Meghan Markle ‘risked her reputation’ supporting Prince Harry amid ESPYs backlash: expert

nypost.com:

Pat Tillman Award for Service at the July 11 ceremony for his military experience and work on the Invictus Games after many, including Pat’s own mother, felt that Harry wasn’t deserving of the honor.Despite the backlash, Markle, 42, still showed up to the event and supported her husband — which Jack Royston, the chief royal correspondent at Newsweek, believes was a risky move,“She clapped for Harry, and she was there in the audience,” Royston said on the July 17 episode of “The Royal Report” podcast. “She could have tried to stay home and let Harry kind of step into the fire, step into the furnace alone.”He added: “But she chose to be there for her husband, and she kind of risked putting her own neck on the line and her own reputation on the table to make sure he didn’t face an uncertain crowd alone.”The former “Suits” actress sat next to Harry and cheered for him when he went on stage to accept the award at the Los Angeles ceremony.

She looked on proudly during Harry’s speech, during which he said the award “belongs” to the thousands of veterans and service personnel involved in the Invictus Games, rather than him.Royston noted that it would have “looked very bizarre if Meghan hadn’t gone” to the ESPYs since her close friend, Serena Williams, hosted the event.“It would have looked very kind of out of place if, you know, if one of your best friends was hosting and your husband’s collecting an award for you to stay home,” the royal expert said.

He went on, “You would have to think that it would look deliberate for people, so there was no neutral option for her. She had to choose to stand with Harry or choose to abandon him.