Martha Stewart recently said that her magazine was the first to include a recipe for one-pot pasta. Her recipe/method is not much different than the method the Duchess of Sussex used in an episode of With Love, Meghan. Granted, I doubt Meghan OR Martha truly “invented” one-pot pasta dishes, and I believe that both women are just adapting the concept/recipe for themselves and their audiences. I bring this up because Martha has been paying attention to Meghan’s entrance into the lifestyle industry, and Martha had some pointed words in a recent interview:
An entire industry was born, and at the very beginning, it was Martha Stewart who lit the flame. She walked so the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Nigella Lawson, and Lauren Conrad could run.
And this year, another famous face has been trying to carve her way into the industry, hoping to trailblaze from her own unique starting point. Meghan Markle truly set her intentions in motion when With Love, Meghan hit Netflix screens in March, and she continues to push her lifestyle influence through As ever, selling products online “inspired by her long-lasting love of cooking, entertaining, and hostessing”.
So what does Martha think of Meghan? Yahoo Lifestyle asked her. While discussing her upcoming project in Australia, Martha revealed what she thought of Meghan’s unapologetic attempts to be involved in lifestyle influencing, pointing to one important quality required when trying to relate to audiences.
“Meghan, I don’t really know very well, and I hope she knows what she’s talking about,” Martha told Yahoo Lifestyle.
“Authenticity, to me, is everything, and to be authentic and knowledgeable about your subject matter is extremely important,” she said. However, she was full of praise for Gwyneth Paltrow.
“Gwyneth has been very successful; she created quite an interesting body of businesses. She’s admired. She won an Oscar for heaven’s sake as an actress! She’s pretty powerful.”
Ultimately, she signed off with a five-word message to her successors: “I don’t mind. Good luck.”
I’ve been around long enough to remember a time when Martha had harsh words for Gwyneth and Goop. If you ask me, I think Martha felt more threatened by Gwyneth’s encroachment in her icy-blonde WASP territory. But I also think that over time, Martha understood that Gwyneth really is doing her own thing, especially with Goop’s focus on pseudoscience and “wellness.” If anything, Meghan is doing a more traditional “lifestyle” brand and a more Martha-esque entertaining show. Anyway, while these quotes are being promoted as “Martha bad-mouthes Meghan,” I’m choosing to take Martha’s quotes as something like advice. She’s telling Meghan to be knowledgeable, to actually provide good advice and recipes, and to be authentic.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix.
