Oprah Winfrey came under renewed fire this week after revisiting her explosive 2021 interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a new Vanity Fair feature. The longtime talk show host, now 72, defended her decision to ask the duchess whether she had been prevented from speaking or chose to remain silent, explaining that she crafted the question carefully to ensure Meghan’s answer could not later be twisted or misunderstood.

In the Vanity Fair clip posted yesterday, Winfrey looked back at a segment from the March 7, 2021 CBS broadcast that drew widespread attention. She described posing the question to determine whether royal officials had actively blocked the duchess from giving her side. Meghan’s response was brief: “The latter.”

Winfrey said her wording was intentional, aimed purely at precision and clarity. She also commented on her own reaction in the moment, joking about the expression that appeared on her face as Meghan answered.

Critics Call Response Too Little, Too Late

Royal followers on X were unimpressed. Many accused the broadcaster of attempting to reframe or distance herself from the conversation years after the fact. Some suggested Winfrey looked uneasy as she watched the old footage, while others dismissed her reasoning as empty jargon that arrived far too late to matter.

Critics also faulted Winfrey for failing to press the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on key statements during the original conversation. Among the claims left unchallenged were Meghan’s statement that she had conducted no research into the Royal Family before beginning her romance with Harry, and the pair’s revelation of a secret exchange of vows ahead of the public service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor—a statement later disputed by officials.

One viewer noted that Winfrey appeared to be on the defensive, a sign that she had absorbed substantial blowback over her handling of the sit-down. Others wondered why she never applied the same rigorous standard to more consequential assertions made by the couple.

Old Wounds Resurface Amid Reconciliation

The renewed attention comes at an awkward moment for the Sussexes. Earlier this month, Meghan and Harry held a private meeting with King Charles as part of a broader effort to repair their relationship with the Royal Family. The resurfaced discussion now risks undoing that progress just as signs of reconciliation had begun to emerge.

One commenter on social media questioned why the subject was being dragged up again, while another remarked simply that the interview had not aged well.

The CBS special aired in 2021, twelve months following the couple’s exit from Britain and their decision to relinquish their royal duties and settle in Montecito. More than 17 million Americans tuned in on linear television to watch the two-hour broadcast, which marked the couple’s first comprehensive on-camera appearance since stepping back from the monarchy.

An Interview That Shook the Palace

During the conversation, a very pregnant Meghan told Winfrey that members of the Royal Family had raised concerns about the color of their son Archie’s skin. She also accused the institution of spreading lies about the couple. The revelations sent shockwaves around the world when the interview aired five years ago.

Winfrey appeared in the Vanity Fair segment as part of “Scene Selection,” a series highlighting pivotal moments from her career. She also recalled the celebrated 2004 episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” in which she gave away 276 cars valued at over $7 million. She disclosed that the interview with the Sussexes had been postponed three times before it was finally recorded in a session lasting well over three and a half hours.

The broadcaster had attended the couple’s 2018 Windsor ceremony and is believed to have met Meghan via CBS connections. Winfrey had sought an earlier interview opportunity that the duchess turned down, reportedly believing the timing was premature. The 2021 broadcast established Winfrey’s role as a vocal ally of Harry and Meghan throughout their rift with King Charles and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Several commenters invoked the late Queen Elizabeth II’s measured response to the interview’s most damaging allegations of racism and mistreatment—that “recollections may vary”—language that came to symbolize official royal responses to the couple’s public statements. By Winfrey’s own account, she has remained a steadfast advocate for Harry and Meghan’s choice to leave royal duties, having said publicly she supported them without reservation. Whether her recent clarification will quiet critics or fuel further controversy remains uncertain, but the 2021 interview continues to dominate discussion.