Following Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry's revealing interview with Oprah Winfrey, a clip of late-night host John Oliver from 2018 went viral. Speaking ahead of Meghan and Harry's royal wedding, Oliver talked about how the royal family could cause Meghan some "emotional complications." Now, three years later, the video seems like an eerie prediction. So, did Oliver watch Meghan and Harry's tell-all with Oprah and find out how right he was? Yes, he did, and he said there was only one thing that surprised him.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show on Monday, Mar. 15, Oliver spoke to host Jimmy Fallon about the interview, and again, he was blunt about his feelings in regards to the royal family. Read on to see what Oliver had to say and to find out about the one aspect that did catch him off-guard. And for more fallout from the interview, check out The One Thing William Must Do to Save the Monarchy, Say Insiders.
Oliver's 2018 comments about Meghan have so much more context now.
CBS via YouTubeIn 2018, Oliver, who is from England, appeared on The Late Show where Stephen Colbert asked him if he was excited about the royal wedding. He said he wasn't and explained, "I would not blame [Meghan] if she pulled out of this at the last minute. I don’t think you need to have just seen the pilot episode of The Crown to get a basic sense that she might be marrying into a family that could cause her some emotional complications."
Now, we know that Meghan suffered greatly after marrying Harry. In the Oprah interview, she said that she often felt alone, and at her lowest point was not given the support she asked for when she was having suicidal thoughts.
"They’re an emotionally stunted group of fundamentally flawed people doing a very silly pseudo-job," Oliver said on The Late Show. "That’s what she’s marrying into. So I hope she likes it. It’s going to be weird for her. I would not marry into the royal family. I’m a commoner. I would not be welcomed—especially after what I’ve just said."
Keep reading about her experience with Meghan Markle Just Said This Is Her One Regret About Royal Life.
Oliver was sad to learn he was right about Meghan's experience with the royals.
NBC via YouTubeOn The Tonight Show, Oliver said that what Meghan shared about joining the British royal family "was kind of what I felt like, sadly, her experience was going to be going in."
The Last Week Tonight host, who is from England, continued, "I know the royal family from a distance, and they seem like flawed people. That's literally the kindest way I could possibly put it."
Read more about the Oprah sit-down in This Royal Has the Most to Lose From Harry & Meghan's Interview, Insiders Say.
But one fact Oprah revealed the next day about Harry and Meghan's interview truly "shocked" him.
Jonny McGrady / Shutterstock.comOne of the biggest revelations from the interview came when Meghan and Harry both said that a member of the royal family questioned what their unborn child's skin tone might be when she was pregnant with their son, Archie Mountbatten Windsor. Meghan said there were "concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he's born" and "what that would mean and what that would look like."
The morning after the interview, Oprah appeared on CBS This Morning to share more details from the interview that were not included in the prime time special. One thing Oprah mentioned was that Prince Harry wanted to make it clear that Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip were not the ones who made comments about his unborn son's skin color, which was the most surprising news to Oliver.
"The only thing that shocked me after was Oprah, the next day saying, 'Oh, Prince Harry wants to make it clear that it wasn't Prince Philip being racist,' which made me think, 'Really? OK, that is actually surprising,'" Oliver said on The Tonight Show.
Oliver didn't explain further, but 99-year-old Prince Philip has been known to say a number of offensive things that range from gaffes to racist and xenophobic.
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Oliver doesn't think the royal family will change.
Harpo Productions via CBSFallon asked Oliver if he thinks any change will come following the interview, and Oliver said he isn't betting on it. "It's hard to say, isn't it?" he said, "because the royal family, its whole selling point is that it doesn't change. That was kind of the point of it over centuries, that times come and go, governments rise and fall, but the royal family will always be there, unyielding, the stiff upper lip that doesn't wobble."
But, he added, "As years go by, you realize that not changing is not entirely a good thing, because that means that the times might be changing around you and you are refusing to evolve. So, I don't think they will change because I don't think they have the capacity to, but they obviously should."
For more on the royal family, check out Harry Remains Close to This One Royal Despite All the Drama.
