Business entrepreneur Martha Stewart has finally spoken out about Meghan Markle’s fledging lifestyle brand As Ever, after the Duchess of Sussex was accused of copying Stewart’s career playbook.
Stewart, who was America’s first self-made female billionaire, pioneered cooking and lifestyle products with her eponymous company Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.
Through her company, Stewart, 83, produced dozens of best-selling cookbooks and entertaining guides, launched product lines, multiple TV programs and a monthly magazine.
Stewart’s success has inspired a wave of celebrities from Gwyneth Paltrow to Jessica Alba to enter the lifestyle space, with the Duchess of Sussex the latest to reinvent themselves as a “lifestyle guru”.
Meghan, 43, currently helms the Netflix cooking show With Love, Meghan and also sells jams and wines through her modest lifestyle brand As Ever.
Both ventures appeared to borrow heavily from Stewart’s career path and the homemaking legend was finally asked about the comparisons in a candid new interview with Yahoo Lifestyle.
“Meghan, I don’t really know very well,” Stewart said.
“I hope she knows what she’s talking about.”
The entrepreneur then gently warned Markle that “authenticity” was key to business success.
“Authenticity, to me, is everything, and to be authentic and knowledgeable about your subject matter is extremely important,” she said.
The comments come after Markle was seen airily pulling rank on her cooking show and gently scolding guest Mindy Kaling for calling her “Meghan Markle” instead of “Meghan Sussex”.
Meanwhile, an unnamed source close to Stewart claimed the legendary lifestyle guru privately finds any comparison to Markle’s brand “insulting”.
“Martha has seen hundreds of Meghan types come and go — and says they all come in with the same self-inflated hype, only to find out it’s a whole new ball game when it comes down to brass tacks,” the source told InTouch magazine.
“She’s tired of being quizzed by people over how she feels about Meghan’s venture because, honestly, it’s irritating and insulting to her that she’s being compared to a rookie!”