Meghan Markle Accused of 'Writing Her Own Statement' on Father's Child Abuse Scandal — as Expert Calls It 'Worst PR Blunder Ever'

A former top Hollywood publicist has blasted Meghan Markle over what he claims was a disastrous statement she penned herself amid explosive allegations involving her father, branding it "one of the worst self-inflicted PR blunders that I've ever seen," RadarOnline.com can reveal.

While allegations that 82-year-old Thomas Markle Sr. possessed child abuse material were shocking enough, the Duchess of Sussex, 45, dropped a bombshell of her own by revealing she had been aware of accusations against her father after being shown a letter detailing the disturbing claims back in 2018.

"I'm told from my sources that this was her statement. A publicist like me didn't write this. A manager, an agent, a lawyer, was not consulted," Rob Shuter told Maureen Callahan on The Nerve podcast.

Shuter noted his long Hollywood history of handling celebrity clients' PR crises, revealing he wrote Jennifer Lopez's statement when she broke up with Ben Affleck for the first time in 2004. He also penned Jessica Simpson's statement when her marriage to Nick Lachey fell apart in 2005.

"Most celebrities, most people, in these circumstances would work with their teams, their lawyers, and their people to make sure that it was the right statement," the It Started With a Whisper author explained.

"She thinks of herself as a Gwyneth Paltrow, Martha Stewart-type branding expert, and she wanted to put a statement out immediately," Shuter said of Markle's statement, saying she knew back in 2018 that her father had been accused of claiming to have traveled abroad to have s-- with minors by his first ex-wife, Roslyn Loveless.

"All she needed to say is, 'The new accusations are heartbreaking and disgusting, and all my thoughts are with the children.' Period. That's all she had to say," Shuter noted.

"Now she has exposed herself as literally a marketing fool. This is one of the worst self-inflicted PR blunders I've ever seen. Ever seen. It's massive," Shuter scoffed about Meghan.

He added, "It has changed what should be a story about a disgusting old man and children and allegations into a story about, 'What did you know, Meghan? When did you know, Meghan? And why did you do nothing, Meghan?'"

A news outlet first reported on October 22 that Thomas Markle Jr. had turned in a cache of his father's possessions left in the Philippines to police, which allegedly included child abuse material.

The following day, the former actress released a statement saying she was "deeply distressed" by the news.

“In 2018, a letter was sent to the Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection. That letter was subsequently shared with me. It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father, and I was given assurances that these were being investigated," Meghan revealed at the time.

Thomas Sr. is still under investigation in the Philippines, but a separate investigation was launched by the FBI that resulted in the former TV lighting director being arrested in Florida on Friday, November 6, and charged.

Federal prosecutors accused him of stashing suspected child sexual abuse material inside two Los Angeles-area storage units he had rented for nearly 20 years, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Thomas Sr. originally called the claims against him "sick lies."