Harry and Meghan’s celebrity status rockets as they ‘become Marmite brand’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been warned against playing the race card as they experience a massive uplift in celebrity status.

In the fallout from last night’s seismic Oprah Winfrey interview – when the Duchess denied she was building her brand – the couple have leapt up in indexes measuring the appeal of famous people, including influencers.

However, a leading branding expert has raised concerns about how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may have achieved this.

Jonathan Gabay said: ‘They have created a Marmite brand, you either loath them or you feel pity for them. From a history point of view, being the underdog brand is the best place to be.

‘When you’re at the top there is nowhere else to go but when you’re the underdog you have more options and in terms of social marketing you will have more support from people who feel they too have been overlooked and you represent them.’

Asked by Oprah on the blockbuster set-piece, which aired on CBS ahead of its UK premiere on ITV tonight, Meghan denied she was building her brand.

However, Mr Gabay reads the couple’s appearance as an attempt to build their joint box-office appeal – at the expense of Buckingham Palace.

He said: ‘Meghan denied building her brand but there is also the couple’s own Sussex Royal brand, which Oprah didn’t follow up on. This is all part of brand-building. Meghan should become a communications, or miscommunications, director, she deserves a master’s degree in the subject.’

The couple have placed themselves centre-stage ahead of their upcoming projects, including a multi-year Netflix tie-up, charts on the Influencer Intelligence platform show.

The Duke, 36, extended his celebrity equity – which tracks the value and marketability of famous people – from 58.63 in the week before the broadcast to 70.4 afterwards.

His appeal, which measures the tone of discussion around a celebrity and their engagements and endorsements, also surged from 32.53 to 53.33 on the marketing data tool. Meghan’s equity shot up from 52.61 to 60.08 and her appeal from 25.62 to 36.78.

Sarah Penny, Head of Content at Influencer Intelligence, told Metro.co.uk the interview had cemented the couple’s place on the A-list circuit in the US.

She said: ‘Oprah is a huge name and obviously attracts a lot of attention but she also has a reputation for being an interviewer who can attract those huge, high-profile stars.

‘I think with everything that has happened, the fairytale wedding and the tendency for America to be fond of the Royal Family, they are in the top tier with huge equity already, but Oprah really does shine a spotlight on them for their first significant interview, and also gives that almost stamp of approval that they are in that A-list circle.’

The couple have drawn sharply polarised reaction after the two-hour special.

Meghan, 39, alleged an unnamed member of the royal family raised ‘concerns and conversations’ about how dark her son Archie’s skin would be before he was born.

Mr Gabay said: ‘No one in their right frame of mind approves of racism, it’s the most disgusting, vile thing ever. But to start using that to paint over things is actually doing a disservice to people who have suffered racism.

‘We do have a background of not being perfect but on the other hand I look around the world and I’ve travelled a bit and I see racism everywhere.

‘I see tribal dislike and hatred between all sorts of people, it’s part of human nature. It’s awful but let’s not use that in order to build your own brand.’

However, many people have sided with Meghan, with Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan facing a backlash when he said he ‘doesn’t believe’ her admission that she felt suicidal while living the official Royal life in the UK.

On Twitter, tennis commentator David Law hit back: ‘Woman says she’s had suicidal thoughts in interview. Piers Morgan says “I don’t believe her” on national TV. Everything else aside, that’s a dangerous message.’

British radio presenter Saima Mohsin is another who has defended Meghan, tweeting before the interview: ‘What is happening to Meghan Markle is textbook racism.

‘Labelled racist tropes like bully & difficult, harassed for not falling into line & being subservient & then perpetrators become victims & the real victim becomes a troublemaker.’

Oprah With Meghan And Harry airs at 9pm tonight on ITV, with the broadcaster said to have paid £1million to secure the rights to broadcast the show in the UK.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.