The brutal nickname Meghan Markle was given by Montecito ‘mean girls’ | Royal | News

Montecito’s ‘bad girls’ gave Meghan Markle a cruel nickname after she launched her lifestyle brand last year. California gossips have begun calling the Duchess of Sussex “pumpkin spice” and “Walmart.”

The moniker, according to Mail columnist Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, came after she launched a Netflix show, a lifestyle brand and a podcast, accusing Meghan of being sold out after “a series of cheap stunts”. The Mail reported that one gossip went so far as to say: “She had the incredible opportunity to become the first Black woman to marry into the Royal Family and make her mark as a stylish and attractive revolutionary. Is she so obsessed with bees? Why wouldn’t she stay in the Family and make honey with King Charles’ bees, she loves that stuff!”

Former Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Tina Brown said Meghan was trying to be “some kind of instant Beyoncé or instant Michelle Obama” but didn’t want to spend years building the “strong structure” they had.

Like Ever, named after the “word salad” American Riviera Orchard, was launched in March last year and nine products, including £6 raspberry butter, £11 edible flower sprinkles and £21 wildflower honey, sold out within minutes.

Jameson Stocks, who owns a number of restaurants, said the prices were “excessive” and aimed at “elites” rather than ordinary people.

The brand launched on the same day the Duchess’ Netflix series With Love, Meghan was released. Guests at the show included actress Mindy Kaling, chef Roy Choi and chef Alice Waters.

One reviewer said it was “A Montecito ego trip not worth taking,” while another criticized it as “a terrible artifact of a certain cultural era that has recently met its doom.”

Love and Meghan were also called “an exercise in narcissism, filled with extravagant brunches, celebrity friends and business contacts.”

The Duchess’ podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, has been criticized as “scraping the bottom of the barrel” after it was reported that she failed to land pop culture heavyweights such as Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and Hailey Bieber.

It was also criticized by critics. The Telegraph’s TV critic Chris Bennion claimed it was “a pointless stream of mindless aphorisms” with “no confessions or secrets”.

The Times criticized it as “Meghan’s vapid lessons in self-love”, while The Guardian noted that it was “nauseating” and “flattery”.