Meghan Markle faces backlash as fans call out similarities to Pamela Anderson’s lifestyle show | CBC News

It seems like the Duchess of Sussex just can’t seem to catch a break.

Meghan Markle is being called out ahead of the launch of her new Netflix series With Love, Meghan, as fans say her lifestyle show is a ripoff of Pamela Anderson’s cooking series.

People online have been pointing out the striking similarities between the two shows which follow very similar concepts, and accusing Meghan of copying the Baywatch star.

The Duchess revealed the trailer for her new Netflix series on Instagram in January, making a comeback on social media after a five-year hiatus. The show is set to be released on Netflix on March 4.

Anderson’s Pamela’s Cooking with Love premiered on Food Network Canada on Monday, and the promotional video was released in October 2024, nearly three months before Meghan’s trailer came out.

WATCH | Trailer for With Love, Meghan: 

From the similar names of the show (both have “with love” in the title) to the aesthetics of the trailer and how both actresses are seen spending time in their gardens and picking fresh produce, with famous chefs lending a hand in the kitchen — fans have been questioning the likeness.

Both trailers start off in a very similar vein.

Anderson’s trailer opens with her walking through her garden and kitchen saying, “I love to cook. I just always have wanted to take things to another level.”

Similarly, Meghan’s promotional video begins with her in the kitchen and walking through her garden saying, “I’ve always loved taking something pretty ordinary and elevating it.”

And though Anderson’s show is based on plant-based living and cooking and creating the perfect setting and Meghan’s show focuses on cooking, lifestyle and hosting, netizens have been merciless.

WATCH | Trailer for Pamela’s Cooking with Love: 

Fans online have been dissing Meghan’s show, saying: “so similar it’s freaky,” “the entire concept strikingly similar,” “copycat” and “inauthentic.”

However, some people have stood up in her defence, saying that all lifestyle shows bear a resemblance to each other and that “if Meghan Markle is copying Pamela Anderson, then Anderson is copying Martha Stewart.”

People also pointed out that given the close release dates and production schedules and the fact that Meghan would have already been working on her promo video when Pamela’s came out, it was probably more a case of coincidence rather than copying.

Even the initial reaction to the trailer of With Love, Meghan had been scathing, with many critics calling out the show as “entitled,” “tone deaf” and “tasteless” for promoting an upscale lifestyle most people can’t afford.

Problems galore

The negative reaction to her series comes on the heels of backlash the Suits star faced after the unveiling of her new lifestyle brand, As Ever, last week, changing its name from American Riviera Orchard due to trademark issues.

Meghan said in a post during the unveiling that As Ever means “as it’s always been” or “in the same way as always.” The brand is set to sell fruit preserves among other products. 

Soon after the unveiling, Mark Kolski, the founder of a New York clothing company, discovered that the Duchess had rebranded her website to the same name as his vintage-inspired workwear brand, which was started a decade ago, and wrote in a post, “We are aware. We are not affiliated.”

Kolski’s fashion brand doesn’t have a registered trademark for the name.

Meghan was also accused of copying a small Mallorcan town’s coat of arms in her rebrand. The logo of her website shows a palm tree with two hummingbirds flapping their wings on either side of it.

The coat of arms of the Mallorcan village of Porreres, in Spain, also features a palm tree with two swallows on each side.

Francisca Mora Veny, mayor of Porreres, told The Sun in an interview that the logo is an “exact copy” and she hopes Meghan will consider making the change.

“We don’t want our coat of arms to be perverted because it belongs exclusively to Porreres,” she said, adding that they may not be able to afford a legal battle.