A debate over high-quality cookware and an actor-turned-royal-turned-Netflix-star is stewing on the internet. On March 4, Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show, “With Love, Meghan,” debuted, featuring the Duchess of Sussex sharing her curated tips on hosting, crafting, decorating and cooking. After 10 episodes making “surprise” pancakes for her kids, Korean fried chicken and more, the royal mom has already secured a second season. And, if you’ve been on social media, you’ve seen a lot of criticism around what Meghan does on the show — and inspired Black women to post in the duchess’ defense. In episode 1, Meghan makes a one-pan pasta dish using a Le Creuset Signature Skillet — the first of many pots and pans from the brand she uses in subsequent episodes, including a Dutch Oven and a Cast Iron Shallow Casserole. Le Creuset pieces like these start at $136 to $260. Thanks to the “Meghan Markle effect,” a scientifically-studied phenomena wherein companies report dramatic increases in sales thanks to the duchess, the luxe cookware brand has quickly sold out of multiple products in its Meringue colorway. British supermarket chain Waitrose also said its website has seen interest spike for ingredients like edible flowers and truffle salt that she used on the show. Online, however, critics have deemed her use of the expensive cookware and ingredients “out of touch,” “completely and utterly tone deaf,” and “unrelatable.” Tabloids have run headlines with a similar tone, like “The ‘Love, Meghan’ Netflix show that is far from loved... by just about everyone!” and “Meghan Markle accused of ‘destroying Italian food’ after Duchess of Sussex’s latest blunder.” And now there’s backlash to the backlash — mostly from Black women, coming to Meghan’s defense, with some posting their own Le Creuset collections. “Why is anyone surprised or disturbed that she would have beautiful color coordinated cookware?” MSNBC senior contributing editor Michele Norris wrote on Threads. “Does anyone drag Ina or Martha for their cookware? Sure it would be nice to see a big heavy well-seasoned black skillet up in there. But did anyone expect that? So Yes, Le Creuset is beautiful but it is not merely performative cookware.” “I’m here buying my Le Creuset pot,” posted one X user with a video of her holding the same pot Meghan has. “The Meghan effect is real.” “Le Creuset needs to do a limited edition collab with Meghan!” wrote another. (Le Creuset did not respond to a request for comment from TODAY.com.) “Black women showing off their LeCreuset,” posted one Threads user. “Let me tap in.” “Oh, cause my Le Creuset thought somebody had said something…” media strategist Elise Roberts posted on Threads. “I thought to myself, ‘Well, wait, are we not supposed to have nice things?’ And by ‘we,’ I mean Black women,” Roberts tells TODAY.com. “I went down this rabbit hole and saw the broader discussion and I was like, ‘Well, I have a collection,’ and my newest add to my collection was this big, beautiful peach Dutch oven.” She may have taken a cheeky tone in her post, but she emphasizes that she shared her Le Creuset for an important reason. “We are not new to this,” Roberts says. “We have made the best out of very little when we had no choice but to do that, and now that we are thriving, we too deserve nice things.” While watching Meghan’s show, Roberts was reminded of B. Smith, the late chef, author, restaurateur and host of the nationally syndicated show “B. Smith With Style,” which debuted in 1999 and had 72 episodes. “I remember watching B. Smith as a little girl and thinking how elegant she was and how easy she made things look and so I’m glad that there’s a new iteration of that in Meghan Markle,” she says. “Black women, after church on Sundays, we set the table, we throw elaborate fetes, and so we are not new to this space, so we invite everyone to enjoy, come and take a look and enjoy the special flavor that we’ve always had.”
