Meghan Markle Has *Officially* Mastered the “Duchess Slant”

In the series, Lupe plays Kristen Bell’s on-screen sister, Morgan, and the pair presents a fun, yet deeply loyal and caring dynamic. “I knew about her work, and I knew about her presence in the industry,” the Succession actress, who recently partnered with food brand Nature’s Fynd, exclusively tells Brit + Co of Bell. “She did a really good job of helping me not feel intimidated by that in any way.” In fact, the Frozen star slid into Lupe’s DM’s “very immediately,” asking her to go on a hike right when she got the job.

Lupe further described Bell as “so sparkly,” “really personable,” and an “easy person to feel close to.” The duo even carpooled to the first table read in order to build a “sisterly rapport” — and the bond most certainly came through on-screen. Despite the two characters hosting a successful sex podcast together, Morgan’s viewed as the “loser sibling” compared to Bell’s character, Joanne. Morgan strives to keep situations lightweight while maintaining depth in her relationships — which isn’t an easy feat as an actress.

“The writing was the first place that I went,” Lupe says. “I just loved the core story of Morgan — there’s this love story at the center of it all. But Morgan’s story is that she’s losing her soulmate [Joanne] of a sort.” Lupe explains that she kept the idea of “fighting against being the forgotten one” as her “North Star” in terms of Morgan’s slightly outlandish behavior (like busting out tequila to bond with mean girls during a basketball game, which we think was both totally hilarious and particularly genius).

Of course, the most-talked-about storyline of the first season was Morgan and Sasha’s “will they won’t they” relationship (which the creator, Erin Foster, recently told The Hollywood Reporter they’re going to “pull back” on in season 2). Lupe weighs in, adding that she enjoys playing into the “wired attraction” and boundaries of it all, but is ready to see that storyline wrapped up.

“I'm glad [Foster] went with that choice because to me, there's so much more fun to be gained from an oddball friendship between the two of them than there would be from destroying his marriage,” she says. As far as where Lupe would like to see Morgan go in Season 2, she says she’s putting her faith in the writers. “I’m excited for the surprise of it. I don’t really have an agenda for what I would like. I just want to be around.” She jokes that she felt the same with Succession, in which she played Willa Ferreyra for 32 episodes.

Since Nobody Wants This season 2 is sure to solidify Adam Brody’s internet boyfriend status even more, we asked Lupe if she had an outright crush on him or his The O.C. character, Seth Cohen. But alas, she told us she’s only seen “maybe five episodes,” adding, “I didn’t ever get on that train. I always knew of him because he, of course, was a hugely popular star, and I thought he was so cute.” Us too.

Lupe was early in her pregnancy while filming Nobody Wants This (and is now currently caring for her newborn). So, naturally, we asked what her go-to set snack was. Lupe usually reached for apples, peanut butter, and, more surprisingly, sardines and hard-boiled eggs. She laughs, “I remember sitting in my chair and being like, ‘I’m so sorry,’ everyone. I was like the worst smelling cast mate ever.”

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel actress put her love for interesting food pairings to good use due to her latest partnership with Nature’s Fynd, a fungi-based food brand focused on sustainable protein. “I got really excited by the environmental aspect of [the brand], first and foremost,” she says. “And then it just tastes great, and it has a lot of protein in it, which was also really something that I was interested in as a new mom who needs protein.” You can actually win an LA brunch in February 2025 with Lupe and highly-acclaimed chef, Stephanie Izard, by entering the sweepstakes online before December 31st.

What Our Full Interview With Justine Lupe Here!

While you’re waiting for that sweepstakes win though, we’ll be patiently watching every 2000’s rom-com, rooting for underdog characters like Morgan. That is, at least, until the next season of Nobody Wants This comes out

1. She Had A Career In Hollywood Prior To Marrying Prince Harry

Before Meghan married Prince Harry, she was an actress in Hollywood. She appeared in episodes of 90210, CSI: Miami, and more notably, Suits. According To Business Insider, she was also one of the "briefcase girls" on Deal or No Deal. However, she didn't mind stepping away from her career once she and Harry got engaged.

While royals are born into their dynasty, Meghan worked to build hers. It almost feels like people have questioned, "How dare this silly American actress think she deserves to marry into the Royal family?" While she's a celebrity to us, they're treating her as less than because she had to earn it. Tell me how that makes sense!

2. Classism & Racism Give Way To Nasty Behavior

If you're still saying you "don't see color" in 2024 and refuse to understand race does matter, you're perpetuating a narrative that likes to ignore the reality of being considered a minority in the public's eyes. What's interesting is that Meghan is biracial — she's both black and white — and yet she's still subject to off-putting, racial comments about her.

Think about about it like this: British monarchy is incredibly antiquated (and some even think it should be abolished), where one (white) leader acts as a figurehead and inherits power over the whole country just because of the family they were born into. So, when Meghan revealed to Oprah that there were “concerns and conversations" about "how dark" their son's skin would be when he was born — it's both shocking and unfortunately unsurprising. Of course a system rooted in whiteness would seek to perpetuate that same whiteness.

Meghan's Blackness in a culture of white supremacy will always be problematic to those who haven't unlearned racism. And honestly? That's just the tip of the racist, classist iceberg.

3. The Media Treats Meghan Markle Differently Than Kate Middleton

BuzzFeed News actually put together a list of 20 headlines that showed a stark difference in how the media treats them and it had my jaw on the floor. I knew there seemed to be a pattern with how the media likes to look at them, but seeing it in black and white genuinely makes me sick to my stomach. Just look at these articles from Daily Mail and Mirror:

• Prince William & Kate were praised for creating companies in 2014 while Prince Harry & Meghan Markle were accused of trying to "cash in" on their royal titles
• Kate gets brownie points for coordinating with the Queen while Meghan is basically called incompetent for an alleged style faux pas

Let's get one thing straight: Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton are two different women. There's nothing that indicates they're going to 100% mirror each other's actions, but people seem to love using Kate Middleton as an example of why Meghan Markle gets everything wrong. Not only is that unfair to Meghan, it's also tasteless to rope Kate into harmful opinions.

4. Prince Harry Chose To Publicly Protect Her

I still don't know why this is such a shock to people considering Prince Harry witnessed how awful the British media was to his mother. You know, Princess Diana? The same woman whose life was cut horribly short as she tried to get away from pesky paparazzi?

When it was apparent the media wasn't going to stop sharing harmful things about his wife, Prince Harry made sure to publicly speak out against it. He was quoted as saying, "I will always protect my family, and now I have a family to protect," and "Part of this job is putting on a brave face but, for me and my wife, there is a lot of stuff that hurts, especially when the majority of it is untrue" (via BBC). Unfortunately, people took it as an "us or her" kind of thing, creating a narrative that Meghan Markle forced Prince Harry to defend her.

I may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but I always assumed it's common sense for romantic partners to protect each other in situations where unfair treatment happens. I'm nowhere near famous and my fiancé has spoken up several times when someone's done something disrespectful in public. However, I think because people are used to the old guard's 'rules' that Meghan should put on a brave face and deal with it, rather than be the real, raw human that she is.

5. Meghan & Prince Harry Left The Royal Family 

In an unprecedented move, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to leave the royal family in 2020. "After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen," a portion of their official statement read.

According to BBC, the couple didn't talk to anyone prior to making their decision which is believed to have caused an uproar. Yet, another BBC article sheds light on how difficult it was for them to navigate with so much negative attention from the press. Although Meghan knew to expect some pushback, she at least hoped "it would be fair."

6. She & Prince Harry Aren't Afraid To Reframe Their Own Narratives

Still, Meghan and Prince Harry have been doing their best to take control of their own narratives despite the media's blatant attempts to paint them as villainous beings. In 2021, the couple finally opened up about life as royals during an interview with Oprah Winfrey— you know, where the famous "Were you silent, or were you silenced?" question comes from. After that, Meghan and Prince Harry decided to share their own documentary in 2022 to give their own perspectives about their lives with Prince Harry writing his own memoir, Spare, the next year.

Some people felt the couple wasn't doing a good job of escaping the press when they decided to publicly speak up, but it's important to remember two things can be true. The kind of privacy they requested stemmed from the invasive articles, opinions, and paparazzi photos — so it makes sense that they would use that same insatiable press to push their side of the story to the public at large. However, it feels like people assume this is the life Meghan earned by marrying into the royal family — one full of media and criticism and more — and it's upsetting when she actually addresses her perspective, shattering that illusion they've built about celebrity and royalty.

Also, it's not lost on me that one of their neighbors recently enjoyed their 15 minutes of fame by claiming Meghan doesn't provide anything to the Montecito neighborhood they live in (via Page Six). I'm not sure why people feel they're entitled to her time and energy so she can prove she's worthy of their positive opinions, but this feels seeped in "I need a real hobby." Her presence does not exist for your pleasure.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC), the Stanley recall covers all Switchback and Trigger Action travel mugs. These travel mugs pose a “burn hazard” to sippers who have them since the mugs’ lid threads can shrink when exposed to heat and torque, causing the lid to detach during use.

Stanley received 91 reports from consumers facing this issue, with 38 burn injuries worldwide. A total of 11 consumers required medical attention from the flaw. The CSPC estimates that about 2.6 million mugs are part of the massive recall.

These are the exact recalled products:

• Switchback 12-ounce mug, product identification number 20-01437
• Switchback 16-ounce mug, product identification numbers 20-01436, 20-02211
• Trigger Action 12-ounce mug, product identification numbers 20-02033, 20-02779, 20-02825
• Trigger Action 16-ounce mug, product identification numbers 20-02030, 20-02745, 20-02957
• Trigger Action 20-ounce mug, product identification numbers 20-02034, 20-02746

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“We ask that all customers in possession of either product immediately stop use and reach out to Stanley 1913 for a free replacement lid,” a recent Instagram post from Stanley 1913 reads. “At Stanley 1913, we are committed to constant improvement and are focused on creating quality products that are built for life.”

If you believe you own any of the recalled products, you can visit www.stanley1913tmrecall.expertinquiry.com/ for a free replacement lid by verifying your mug’s product identification number and place of purchase.