'Refuses to listen': Meghan's Vogue stint cops huge criticism

Meghan Markle made quite the splash this week when it was revealed she guest edited the upcoming September issue of British Vogue.

But while many applauded the Duchess of Sussex for the powerful issue and the cover, it’s taken less than 24 hours for critics to call her out for it.

Piers Morgan for one has never been shy about speaking his mind when it comes to the duchess, and has again lashed out at Meghan in his latest column for the Daily Mail.

The Good Morning Britain presenter called out Meghan for being ‘too busy’ to meet the US President on his state visit to the UK, when she had plenty of time to guest edit an issue of Vogue.

“News that Meghan has spent the past seven months guest-editing the September issue of Vogue is no surprise to me,” Piers wrote.

“News that Buckingham Palace has let her do it is a big surprise though, because Meghan is now supposed to be a member of the royal family and not a publicity-craving celebrity.”

Meghan Markle the editor

Although originally tapped to appear on the cover of the coveted issue, the Duchess of Sussex felt her presence would be too ‘boastful’.

Instead, the royal chose to work quietly behind the scenes, opting to use the cover to showcase women she admires.

The women featured were hand-selected by the duchess, a fervent supporter of women’s rights, and include high-profile actors, activists and creatives like Salma Hayek, Jane Fonda and Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern.

“We’ve been working on this for seven months and the Duchess was hands on from the very beginning,” British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful told Good Morning America.

“Meghan, with this issue, wanted to sort of put across these incredible change makers. The message is female empowerment and also the message is about sort of staking your claim in the world and being unafraid and that’s why we called it ‘Forces for Change’.”

Draws criticism

Although Meghan chose to feature a diverse group of women, her choice has drawn criticism from many, including Piers, regarding one noticeable absence: Queen Elizabeth.

The TV host said Meghan’s “primary role now is to promote Britain” but out of the 15 women she has chosen only five are British.

And people on Twitter agreed.

“Of all the women Meghan Markle selected, she did not choose The Queen, the original feminist,” one dissatisfied Twitter user wrote. “Anyone could learn volumes from her - yet Meghan Markle refuses to listen.”

Others pointed out the Duchess should have used her platform to feature women without large online followings.

“Not just the Queen for example, a doctor or nurse, a teacher, lawyer - so many women contribute to our society in many different ways,” was another response.

“[Markle] doesn’t elevate any real contributors to society,” another wrote of the women featured. “Where are the physicians, scientists and the actual trailblazers. Come on, actresses don’t really count. Let’s be real. I definitely do not understand the significance of her list.”

In order to represent all women into the narrative for change, Meghan and Edward purposely left the 16th square of the magazine as a mirror, to feature the reader amongst the women featured.

But Piers isn’t convinced, accusing the duchess of caring more about promoting "brand Meghan" in America than being a royal.

"She constantly bleats about privacy but also wants to edit magazines to promote herself and tell us how to lead our lives,” he concluded.

With additional reporting by Elizabeth Di Filippo.

Got a story tip or just want to get in touch? Email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com

Want more lifestyle and celebrity news? Follow Yahoo Lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Or sign up to our daily newsletter here.