard, it’s very hard — but it ain’t as hard as a white girl trying to be accepted by her Black in-laws. Now, that s--- is really hard.”

Racism or unconscious bias?

Rock’s statements come two years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s sit-down interview with Oprah after they had formally announced they were leaving the royal family. During the interview, Markle revealed that someone in the family had asked how dark Archie, now three, would be.

Prince Harry clarified that Markle was not saying that the royal family was racist, but rather that it pointed to an unconscious bias.

“The difference between racism and unconscious bias... the two things are different,” he told Tom Bradby in an interview promoting his memoir ‘Spare’.

“Once it’s been acknowledged or pointed out to you as an individual, otherwise an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you, therefore, have an opportunity to learn and grow from that... otherwise, unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism.”