Meghan Markle is facing significant backlash after a recent magazine interview, in which she referred to the 1992 Los Angeles riots as "cinematic." Critics are accusing her of dramatizing this deadly and traumatic event for her personal narrative.

The controversy arose after Markle's December cover profile in Harper's Bazaar was published, which some insiders described as unusually flattering, according to RadarOnline.

In the interview, Markle revisits her experience as an 11-year-old during the unrest that erupted after the acquittal of four LAPD officers in the beating of Rodney King. "It was cinematic in a way I don't think many people can understand... it was so visual. Smoke everywhere. People were driving around with the back of their SUVs open."

"I saw people running with boxes of diapers, smashed windows, so much fire and ash falling from the sky that it felt like snow," she added.

A separate line presented her reflection on the city's resilience. She said, "It was scary, but L.A. survived it."

Her comments immediately attracted censure from locals and commentators who said the duchess was trivializing the violence and making herself the victim. "She acts like seeing a few looters carrying diapers makes her a war survivor with PTSD – like some kind of veteran. It's a joke and shameful.," said the individual.

Another resident added to the criticism. The person raged, "She says the ashes 'felt like snow.' We lost half the city. Who talks liked this?"

People in the entertainment industry weren't happy either. The publicist said, "She wants gravitas, so she retrofits and exploits huge trauma to make it sound as if she carries serious trauma."

Throughout the piece, critics pointed to Markle's middle-class upbringing in the San Fernando Valley, far from the hardest-hit neighborhoods. The gossip site RadarOnline noted that she had previously clarified she was never "straight outta Compton," despite rumors to the contrary about her background.

Markle has spoken about the riots before, including in a 2020 commencement speech and a 2015 Elle essay. She says the memories "don't go away."

As reported by the New York Post, the 1992 riots left 63 dead, more than 2,000 injured, thousands arrested, and over $1 billion in damage—one of the most destructive periods of civil unrest in U.S. history.

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