Shannen Doherty admires Kate Middleton's 'strength' for undergoing endless onslaught amid cancer battle

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Shannen Doherty has expressed her admiration for Princess Kate Middleton’s resilience in the face of her recent cancer diagnosis while at the same time undergoing public mudslinging.

Doherty, who is also battling cancer, voiced her support for Middleton via Instagram and slammed conspiracy theories advocating public figures have a right to illness and privacy. 

Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis

On Friday, March 22, Kensington Palace announced that Middleton, 42, had been diagnosed with a form of cancer. 

Breaking from the traditions, Middleton revealed in a video released by the palace that she had undergone major abdominal surgery in January, initially believed to be for a non-cancerous condition.

"The surgery was successful, however, tests after the operation found cancer had been present," Middleton said in a shocked announcement. 

The detection of cancer led to her medical team advising a course of preventative chemotherapy. Middleton is currently in the early stages of treatment.

Kate Middleton's disappearance from public eye raised speculation 

Following her surgery in January, Middleton retreated from the public eye to recover privately, sparking speculation about her health when she made no public appearances since December 2023.

This led to widespread conjecture about her condition which neither Middleton nor the palace initially intended to address.

Her 'manipulated' Mother's Day photo which was retracted by leading news agencies fueled more conspiracy theories about her health. 

The rumors finally came to rest after Middleton came out with the announcement. 

Doherty, in her social media message, criticized the public’s intrusive curiosity, stating, “Being a public figure does not mean the public owns that person. We ALL have the right to go [through] illness or life privately.”

Shannen Doherty slams the endless onslaught

Even as the world is rallying behind Kate after she announced her cancer diagnosis, Doherty slammed the onslaught she underwent forcing her to come out when she was still to come to terms with the diagnosis.

"The onslaught of conspiracy theories, ownership and plain morbid curiosity forced this person to explain herself before she had come to terms with it and explained [it] to her children," Doherty said.

She continued, "I pray this is a learning moment for us all to respect the privacy of others regardless of being in the public eye."

“Princess Kate, I admire your strength [through] the endless onslaught you’ve been under while going [through] cancer,” Doherty, 52, wrote in the end.  

Doherty herself was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and went into remission in 2017 after undergoing chemotherapy. However, her cancer recurred three years later and progressed to stage IV.

Internet speaks in support of Kate Middleton  

Doherty's post garnered various reactions many of which supported Kate Middleton and her right to privacy. 

"Those of us with cancer, all express it differently. Some of us find peace in talking about it, and some of us do not. None of us should be pushed out of our comfort zones to appease others. Selfish," one user commented on Instagram. 

Another wrote, "We will not learn anything. Nothing teaches the wider public anything. Unfortunately."

One more wrote, "Sadly this should have been a lesson learned with Princess Diana. But people and the media are even worse now. It’s a sad world nowadays."

"She absolutely does not owe anyone an explanation. I feel so sad for her that she was not given the time or space to process her unexpected diagnosis," one more added in part.

Another wrote, "Well said! 👏 Give Kate space - she doesn’t need stress from people bashing her while taking care of her health & family!! 🙏🏻 🙏🏻."

Some argued and said the edited photo, silence from the palace and no public presence contributed to it.

"So releasing fake photos and dodgy videos did nothing to fan the flames. She is a very public figure. How about releasing a very simple truthful statement that the princess is still recovering and blah blah blah. Nope they just lied like they always do," wrote one.  

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.