Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are wrapping up their final engagements as senior members of the royal family this week. Already, the tabloids have wildly speculated on what could be next for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Often, these phony stories involve A-list celebrities in Hollywood teaming up with Markle and Prince Harry. These are some of the more ridiculous stories Gossip Cop has busted lately on the topic.
In December, Woman’s Day alleged Markle and Reese Witherspoon were working on a TV show together. The story came after Witherspoon was in London to promote The Morning Show and the tabloid decided to invent a story connecting her with Markle. The outlet purported that Witherspoon “has been ‘quietly penning’ a show that she would love Meghan to be part of and Meghan was keen to explore the opportunity further.”
The story was complete nonsense, as Gossip Cop reported at the time. One key tip-off was that despite Witherspoon being an incredibly successful producer and actress, she’s not a writer. She wouldn’t be “penning” anything. Gossip Cop confirmed the story was bogus after checking with our own source close to the situation.
A month later, NW made up a story filled with absurd quotes contending that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West wanted to double date with Markle and Prince Harry. The article read more like comedy that hard news, probably because there was nothing factual in it. A source supposedly told the paper, “Kim moved in similar social circles as Megs in their earlier years in Hollywood and she’s keen to get to know her better because she’s been looking to up her game socially.” An even sillier quote from this so-called source read, “She’d love to have some girly spa time and take Meghan horse riding.”
As for the men in the story, West and Prince Harry, this almost certainly made-up source said West believed it would “do wonders for any presidential bid – plus he figures that with royal support, he’ll be able to take his Sunday church service to the next level.” As Gossip Cop said at the time, it was only the 7th of January, but this story was in the running for the “most preposterous story of the year.” It wasn’t true, obviously.
Two weeks after that story came a patently false article from New Idea with the worst kind of trickery. The cover featured a photo of Markle and Tom Cruise appearing to be walking together with the headline, “Meghan Busted With Tom Cruise!” Inside, the story claimed Markle met with Cruise to plot her Hollywood comeback. Gossip Cop wasted no time debunking the misleading story, most importantly by explaining that the photo was clearly photoshopped using two separate photos of the actors, both from years prior. The phony report was the worst kind of example of tabloids behaving badly.
Another trick the tabloids use to lure readers is by making up stories involving multiple A-listers and connecting them for no reason. An example of this tactic came from Heat last month when the publication said Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie were “fighting” over Markle. The piece pitted Jolie and Aniston as enemies and vying for the attention of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Of course, Markle going back to work as an actor plays a part in this false narrative, with a so-called source saying, “Jennifer figures she’s got way more pulling powers since she can open doors for Meghan with TV and movie roles.” Gossip Cop stepped in to bust this one as well, and we were assured by sources close to both Aniston and Jolie that the story was made up. Just like the rest of these ridiculous stories.
Sources
Scott, Hugh. “Reese Witherspoon, Meghan Markle Working On A TV Show Together?” Gossip Cop, 2 Dec. 2019.
Scott, Hugh. “Kim Kardashian And Kanye West Want To Double Date With Meghan Markle and Prince Harry?” Gossip Cop, 7 Jan. 2020.
Scott, Hugh. “Meghan Markle Met With Tom Cruise To Plot Hollywood Comeback?” Gossip Cop, 21 Jan. 2020.
Shuster, Andrew. “Jennifer Aniston And Angelina Jolie Fighting Over Meghan Markle?” Gossip Cop, 4 Feb. 2020.