Khan

Is it any wonder why women, who were and are supposed to be the soaps' target demographic, continue to abandon these shows (and others) in droves? Women (and women 18-34/49, in particular) continue to be the advertisers' biggest concern with network/cable/streaming series. Yet, the people who produce and air these shows prove at every turn just how much they actually hate women.

Wow, she's even more incoherent with normal hair!

Yup. I can't recall whether Meg was still married to Dennis Quaid when she had the affair -- but, then again, her marital status at the time shouldn't matter, anymore than Russell's marital status at that time should matter. Their affair might not have been appropriate, but they were adults, and the media should have minded its' own business.

But don't you think the tabloid media and the general public should have respected her privacy and backed away from those aspects of her personal life, rather than turn them into fodder for gossip and innuendo? The rumors about Whitney's sexuality in particular had been around almost since the start of her career. It was unfortunate that Whitney felt the need (both for her family's sake and for the sake of her career) to keep such things hidden from the public, but that was still her right and the media needed to respect that. If anything, I think her private shame (over being gay or bisexual, over being a victim of sexual abuse) is what led Whitney, at least in part, to make the foolish choices that contributed to the decline of her career and end of her life; choices that, in turn, should have elicited a public response other than mocking derision or scorn. Let me put it this way: on the one hand, Debra Wilson's imitation of Whitney in the throes of drug addiction and paranoia on "MadTV" is spot-on funny; but, on the other hand, I look at performances such as hers today and I wonder whether we weren't just kicking Whitney when she was most down; and frankly, that makes me feel more than a little uncomfortable.

For sure, I think we are overdue for a reappraisal of how we treated Whitney Houston during her gradual, personal decline. Although "Nippy" was a grown woman and no one forced her to marry Bobby Brown or take up drugs, in retrospect, I think the media and the public should have done more to empathize with and encourage Whitney to seek help rather than reduce her to a bunch of cheap internet memes. I also think we need to take another look at our relationship with Jennifer Lopez. There was a time in the late '90's and early '00's when J-Lo's career was white-hot. Yet, the media was so laser-focused on her relationships -- with her first two husbands, with Sean "Puffy" Combs, and especially with Ben Affleck -- that I think all the attention only served to stall her career momentum. (By contrast, her one-time co-star, George Clooney, was bangin' practically all the available ladies in Hollywood, yet all the media seemed to want to talk about was his ugly haircut and pet pig.) J-Lo's career rebounded somewhat with her brief stint on "American Idol," but I think it has yet to hit its' previous heights; and sadly, I also think too much time has passed for her to recoup what she lost in the meantime.

It figures that Piers [!@#$%^&*] Morgan would stomp off the set like an overgrown brat. (That's the trouble with so many racists. They're so thin-skinned.) Speaking of stomping off (LOL!), let me just say this and then I'll bow out as gracefully as I can from this thread. I'm as focused as I am on Meghan and on her allegations of racism, because, IMO, that's where the enmity between Harry/Meghan and the rest of the House of Windsor (and between them and the UK and international media) lies. I don't doubt that there are other, lingering issues between Harry and Charles, and between Harry and William, that began long before the day he first brought Meghan home to meet the family. (I'm sure there are bound to be issues in any family where the father or patriarch spends the majority of his marriage pursuing an extramarital affair.) But I also don't doubt that Harry's decision to build a family and a life with biracial Meghan has amplified and exacerbated said issues. And I don't think anyone in the royal family would be where they are at this moment, either physically or emotionally, if Harry instead had married a pert-nosed blonde with good breeding and exquisite manners. One final point: I know about the allegations of bullying and rudeness that have been lodged against Meghan, but I also know (from my own observations) that many whites still, to this day, take issue with any woman of color who asserts herself rather than submit to anyone's preconceived notions of femininity. To those individuals, women in general aren't supposed to display backbones or express opinions, especially when those opinions run counter to the dominant (read: white male) line of thought. Ergo, whenever a black or brown woman enters the scene with her own way of feeling, thinking or doing things, and who will not "remember her place" simply because a (white) man or woman reminds her to, those same individuals are bound to perceive her as a bully and a threat. That's just something to bear in mind whenever one thinks about all the disparaging things that have been said about Meghan, whether by the press, or in the court of public opinion.

Agree. LS was so much about presenting African-Americans in a positive light. Nowhere did that light shine brighter on the show than on Max and Kyle. They were two college-educated, urban and urbane professionals; who were allowed to be good at their professions; and who were flawed and funny without being reduced to the usual, buffoonish stereotypes. To me, it's shameful, but not at all surprising, that WBTV did a much better job marketing the vastly overrated "Friends," a painfully unfunny show with a similar concept (a half-dozen twentysomethings experience the ups and downs of life in the big city) that never had any POC in its' cast, despite being set in one of the most diverse cities on the planet. But what REALLY smarts to this day (but, sadly, is no less surprising) is how LS' own network, FOX, appeared to be more concerned with promoting "The Simpsons" than they did with promoting LS or "Martin."

IA. There is a sense that Tomlin and Lisanti were working to wrap up and move on from Laemmle's stories as quickly as possible.

No, I'm referring to the "others" who haven't been defended the way Meghan has. Who should have been defended here that hasn't?

Joe Manchin, re: filibuster: "I just want to make sure the minority is heard." The minority was heard on Election Day...when they lost. Ergo, what they want, or don't want, in each piece of legislation that crosses their way should be irrelevant.

Like whom?

Frankly, unless there's proof she's also lying about the racism she's encountered as a (now-former) Royal, that's irrelevant.

Ah, yes, the Nazi costume. An "incident" that got swept under the same rug as his grandfather's past, racist comments, almost as soon as it hit the tabloids. Not too many still talk about the Nazi costume; yet, it's been how many years? And people remain outraged that Michelle Obama had the audacity to put her hand on Queen Elizabeth's shoulder when they were formally introduced. Yep.

Receipts?

Agree.

Just as *I* get the feeling that *you* had *your* mind made up that Harry and Meghan had dark, ulterior motives in agreeing to the interview. Oh, I'm sure many would believe William and Kate's version of events. Just as there are those who insist, to this day, that there were "good people on both sides" of the Charlottesville incident. Why is it that many victims of racism need "proof" that they have been victims of racism? Can't you just take their word for it? But, you see, that's the problem with being one who has been victimized on account of their race or ethnicity. Unless there's undeniable, physical proof that they have been targets of racism (and even then!), wypipo either say that they're lying, or that they blew a situation out of proportion, or that there is more than one side to the story. This is why racism persists, because we look for any reason not to hold the racists accountable, thereby giving them a pass to continue being racist. What. Difference. Does. That. Make. We know the BRF has covered for other members of their family who have behaved badly. Why couldn't they do the same for Meghan? What made her such a nightmare BTS that they just had to risk unwanted attention on the royal family as a whole and leave her to the wolves in the UK/international media, whose treatment of her has made their treatment of "floozies" Princess Margaret, Fergie and Diana look like kid gloves by comparison? Are you saying Meghan should apologize for being a twat (even though, like you've said, we don't know for sure that she has been a twat -- and like I've been saying, that she's probably behaved no worse than anyone else in Buckingham Palace) before you feel bad for her? Fine. She can apologize. Just as soon as Charles and Camilla apologize for making Diana's life a living hell.

Yes. Thank you.

Agree. If her mother (from Crenshaw) never educated her about racism, then she failed in her duty as the mother of a biracial child. People like Bill Maher and Megyn Kelly believe you shouldn't burden your children with race when they're still so young, but they don't understand that being black or brown in America doesn't leave any other choice.

Exactly. Look at when Diane Sawyer interviewed Whitney Houston, or Britney Spears, or Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley. Sure, everyone's questioning how Diane handled Britney NOW, but what about when that interview first aired? Did anyone else in the media take Diane to task for how she handled those interviews and others? But, because she was white, she always got a pass (or she did until the Britney documentary premiered, lol).

I've heard that said about other African-Americans in the past: so-and-so "didn't grow up black." Which means...what, exactly? They weren't raised in "da 'hood"? As if that's the only way you can/should raise a black child. I grew up in the suburbs and attended predominantly white public schools. Does that mean I've never encountered racism, or that I'm not qualified to offer an opinion on the subject? I'm not directing these questions to you, by the way, @JaneAusten. I'm just upset, because this strikes at the heart of an issue that I've had to carry with me since childhood: the fact that some will automatically hate me because I'm black, while others will dismiss me and/or my perspective because, to them, I'm not the "right kind of black."

Yet, if William and/or Kate were to come out publicly against "the Firm," you, and others like you, would believe them automatically, without ever questioning whether there was another side to their story. And that is part of Harry and Meghan's overall point: that the media and the public (whose opinions have been colored largely by the media) afford William, Kate and everyone else within the BRF a luxury (the benefit of the doubt) that they refuse to afford Harry and Meghan; and that instead of defending the two from the terrible tabloids, the royals, for whatever reason, would rather hang them out to dry. It doesn't matter whether Meghan is, in fact, a money-grubbing b***h. I'm sure there are nefarious folks a-plenty in that family. Yet, the family seems more willing to protect the other ne'er-do-wells than they are willing to protect Meghan...and now, more than ever, it's painfully obvious why. Exactly.

And let's not forget THIS little chestnut from the '80's:

Don't forget the persistent rumors that James Hewitt is in fact Harry's bio dad. I think it was either William, or that ghoulish-looking Prince Philip.

As it should. They've received so many passes on so many other things: Diana, Andrew, Fergie, Phillip, etc. But no one, not even the royals, should get a pass on insidious racism.

What is *that* supposed to mean? Meghan can be (and probably is) a c-u-next-Tuesday, but should that invalidate her and Harry's claims of racism within the British royal family? Until I see/hear incontrovertible proof that the monarchy hasn't been unkind to the two on account of her (and Archie's) mixed racial heritage, I'm inclined to believe Meghan, thank you.