Meghan Markle said a cast member from The Lion King told her South Africans had celebrated in the streets over her wedding to Prince Harry. Photo / AP
Meghan Markle said a cast member from The Lion King told her South Africans had celebrated in the streets over her wedding to Prince Harry. Photo / AP
Considerable doubt has been cast on Meghan Markle's claims a cast member from The Lion King told her there had been celebrations in South Africa's streets when she married Prince Harry.
In an interview with The Cut, Markle said a South African cast member from the movie had compared his country's joy over her 2018 wedding to that which met Nelson Mandela's release from prison in 1990.
She said her conversation with the man took place at the London premiere of the live action remake of The Lion King.
"He said, 'I just need you to know: When you married into this family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison,'" she told The Cut.
However, a man claiming to have been the only South African cast member on the movie says he's never met the Duchess of Sussex.
Dr John Kani, who voiced Rafiki in the movie, told the Daily Mail: "I have never met Meghan Markle. This seems like something of a faux pas by her. I have never met the Duchess at all. I am the only South African member of the cast, and I did not attend the premiere in London."
Kani said Markle's comments may have been a "mis-remembering on her side".
He added that Mandela's release from prison after 27 years was a "landmark moment" for his country, while Markle's marriage to Prince Harry was "no big deal". He said the two events "cannot be spoken in the same breath".
"In my memory, nobody would have known when she got married, when or what. We had no South African link to the wedding or to her marrying Harry.
"I am truly surprised by this. For me it is a non-event, the whole thing."
Dr John Kani says Markle's wedding to Prince Harry "cannot be spoken in the same breath" as Nelson Mandela's release from prison. Photo / AP
However, Kani doesn't believe Markle's comments are an insult to South Africa.
"I really wouldn't want to call it an insult. It must be a faux pas. There is something Meghan is mixing up with."
Meanwhile, Mandela's grandson has slammed Markle for her interview comments.
Zwelivelile 'Mandla' Mandela told the Daily Mail he was "surprised" by what Markle said.
"Madiba's celebration was based on overcoming 350 years of colonialism with 60 years of a brutal apartheid regime in South Africa. So, it cannot be equated to as the same [as celebrations over Markle's wedding]," he said.
He said the celebration of his grandfather's freedom was far more important than celebrating marrying "a white prince".
