Meghan Markle jokes that media confused her with Serena Williams: ‘I’m not from Compton’

‘By the way, what’s wrong with Compton?’ asks duchess

The Duchess of Sussex has joked that the media once confused her with tennis star Serena Williams, with regards to false claims that she was from Compton, California.

Meghan spoke about the reports, which circulated when she got engaged to Prince Harry in 2017, on the first episode of her new podcast, Archetypes, on which she interviewed Williams (who is from Compton).

The duo were discussing misleading media reports when Meghan said: “This morning, I was saying to Harry: ‘Do you remember when they said, ‘Harry’s girl is straight outta Compton?’ I was like, are they talking about Serena?

“I’m like, I’m not from Compton, I’ve never lived in Compton, my mum’s never lived in Compton but by the way what’s wrong with compton? My girl Serena’s from there.”

Williams laughed and added that she’s “so proud” to be from Compton before citing other famous faces from the area, including Dr Dre and Kevin Costner.

“Oh my gosh, that’s wild,” Meghan said of news that the actor was from Compton.

(Spotify/The Independent)

“He even talks about it, isn’t it fascinating?” Williams said.

“I can’t claim Compton,” Meghan replied adding that she did grow up in LA, just not in Compton.

Elsewhere in the episode, the duchess reflects on how she feels she was more empowered as an 11-year-old than as an adult.

“As we get older, because of these archetypes, because of what society’s saying and the pressure of the media and because of all this noise... I dont think we’re as fearless as we were then.”

She also shared a dramatic story about her son Archie’s bedroom catching on fire during a royal tour with Prince Harry in 2019.