It appears that Brooke Shields’ critical comments about Meghan Markle have been quietly erased from the internet.
Shields appeared on a June 2025 episode of India Hicks’ podcast, where she mentioned a past alleged interaction with Meghan. (Hicks is the goddaughter of Meghan’s father-in-law, King Charles III, who is currently estranged from the Duchess of Sussex and her husband, Prince Harry.)
Shields and Meghan had previously shared the stage during a March 2024 panel at SXSW titled, “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen.”
On Hicks’ podcast, Shields said that Meghan told a story about writing a letter in support of gender equality when she was 11. She described the tale as too “serious.”
“Katie asks the first question to Meghan and she talks about how at a young age, she was already advocating for women,” Shields claimed, per The Independent. “She starts telling a story about how when she was 11 – and she keeps saying, ‘Well, when I was 11, I saw this commercial and they were talking about how washing dishes was for women.’ And she said, ‘I didn’t think only women wash dishes. It wasn’t fair. So I wrote to the company.’”
She added, “It was just too precious, and I was like, they’re not going to want to sit here for 45 minutes and listen to anybody be precious or serious.”
Less than two weeks later, the link to Hicks’ interview titled “Brooke Shields is 60 and Sexy” no longer appears on her website. Instead, a Substack page redirects to one that reads, “Page not found.”
Neither Shields nor Hicks immediately addressed the apparent deletion. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the situation:
The Headline
Shields sat on a March 2024 panel with Meghan at SXSW, listening to the duchess recall a story about writing a letter to a company perpetuating gender stereotypes in its national commercial when she was 11 years old. Shields interjected, joking that at that age she was “playing a prostitute” in her breakout 1978 film, Pretty Baby.
“This is one of the ways where we were different,” Shields quipped onstage. “I wish I had known you. I would have been writing very different letters — but equally important, I hope.”
Shields recalled the interaction during a June 2025 appearance on Hicks’ podcast.
“I go, ‘Excuse me, I’m so sorry, I’ve got to interrupt you there for one minute.’ I was trying not to be rude, but I wanted to be funny because it was so serious,” Shields said on the podcast, noting that the rest of the panel felt “more relaxed” after she made her joke.
Within weeks, the podcast episode was removed from Hicks’ page.
The Key Players
Meghan is a former actress who transitioned her career after marrying Prince Harry in 2018. After the couple stepped down from their royal duties two years later, they settled in California with their two children. Since then, Meghan has started various new business ventures while continuing her advocacy efforts.
Shields, meanwhile, is an actress and a model who met Meghan during a joint SXSW panel in 2024.
Hicks, for her part, is a designer, model and podcast host. She is also the daughter of Lady Pamela Hicks, whose ancestry dates back to the House of Mountbatten. (Mountbatten is the paternal side of King Charles’ lineage from his father, Prince Philip, who died in 2021.)
The Gist
Meghan and Shields discussed gender equity during a SXSW panel discussion, which the Blue Lagoon actress later detailed on Hicks’ podcast. Within two weeks of its release, the episode was removed from all podcast streaming hubs.
Why It’s a Big Deal
Meghan has been considered a polarizing figure since stepping back from her royal duties and launching her new business ventures.
“Meghan is embarking on a number of business ventures as an entrepreneur and working mom. The constant scrutiny is motivated by clickbait and systems that make sport out of attacking women,” Meredith Maines, the CCO for Meghan and Harry, told Us Weekly in a March 2025 cover story. “I hope that readers pause and ask why publications are so interested in clicks at the expense of a founder, a woman, a mom, who is creating and building. As Meghan deploys her brand, show and podcast, we’re looking forward to partnering with outlets that want to understand the business story and the power of brand building by a founder.”
The next month, Meghan herself responded to the constant criticism.
“Don’t they know my life hasn’t always been like this?” she told The New York Times in April 2025, referring to her newfound lifestyle empire. “There are professionals who do that better than I ever will. … “I need to work, and I love to work. This is a way to connect my home life and my work.”
What People Are Saying
While neither Hicks, Shields nor Meghan publicly addressed the situation, the British designer previously praised her conversation with Shields.
“Just before her 60th birthday, I sat down with the ever-iconic Brooke Shields. She had just stepped out of the shower — entirely unfiltered — sipping a glass of David’s @idlespirits,” Hicks wrote via Instagram on June 1, 2025. “What followed was an utterly Brooke-ish conversation. From being cast as a child prostitute to becoming a powerhouse CEO and advocate for women’s voices. She doesn’t hold back about age, ambition or motherhood, and I love her for it.”
She added, “The entire conversation was messy, funny, heartfelt and completely real. Just like Brooke.”
Some social media users, meanwhile, have opposing views. Some feel that Shields’ comments highlighted her perceived jealousy or alleged internal racism, while others acknowledge that Meghan has told the same story multiple times before and, therefore, her SXSW recollection was repetitive.
What We’re Saying
Since we don’t know exactly what led Hicks to delete her podcast episode, it is possible that it was taken down as a way to silence the now-viral chatter, discourse and backlash.
What’s Next
Since none of the key players have addressed the SXSW comments or Hicks’ podcast publicly thus far, it is a possibility that one or more might release a statement clarifying what transpired and why.
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