Meghan Markle has been an outspoken advocate for women since she emerged in the spotlight, but her activism actually started when she was just 11 years old! Now that she’s engaged to Prince Harry, a video of Meghan in grade school has resurfaced, and as it turns out, she was the feminist activist we all aspire to be.
At school, Meghan saw a Procter & Gamble commercial that claimed, “Women everywhere are fighting greasy pots and pans,” which she didn’t like at all. She spoke out against the sexist nature of the commercial and wrote letters to Procter & Gamble, then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, and Nick News host Linda Ellerbee.
Ellerbee asked Meghan to come on her show and talk about her letter-writing campaign. In footage obtained by Inside Edition, Markle explains that it’s wrong to think only women should be doing household chores. “I don’t think it is right for kids to grow up thinking these things, that just mom does everything…It’s always ‘Mom does this’ and ‘Mom does that’” she said.
Meghan may be known for acting on Suits, but she has a passion for humanitarian work and was a United Nations advocate before she started dating Prince Harry. She has always advocated for women, and now we know where that comes from.
Procter & Gamble actually did change their commercial to say, “People are fighting greasy pots and pans.” While the company never said it was because of Meghan’s letters, it’s pretty safe to say she had an impact on the advertising industry at a young age.
Now that Meghan has officially retired from acting to start her royal duties, she has a new platform to make even more change, 25 years after her Nick News appearance.