'So Strange and Weird': Meghan Markle Mocked as 'Cut-Price Angelina Jolie' Over Geneva Speech on Dangers of Children on Social Media
Meghan Markle was called a 'cut-price' Angelina Jolie over her Geneva speech.
May 19 2026, Updated 4:11 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle was mocked for her Geneva speech pushing safer online spaces for children, as she was accused of desperately trying to pivot back to the role she once held as a working member of the British royal family, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Royal expert Tom Sykes blasted Markle, 44, for still trying to paint herself as a "cut-price Angelina Jolie," referring to the Oscar-winning actress who was also lauded for her role as a United Nations humanitarian.
Meghan Markle's Swiss Speech Seemed Like a 'Parallel Universe'
Meghan Markle gave a speech in Switzerland, where less than 100 people showed up.
Sykes traveled to Geneva to hear Markle's poorly attended 10-minute speech held on the Place des Nations, where she called on global and tech leaders to treat unhealthy online spaces as "a public health issue."
The royal commentator noted, "So why then did it all feel so strange and weird and like we'd slightly stepped into a parallel universe? I think the first thing that sprang to mind for me was that if this is what Megan wants to do, if she wants to go around giving speeches on important matters that people otherwise don't give enough attention to, then it seems to me an odd decision to have left the British royal family," referring to Markle and Prince Harry's infamous Megxit in 2020.
"Because it seems to me that that's exactly the kind of thing that you would be doing right if you were a member of the royal family," Sykes pointed out with a laugh.
Meghan Markle Walked Away From 'Incredible Platform' With Royal Family
Tom Sykes questioned why Meghan Markle gave up a speaking platform with the royal family.
"Like, that is an incredible platform," Sykes said about being a working member of the royal family and the attention they are able to bring to issues and causes.
He then listed off some of the grievances Markle and Harry have shared about what drove them to quit the family, questioning why they traded in a life of influence for petty beefs.
"Wouldn't that platform have been worth any number of fights over, you know, backstabbing or bridesmaid's dresses or lip gloss or broken dog bowls or whatever it may have been?" Sykes asked.
Mark Zuckerberg Won't 'Change Facebook' Over Meghan Markle's Demands
Tom Sykes doubled Mark Zuckerberg would listen to demands made by private citizen Meghan Markle.
He then joked about how tech titans were unlikely to respond to pleas from a now-private citizen and former cable TV actress.
"And the second thing that kind of occurred to me was like, let's be honest. It's not like Mark Zuckerberg's going to watch this and go, 'Yeah, actually, you know, you're right. I'm going to change the design of Facebook," Sykes jeered.
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Meghan Markle Acting Like a 'Cut-Price Angelina Jolie'
Angelina Jolie addressed the U.N. General Assembly in 2019 as a Special Envoy to the organization's High Commission on Refugees.
Sykes then brought up that Markle was delivering her speech in conjunction with the World Health Organization.
"The technocrats can embrace her precisely because they do not have to win over any votes. She can be useful to them," he explained.
"They are very useful to her because it's enabling her to picture herself as a kind of cut-price Angelina Jolie, basically, and no one has to go and get any approval from any electorates or anything like that," Sykes noted about how the organization differs from the U.N., where Markle reportedly aspired to work as a goodwill ambassador prior to marrying Harry in 2018.
