Piers Morgan, Meghan Markle and the need for greater acceptance of celebrity mental health struggles

James Frederiksen thinks it’s time to recognise that mental illnesses don’t discriminate.

Piers Morgan is a troglodyte who shocked absolutely no one by openly questioning the validity of Meghan Markle’s claims that she was denied treatment for her mental health by a senior palace official.

Like all those who speak publicly about their mental health struggles, Markle’s decision to speak openly about her suicidal ideation was incredibly courageous. What makes her particularly brave is the fact that she said it from a position of great privilege.

Thanks to mental health organisations and the candour of prominent personalities there are increasingly few people that openly deny the existence of mental health issues. While Morgan’s comments show that at least one old shock jock’s quest for infamy is undeterred by these efforts, his likely-forced resignation from Good Morning Britain suggests he is in the minority.

If the problem we tackled was that our society was not aware of mental health issues, then we have succeeded – people are aware, at least in the sense that they know that they exist and are detrimental for people with them.

Before we pull a muscle patting ourselves on the back for cancelling Morgan, we must acknowledge that there is still a sizeable contingent that invalidates the mental health struggles of the rich and famous.

What do they have to be depressed about?

The main issue, and the one best highlighted by our good friend Morgan, is that there remains an unwillingness to acknowledge that mental health issues do not always discriminate by factors that make sense to us.

In a clip he published on his personal Twitter account, Morgan said, “If somebody is feeling that way, they should get the treatment and the help that they need. Every time.”

Unfortunately, this desperate back-pedalling does little to address his prior sentiment that he finds it difficult to believe anything Markle says.

In fairness to Morgan, it is counter-intuitive that someone in Markle’s position would feel suicidal. It is easy to sympathise with homeless people suffering from schizophrenia or single parents battling depression while struggling to provide for their families - because mental health issues make sense in this context. We too would struggle in their position.

Markle is an incredibly successful actress who fell in love with a Prince and married into royalty. To onlookers, her life is a Disney movie, so it is tragically unsurprising that her calls for personal privacy were met with eye rolls and high-powered camera lenses.

Apart from a barrage of malware-infused pop-up ads, a glance at a Daily Mail article on this issue will show you the barriers facing those who open up about their mental health from a position of privilege.

I imagine these people would not deny that depression exists, they just deny that it exists for Markle. The fact that these are the top comments on an article about an interview in which she opened up about her deepest struggles shows just how unsympathetic people can be. 

I have never met Lucy Lucy from Lancashire and probably never will, but I think it is important to consider that her comment was liked by 4697 people when I screenshotted it. For the sake of argument, I will give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe her character assassination was miraculously accurate, and Meghan Markle IS in fact envious of Kate Middleton.

To steal a (mis)quote from Philosopher J. M. Coetzee about animal rights, “What I mind is what tends to come next. Markle is jealous of Middleton therefore.” If we restrict our sympathy exclusively to people we already like, then we aren’t very good at being sympathetic. The comments made by Lucy Lucy and Ladina are reprehensible, but even if they were right it would not delegitimise Markle’s depression and leave her undeserving of mental health support.

The point of all this isn’t to say that you have to like Markle because she suffers from depression. Staunch monarchists are allowed to be devastated that Markle disrupted the royal family in the same way a toddler is allowed to be devastated that they are now too big for the stroller and must walk without assistance.

What I am trying to say is that while I find Piers Morgan’s crucifixion entertaining, I also think he (accidentally) raised a crucial point about how it can be hard to feel sympathy for people more successful than us. In the battle for mental health awareness, we have smashed the first stigma. Now it’s time to smash this one.