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Oprah With Meghan And Harry: A CBS Primetime Special

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Black people have come out in support of Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, after their interview with Oprah Winfrey was released earlier this week. The couple’s struggle with anti-Blackness at the hands of the British media and even an unnamed member of the royal family moved many viewers, including actress Vivica A. Fox. She was so impressed by the interview, and Harry’s handling of things, she said he cross “on over to the Black side” in her eyes.

During a recent episode of FOX Soul’s Cocktails with Queens, Fox welcomed Harry to the “Black side” and even said referred to him as “light-skinned.”

After speaking about the way in which he talked about the choices he made in support of his wife, Fox joked, “Prince Harry last night? He’s light-skinned Harry now. The way he was like, ‘I had to do this for my wife. For my family. I don’t speak to my father anymore. He’s been through this. How dare he — and then they gonna cut us off!?'” She went on to mention the couple’s acceptance of a temporary home and security from Tyler Perry and added, “Well come on through Tyler Perry and say, ‘We got you.’ They came on over to the Black side and see that’s why I’m telling you he’s now light-skinned Harry.”

Her co-hosts quickly agreed. LisaRaye said, “He’s always been.” Claudia Jordan added, “As a ginger, they understand discrimination and people being mean to them.”

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Hold on to that “Black” card though. Despite the seemingly “woke” man Harry is today thanks to his relationship with Markle, one can’t forget that he wasn’t always that way.

In 2005, Harry, who was 20 years old at the time, came under fire for wearing a Nazi costume with a swastika on it to a party. “I’m very sorry if I caused any offense or embarrassment to anyone,” he said in a statement at the time. “It was a poor choice of costume and I apologize.”

And then there was the time he was captured on camera in a video from 2006 while at Sandhurst military academy calling a colleague a “Paki” and “raghead.” The academy issued a statement in 2009 on the matter after the clip surfaced, offering an apology while simultaneously saying that he used the words without malice.

“Prince Harry fully understands how offensive this term can be, and is extremely sorry for any offense his words might cause,” the statement read. “However, on this occasion three years ago, Prince Harry used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon. There is no question that Prince Harry was in any way seeking to insult his friend.”

With age and wisdom, Harry moved past these scandals and appears to have turned over a new leaf, one that looks to be free of the use of incredibly offensive imagery and slurs.

The Prince’s support of his pregnant wife in the face of adversity is admirable. However, reactions like Fox’s raise a huge question: Why are Black people always so willing to offer “honorary” Blackness to white people for the smallest things and extended “invites” into their safe spaces like “the cookout”? And why are we doing this without doing some research first? Because “light-skinned” Harry? No. Just no.

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