Serena Williams Criticized by Meghan Markle Stans, Accuse Her of ‘Botched’ Promotion of As Ever

Meghan Markle and Serena Williams have been friends for a decade, but recently, their friendship has been questioned by the netizens. The former tennis professional shared an unboxing video of Markle’s brand, As Ever.

While she was displaying the products to her followers, they immediately noticed the lack of effort she put into promoting the products. The social media users were immediately divided, criticizing her for trolling her friend’s brand.

Last week, Serena Williams took to her Instagram (via X), posting a story of a gift package that she had received from her long-term friend, Meghan Markle. The 7 Days in H*ll actress shared a gift parcel from Markle, filled with the newly launched Mother’s Day collection.

The package included a note, a box of chocolates, and the controversial scented candles, inspired by her children. While one would expect a highly professional promotion of the products, it was the polar opposite. In the video, she said, “So I just got this in the mail from my friend Meghan,” praising the brand, urging her followers to check it out.

She showed the box of chocolates, which had already been half eaten. She laughed and said, “I've botched it. She's like so classy, and I'm like, look at this. This is nuts. Anyway, the chocolate was beautiful, and it was delicious. I don't like chocolate, but I've been killing them.”

She took one of the chocolates and went on to showcase the candles, inspired by Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie. Holding As Ever’s scented candle No. 506, inspired by Prince Archie, she said, “Candles, ginger, and cashmere, I couldn't pronounce the other word.”

Williams then featured Scented Candle No. 604, inspired by Princess Lilibet, describing its notes: “amber, water lily, another one I can't pronounce.” She concluded, “Looks good. I love the candles, thank you, I love you,” and tagged the Suits actress in her Instagram story.

While Williams was unapologetically herself, netizens questioned her friendship with the Duchess of Sussex, as they were unimpressed by the promotional video. A user wrote, “This friendship still is surprising to me. Serena busted her b*** since a young age. Her mother didn’t seem comfortable when Meg sat next to her (maybe because Serena lost most times when Markle was in attendance). I just don’t see her liking liars .”

Another user commented, “Why would she want to publicly advertise for a woman who merch's her unearned title and her tacky clothes at the site of a terrorist attack?” Another user tweeted, “This is weird and sounds like a slam to Meghan? Melted chocolates? Cannot pronounce neroli and santal? Impersonal note to a 'close' friend? Does not even seem interested in the whole 'gift'. Really weird!”

A user claimed, “Was it supposed to be a sophisticated paid ad? No, but Serena probably has more followers, and she is doing her a favor.” Lastly, a user wrote, “Markle couldn’t be bothered to send a personal note with it. Wow. ‘…another word I can’t pronounce.’”