- Kristen Meinzer said she was wrongly cited as a friend of Meghan Markle in a new book.
- In "Revenge," author Tom Bower used Meinzer's quotes which she had given to The Times of London.
Kristen Meinzer, a royal commentator based in the US, says she isn't friends with Meghan Markle despite being cited as such in a new royal book.
In "Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors," released on Thursday, author Tom Bower used quotes that Meinzer had given to a news outlet about the racism and misogyny Markle faced upon entering into the royal family, Meinzer told Insider.
Meinzer shared an excerpt from the book on Twitter on Friday, writing that Bower wrongly described her as a friend to the duchess and that she wasn't interviewed for the book.
—Kristen Meinzer (@kristenmeinzer) July 22, 2022
The excerpt reads: "'No one,' agreed Kristen Meinzer, a friend and a writer, 'could have been prepared for the level of racism and misogyny and vitriol that she's faced.' He/she, as Meinzer describes herself, blamed the 'inbred, messed-up, dysfunctional family' who were up against a 'highly educated self-made millionaire who knew how to do the PR game... A lot of people think you were so lucky to get her, and you blew it.'"
Meinzer's quotes were originally given in an interview with The Times of London ahead of Markle and Prince Harry's Oprah interview in March 2021.
"In his new book, Tom Bower claims I'm friends with #MeghanMarkle and that I use the pronouns he/she," Meinzer wrote alongside the excerpt on Twitter.
"If he can't even get these simple facts right, how are we to trust anything he says about the Sussexes?" she added.
Lower down in the Twitter thread, Meinzer responded to a person who asked if she had been interviewed for the book, writing: "Nope!"
—Kristen Meinzer (@kristenmeinzer) July 22, 2022
Representatives for Tom Bower and the Duchess of Sussex did not respond to Insider''s request for comment.
Kristen Meinzer says she calls out racism against Meghan Markle because it's the 'right thing to do,' not because she wants to be friends
Speaking to Insider on Monday, Meinzer said she had no correspondence with Bower as he was writing the book and that she wasn't aware he was "cherry-picking quotes I'd given other outlets."
Meinzer added that her pronouns, "She/her," are in her Twitter bio, and before that they were included in her Twitter profile name as: "Kristen Meinzer, she/her."
Meinzer said that she has "never claimed to be" friends with Markle, and that her motives for calling out the UK tabloids' racist treatment the duchess has received has nothing to do with friendship.
"I don't call out racism and sexism against the Duchess of Sussex because we're buddies," Meinzer said. "I do it because it's the right thing to do. We should all be calling out racism and sexism when we see it."
Meinzer has frequently spoken out about the racism Markle has faced, previously telling Insider the royal has been criticized for doing the same things Kate Middleton has been praised for, such as cradling her pregnant belly or crossing her legs in photos.
"I don't think Meghan would be facing any of these double standards if she were white," Meinzer said.
It's not the first time Bower's book has faced criticism
Meinzer isn't the only person to accuse Bower of twisting the truth in his book. Writing in the letters section of The Times of London on July 19, journalist Sam Kashner denied Bower's claim that he was manipulated by Markle when he interviewed her for Vanity Fair's cover story in 2017.
Bower wrote that Kashner felt "played" by the duchess, who told him, "you're not like a typical journalist," and that she liked him because of his stutter.
In Kashner's letter in The Times, titled "My interview with Meghan Markle," Kashner said Bower "didn't convey my admiration and respect" for the duchess and that he found her "warm and gracious" when they spoke.
"One more thing, I do not have a stutter," Kashner said. "I may hem and haw a bit but a stammer is not a stutter, and as far as I know, Ms Markle never said she liked me because of it!"