US actress Janina Gavankar has supported her friend Meghan Markle in a new interview on ITV show ‘This Morning.
The ‘True Blood’ actress, who has reportedly been friends with the Duchess of Sussex for 17 years, shared her thoughts about Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey and rubbished Buckingham Palace’s claim that they weren’t aware of the struggles they faced.
“After reading this short statement that came out from Buckingham Palace today, I thought two things,” Gavankar said on the show. “I’m so thankful that they are finally acknowledging the experience, but on the other side, I know that the family and staff were well aware of the extent of it. And though their recollections may vary, ours don’t because we lived through it with them. And there are many emails and texts to support that.”
Markle and Harry told Winfrey in an explosive interview of March 7 that they faced questions about son Archie’s skin colour, and Markle was not offered help after suffering suicidal thoughts.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” the palace said in a statement issued on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II on March 9. “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”
Prior to the royal interview with Winfrey, news broke about Markle being accused of bullying her staff. However, Gavankar said that was not the friend she knows.
“I have known [Markle] for 17 years and I have seen the way she regards the people around her and the people she works with, and I can say she is not a bully,” Gavankar said. “But I can also say that I am personally glad people are doing their due diligence because I also know why someone had to leave, and it was for gross misconduct.”
‘The truth will come out,” she added. “There are plenty of emails and texts about that. I’m not going to get into the details of it. I don’t feel like that’s my place. I’m just happy that it’s actually being looked into because the truth really does set you free.”
