Overview

• Meghan attended the Balenciaga show in early October and sat in the front row during Paris Fashion Week.
• Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli told The Cut that Meghan contacted him to come to the show and that he kept her appearance a surprise.
• An Instagram video showing a drive near the Pont de l’Alma, documented by the Daily Mail, drew swift online condemnation, with royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams calling it deeply insensitive.
• A spokesperson told People she was in Paris to support Piccioli and, as of mid-October, she has not removed the post or addressed the criticism, with comments on her account disabled.
• Critics also revived Balenciaga’s 2022 ad controversy, and a separate claim that she laughed at a stumbling model was denied by her spokesperson.