Alert – Meghan Markle responds to podcaster’s takedown of her Netflix cooking show with a handwritten note… as criticism mounts amid low viewership and CEO jumps to her defence

Meghan Markle has sent a podcaster an extraordinary handwritten letter after she suggested the former Suits star came across as ‘inauthentic’ and not ‘relatable’ on her new Netflix show, it was revealed today.

Amanda Hirsch had said she was ‘scared’ about the reception to With Love, Meghan.

In a video showing her watching the teaser trailer after it was released in January, Amanda cringes as Meghan bakes a cake.

‘Oh guys I’m genuinely concerned for Meghan. I’m not a Meghan hater at all. It feels like a Blake Lively situation. I understand that some people think she’s inauthentic. I get that. I’m so scared for her that this Netflix show will make those claims stronger. From the trailer, it looks like it might’, she said.

With her fist almost in her mouth Amanda added: ‘In the trailer at least she doesn’t come across as relatable. I’m just scared for you Meghan. Why did you have to do that? Consult with me, I would have told you!’.

Ms Hirsch, who runs the popular ‘notskinnybutnotfat’ podcast, was ‘absolutely flabbergasted’ when the card topped with Meghan’s regal logo arrived with the message: ‘Don’t be scared. Let’s enjoy it’.

She also shared an image of the note, which has immaculate calligraphic handwriting and was signed ‘As ever, Meghan’ – a nod to the Duchess of Sussex’s new lifestyle brand. 

Amanda says she is now a ‘fan’ of Meghan ‘for life’. 

It came after Netflix boss Ted Sarandos broke his silence on Meghan Markle’s future and appeared to back her despite the poor reception to her eight-part lifestyle series.

And the group fighting to see Prince Harry’s visa today told that they believe the royal ‘hates America’ and should self-deport amid the row over whether he declared his drug use on his visa application.

Meghan’s message from Montecito was sent in response to a video Ms Hirsch had made in which she expressed fears that Meghan did not appear authentic in her Netflix series ‘With Love, Meghan.’ 

She said: ‘You guys I’m scared for Meghan.’

Meghan dug out Ms Hirsch’s address and sent her a letter reassuring her, in what is being considered a wider riposte to criticism With Love, Meghan, which has been widely panned but is coming back for a second season.  

Meghan Markle sent a podcaster a handwritten letter urging her ‘not to be scared’ after the woman expressed concerns over her new Netflix show

Amanda Hirsch, who runs the popular ‘notskinnybutnotfat’ podcast, revealed on Wednesday night that Meghan had reached out to her with a note written on her official letterhead

The letter was in response to a video Hirsch made in which she expressed fears for Meghan ahead of the release of her Netflix series ‘With Love, Meghan’

‘Dear Amanda, I heard you were feeling scared’, the letter read. ‘Don’t be,’ it continued. ‘This is the fun part – let’s enjoy it.’ She signed off with the phrase ‘as ever, Meghan.’

Meghan’s penmanship has sparked a stir among Hirsch’s 893,000 followers, many who said they couldn’t believe the ‘beautiful’ styling of the short note.

Hirsch herself said she’d ‘frame’ the letter.

‘Obviously framing this. Beyond shook. Beyond spiraling. Did I smell the paper? Yes. Do I want my own monogram? Yes,’ she said.

‘Am I absolutely flabbergasted and obsessed? F**k yes. Meghan, you have a fan for life.’ 

The letter was dated to March 2025. Back in January, after the trailer for Meghan’s show was released, Hirsch shared her initial thoughts.

‘I’m genuinely concerned for Meghan. I am not a Meghan hater at all, it feels like a Blake Lively situation where people just piled on this woman,’ Hirsch said, repeatedly dropping her head into her hand and grimacing.

‘I haven’t formed an opinion, I don’t hate her like a lot of the world does. I understand that some people are like ”she’s inauthentic” – I get it.’

Hirsch said she was scared that the Netflix show would only amplify claims of Meghan’s inauthenticity and ‘make those claims stronger.’ 

‘From the trailer, it looks like it might be kind of trying to be a Martha Stewart situation that feels a little forced,’ she said.

Hirsch said she was scared that the Netflix show would only amplify claims of Meghan’s inauthenticity and ‘make those claims stronger’ 

Hirsch’s following was largely impressed by Meghan’s correspondence, theorizing that she may be angling to become a guest on the podcast. 

‘The trailer at least doesn’t seem like she’s going to come across relatable which I feel like she’ll want to try to be. I’m scared for her.’

Addressing Meghan directly, Hirsch said: ‘Meghan why did you have to go and do that? Consult with me, I would have told you.’ 

Since the show launched, Meghan has faced significant backlash after critics said it made her look out of touch and ‘tone deaf.’

But Hirsch’s following was largely impressed by Meghan’s correspondence, theorizing that she may be angling to become a guest on the podcast.

Dozens of fans responded to the post saying her decision to reach out to the podcaster made them ‘like her even more.’

‘I hated the show but I genuinely like her. This makes me like her even more,’ one supporter said.

‘That handwriting is rich,’ another said, while a third added: ‘I find myself Team Meghan all of a sudden.’

Others questioned why the Duchess continues to use ‘stationary with a crown’ given her longstanding terse relationship with the royal family.

Netflix’s CEO has weighed in on the future of Meghan Markle’s lifestyle series With Love, which was renewed for a second season

‘Stationary with a crown when you fled the royal family is crazy work,’ one critic said.

‘Doesn’t wanna be “Royal” but has a crown on her personal stationary?’ another asked.

The Duchess of Sussex, who lives in a sprawling $14.65million Montecito mansion, insists she and Prince Harry are trying to be like other families with children at school. 

‘Once you know us, I think you want us to have the same normalcy as parents and for our children as they do, despite however unique our situation is,’ she told People.

‘I have a couple of girlfriends up here – these are stay-at-home moms and working women with normal jobs, not in the public eye.’

Fellow Netflix stars have even taken to mocking the series, while the Duchess of Sussex has become a punching bag for some comedians.

During NBC’s The Tonight Show on Monday, Jimmy Fallon’s sidekick Steve Higgins asked the host the ‘number one question that mystifies scientists.’

Answering his own question, he said: ‘Why does Meghan Markle make her own pretzel bags? They don’t know why.’

They were referring to a moment in the show where the duchess transfers pre-packaged pretzels into another bag with a personalized label on to show visiting guests that she is thinking of them.

Despite being mocked, the series has been renewed for a second season, with Ted Sarandos, the co-CEO of Netflix, insisting the Duchess has been ‘underestimated.’

Since the couple signed the mega deal with Netflix in 2020, there has been one smash hit and three relative duds. 

With Love, Meghan was watched by 526,000 households in the first five days it was available on Netflix since its release on March 4, according to data gathered by Samba TV.

Meghan was mocked for transfering pre-packaged pretzels into another bag with a personalised label on to show her guests she is thinking of them

The show sees the duchess trying to promote herself in a new way as a ‘domestic goddess’, baking cakes, arranging flowers and slipping into a beekeeper’s suit to collect honey. 

She shared a number of recipes throughout the series, including for spaghetti, a honey and lemon cake and a cooked breakfast.

Meghan said her new show had helped her to ‘find herself’ again.

But despite her huge two-million-strong following on social media, she insisted she instead saw as a ‘female founder’ and ‘entrepreneur’ rather than an influencer.

By comparison, the biographical ‘Harry & Meghan’ was the streaming service’s biggest documentary debut, viewed in almost 29 million households in its first four days, and proved a global sensation.

But Polo, a sports docuseries, Live to Lead – which focused on ‘global justice activists’ – and Heart of Invictus, about Harry’s games for wounded soldiers, proved lacklustre additions that failed to set the streaming service’s viewing figures ablaze.

It came after Jimmy Fallon became the latest celebrity to mock Meghan Markle.

He made a joke about her making her own pretzel bags on her Netflix show.

During NBC’s The Tonight Show on Monday, Fallon’s sidekick Steve Higgins asked the 50-year-old chat show host a series of questions in a ‘Trivia Night’ segment.

One of the queries put to Fallon by Higgins was: ‘Ready, you’re going to get this. What is the number one question that mystifies scientists? Number one question.’

Fallon then suggested: ‘Is there life on another planet?’ But Higgins said: ‘Ooh, no. Why does Meghan Markle make her own pretzel bags? They don’t know why.’

As the audience erupted in laughter, Fallon chuckled and replied: ‘That’s interesting. She takes it from one bag and puts it in another bag, and that confuses people.’

They were referring to a moment in ‘With Love, Meghan’, which began streaming on  March 4, where the Duchess of Sussex transfers pre-packaged pretzels into another bag with a personalized label on to show visiting guests that she is thinking of them.

In the scene, Meghan tears open a pre-packaged bag of supermarket pretzels, transferring them into her own plastic bag, and securing it with a neat string bow. 

‘This, we’re just going to put into a different bag,’ she says, with fans spotting the recognizable Trader Joe packaging of the peanut butter flavored snacks.

Jimmy Fallon made a joke about Meghan Markle on The Tonight Show on NBC on Monday

Fallon’s sidekick Steve Higgins (pictured) asked him a series of questions, including: ‘What is the number one question that mystifies scientists?’ – to which the answer is shown above

As the audience erupted in laughter at the answer, Fallon chuckled and replied: ‘That’s interesting. She takes it from one bag and puts it in another bag, and that confuses people’

After pouring the snacks into her own bag, the Duchess labels the bag as containing peanuts – but acknowledges she already knows her friend does not have an allergy.

‘I know that Daniel (Martin) loves peanut butter but I’m going to label this anyway, you always want to be conscious if someone has a nut allergy,’ she says. 

‘I’m packing this all up so I can take it home and prep the guest room.’

Meghan was twice due to appear on The Tonight Show in 2022, with her first appearance in September that year axed after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Then, NBC claimed Meghan would be appearing in December 2022 – before royal reporter Omid Scobie denied this, and the channel later admitted it had made a mistake with its announcement.

But in September last year, Prince Harry did make an appearance as he was filmed screaming while venturing through a haunted maze with Fallon in New York.