Melissa McCarthy defends her ‘wonderful’ and ‘inspiring’ friend Meghan Markle amid criticism of American Riviera Orchard: The Duchess of Sussex’s Hollywood BFF says a ‘smart woman with her own life is incredibly threatening to some people’ [Video]

03:37 EDT 22 Apr 2024, updated 08:19 EDT 22 Apr 2024

Meghan Markle’s celebrity friend Melissa McCarthy has defended the former Suits star amid criticism of her American Riviera Orchard brand, calling her an ‘inspiring’ woman suffering ‘hate’ for getting on with her ‘own life’.

The Duchess of Sussex is launching her lifestyle business by giving away 50 limited edition jars of her strawberry jam to her inner circle who have shared influencer-style pictures of them on Instagram.

But some critics have ridiculed the brand and concept. One person bought up American Riviera Orchard’s domain name in the UK and used it to link to a food bank’s GoFundMe, which has raised more than £21,000 in donations in a week.

Speaking at the Broadway opening of ‘Suffs’ last week, comedian Melissa McCarthy said criticism of Meghan is because people are ‘threatened’ by her, adding that the Duchess of Sussex is ‘wonderful’ and ‘awesome’.

She said: ‘It bums me out for every …