(Headline USA) Meghan Markle fueled speculation of a potential political run this week after it was revealed that her nonprofit organization, the Archewell Foundation, paid Michelle Obama’s former press secretary more than $100,000 in 2021.
Tax returns obtained by The Sun reveal that the foundation, which is run by Markle and Prince Harry, paid $109,870 to a public relations firm run by Katie McCormick Lelyveld, a longtime Obama aide. Lelyveld worked for Michelle Obama from 2007 and 2011, and has also done public relations work for Hillary Clinton and former presidential candidate John Kerry.
The payment was listed on the Archewell Foundation’s tax documents as “strategic support for social impact PR.”
Markle has waded into the political world quite frequently over the past few years. In 2021, the Duchess issued a controversial letter calling on Congress to pass a federal paid parental leave program.
“At an alarming rate, millions of women dropped out of the workforce, staying home with their kids as schools and daycares were closed, and looking after loved ones full-time,” she wrote in the letter, which was addressed to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “The working mom or parent is facing the conflict of being present or being paid. The sacrifice of either comes at a great cost.”
Markle and Prince Harry also met with California Gov. Gavin Newsom privately in 2020, though the governor’s office claimed the meeting was just an “introductory meeting welcoming the Duchess to California.”
Markle’s interest in politics could be due to her failure in other industries, such as entertainment. Her children’s show with Netflix was axed before it even went into production.
The children’s show, which was “in the development stage,” was to depict a story loosely based on Markle’s childhood, especially on the power women that she looked up to throughout her childhood that helped inspire her to become a power woman herself.
Markle was to be the creator and the executive producer of Pearl. The program was to be the first in a series of ambitious projects launched by Archewell Productions, the royal couple’s attempt at writing and producing stories. As of now, they have yet to produce shows for Netflix, or for any other streaming service.
