Meghan Markle on Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show. Photo / CBS
Meghan Markle on Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show. Photo / CBS
A past talk-show interview of Meghan Markle has resurfaced in light of the royal wedding, prompting fans to marvel at her bubbly personality on show in the segment but some have deemed it creepy due to the host's cringe-worthy comments on the new duchess' "absolutely hair-free" body.
Meghan, 36, appeared on Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show in August 2013. At the time, she was two years into her Suits tenure, and in the process of separating from her first husband, producer Trevor Engelson. The two divorced the same month the interview was taped, reported the Daily Mail.
The Scottish-American host, now 56, began the interview by telling Meghan she looked "sensational" in her backless, mini black dress, which she wore with six-inch nude pumps.
"I got all dolled up for you," Meghan replied, to which Craig responded: "Well, it's really working. You really look well."
He then confessed he had never seen the show, prompting Meghan to explain to him what the legal drama is about and tell him more about her character, Rachel Zane.
In an upbeat conversation, Meghan told him a bit more about herself, from her studies at Northwestern (a choice she said her parents were "happy" with) to her previous jobs at the US Embassy in Buenos Aires.
"I studied French for eight years and now it's deplorable," she told the host. "I can't remember anything."
The two played a bit with the pronunciation of the word "deplorable", trying to say it with a French accent, until Meghan once again discussed her upbringing.
"I'm born and raised here in LA," she said. When the host sounded surprised, she added in a playful tone: "Yes, I'm one of the five, you can pinch me I'm real, see? Oh yes."
Craig then gestured as if to pinch her again, leaving Meghan slightly confused.
Meghan in a playful tone said: 'Yes, I'm one of the five, you can pinch me I'm real, see? Oh yes.' Photo / CBS
"I just wanted to do it again," the host said, reaching for her forearm once more.
Meghan giggled and gently pushed his hand away, before Craig commented: "Strangely hairless body you have. You're quite the dolphin aren't you?"
In reply, Meghan laughed and hid her face behind her hand, adding: "It's not easy being a lady."
"You're absolutely hair-free," Craig replied. He then asked her: "Are you a competitive swimmer?"
"I'm not but if I were to be one I think I would get some speed there," Meghan said.
Craig eventually carried on the conversation by sharing an anecdote about being snowed in and deciding to shave his entire body.
That part of the segment has prompted some viewers to bash the interview, deeming it creepy and uncomfortable to watch.
"Craig Ferguson is such a creep... So embarrassing for Meghan Markle," someone wrote in a previous tweet about the clip.
Another person wrote of the video: "So weird. And he interrupts her constantly."
Craig Ferguson, after touching Meghan's arm, remarked: 'Strangely hairless body you have. You're quite the dolphin aren't you?'. Photo / CBS
"OMG! I'm horrified by this creepy and sexist interview of Meghan Markle by Craig Ferguson," Canadian relationship expert Kimberly Moffit tweeted. "The poor girl had to endure his sexual advances the entire interview and couldn't get a word in edgewise! LIKE EW!!!!"
Others, however, were taken with Meghan's animated personality, such as one person who wrote: "Welp I just watched Meghan Markle on Craig Ferguson and I officially love her now."
During the segment, Meghan talked about her father, Thomas Markle, telling Craig he was "a DP"—the acronym for "director of photography".
Craig's reaction caused her to stop in the middle of her sentence, before realising she had used a technical term and adding after a few giggles: "I didn't mean to make it sound so industry."
She reminisced on growing up on the set of the sitcom Married... With Children, saying she went there "every day after school for 10 years" because her father worked on the show.
"It's a very perverse place for a little girl who went to Catholic school, no less, to grow up, right?" she said. "Because I'm there in my school uniform..."
Meghan Markle appeared on the show in August 2013. Photo / CBS
Craig interrupted her at that point to say "Oh, yeah", before adding that his comment was "kind of a joke".
"And then the guest stars would be like Traci Lords, Tia Carrere. You know, those are some women," Meghan added.
Traci, a former pornographic actress, starred in Married... With Children after leaving the adult entertainment industry, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, while Tia appeared on the show in 1990.
"They must have been interested in you walking around in your little schoolgirl outfit," Craig told Meghan about the show's team. "Did they think you were working on the show, perhaps?"
"Is it really? Does she spell it with an h?" Meghan added.
"No," Craig quipped. "Too poor as a child."
This led Craig and Meghan to further discuss her name as well as her surnames, with the actress revealing that she gets called both Meg and Nutmeg.
The interview ended with a planned segment that saw the two acting out an awkward pause, before Craig gave Meghan a final hug and kissed her on both cheeks before saying his goodbyes.
