Brooke Shields recalls hilariously interrupting Meghan Markle's speech as she was being 'too serious'

Brooke Shields recalls hilariously interrupting Meghan Markle's speech as she was being 'too serious'
Brooke Shields recalled interrupting Meghan Markle on a live stage as she thought the Duchess of Sussex’s ‘serious’ demeanor would weary the audience (Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Brooke Shields recently recalled interrupting Meghan Markle on stage as she thought the Duchess of Sussex’s ‘serious’ demeanor was wearying the audience.

‘The Blue Lagoon’ star, 60, made an appearance on India Hicks' podcast where she discussed joining Markle on the panel of ‘Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen’ in March 2024, according to Radar Online.

Shields claimed once Markle started speaking on stage about gender equality, the atmosphere quickly became serious, remarking: "It was just too precious".



 

Brooke Shields reflects on Meghan’s ‘too serious’ speech

The Hollywood actress recalled how the tone of the panel became overly serious once the ‘Suits’ alum started answering host Katie Couric’s questions, as per The Daily Mail.

“Katie asks the first question to Meghan and talks about how at a young age, she was already advocating for women, etcetera, etcetera,” Shields explained.

“Meghan starts telling a story about how when she was 11... And she keeps saying, well, when I was 11, I saw this commercial, and they were talking about washing dishes, and the only soap for washing dishes was for women,”

Brooke Shields is seen leaving the ABC Television Studios on January 13, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by XNY/Star Max/GC Images)
Brooke Shields is seen leaving the ABC Television Studios on January 13, 2025 in New York City (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

“And she said, 'I didn't think only women wash dishes. It wasn't fair. So I wrote to the company. And when I was 11, I wrote my first letter, and when I was 11...' and she kept saying she was 11! She wrote to the company, and they changed the text and the commercial,” the ‘Pretty Baby’ actress added.

Brooke Shields interrupts ‘too precious’ Meghan Markle

Sheilds claimed she couldn't help but break the tension in the room, and the earnestness of Meghan's response.

Meghan Markle looks on during a forum about digital responsibility at EAN University on August 15, 2024, in Bogota, Colombia (Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)
Meghan Markle looks on during a forum about digital responsibility at EAN University on August 15, 2024, in Bogota, Colombia (Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)

“I go, ‘Excuse me, I'm so sorry. I've got to interrupt you there for one minute.’ I was trying not to be rude, but I wanted to be funny because it was so serious.”

“I just want to give everybody here a context as to how we're different,” the actress told the audience, adding, “I said, 'Well, when I was 11, I was playing a prostitute.”

“The place went insane. And then luckily, it was more relaxed after that,” she remembered. The remark referred to Shields' breakthrough performance as a child actress in the contentious 1978 movie 'Pretty Baby', in which she portrayed a young sex worker.

Shields’ comments drove the audience into a fit of laughter, but she was more concerned about coming out as rude to Markle. "I was like, oh, I hope she doesn't think I'm rude. I'm not being rude," Brooke added.

India agreed that lightening the serious mood Markle had created was the right thing to do. "I think it's genius," she said.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Brooke Shields attends the 2022 White House Correspondents' Association D
Brooke Shields attends the 2022 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner (Getty Images)

Shields then went on to claim, “It was just too precious. And I was like, they're not going to want to sit here for 45 minutes and listen to anybody be precious or serious.”

She admitted that the duchess herself could not have been thrilled with the interruption, despite the audience’s reaction.

“This was in front of [thousands of people]. I mean, it was crazy," she said. "And then afterwards, she was kind of like, oh, okay. And I was like, let's just have some fun with it,” she explained, adding, “I don't know if you'll have to cut this out.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 23: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks onstage during the 2025 TIME100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speaks onstage during the 2025 TIME100 Summit at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 23, 2025 in New York City (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)

Jennifer Aniston shoots down Meghan Markle's friendhsip

Markle has been taking plenty of hits lately from the entertainment community, with sources claiming that Jennifer Aniston has turned down her extended hand of friendship.

According to an insider, Markle is "frantic" to return to the "showbiz tent" and her circle knows that she earnestly wants to become friends with the 56-year-old 'Morning Show' star. However, they also claim that the actress "just ain't interested" in getting involved with the duchess.

Jennifer Aniston at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards (Instagram/@televisionacad)
Jennifer Aniston at the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards (Instagram/@televisionacad)

"Jen is at the top of Meghan's wish list as a BFF. She has so much influence and prestige in the business and is on first-name terms with all the big power players,” an insider tipped to Radar.

"Meghan's been chipping away in high hopes of a friendship with Jen, and word is she's been asking for an introduction through their mutual friends for years now, but it hasn't quite happened yet.”

“Jen's been polite, but she's always so busy, and that 90-mile commute from Jen's place in Bel-Air to Montecito makes it so much harder. But now, with Jen moving into her new place, it's opening a whole new door for Meghan – and she couldn't be more excited,” they added.

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