Wendell Pierce clarifying his tweets about his Suits TV daughter Meghan Markle’s CBS interview with Oprah Winfrey after British tabloids took them and ran with it.

As The Jasmine Brand reports, Pierce, who played Robert Zane, the father of Markle’s character Rachel Zane, was interviewed by UK radio station LBC. During the interview, he said how he felt the sit-down Markle and her husband Prince Harry had with Winfrey was “offensive” in light of the amount of COVID cases around the world.

“Today 3,000 people are going to die in America from COVID. A couple of hundred people are going to die, even this hour, in the UK,” he said. “It was quite insensitive and offensive that we are all complicit in this sort of palace…gossip in the midst of so much death. I think it is insignificant.”

Perhaps Pierce hadn’t fully watched the interview to know that Markle had talked about her deteriorating mental health, which included suicide ideation. Clearly, what Markle had experienced wasn’t just “palace gossip.” In any event, in light of extreme criticism, Pierce used his Twitter to try to clarify his remarks and reaffirm his stance on the seriousness of mental health. He also claimed the Daily Mail, which is one of the tabloids often referred to when discussing the cruelness of the UK press towards Markle, twisted his words from the radio interview to suit their angle.

“I just discovered my words are being used as an attack. Well done British Press. The British monarchy is archaic in my American eyes. If slavery, colonialism, and apartheid didn’t educate you that they are racist, you failed history,” he wrote. “I was fortunate to tell Meghan personally I wish her all the best. Predicting this hellacious maelstrom I also told her she would always have a friend in me. Because I had no interest in the interview doesn’t change that.”

“In no way am I insensitive to suicide,” he continued. “Unfortunately my family has suffered the pain of losing someone to suicide. I was never interviewed by the Daily Mail and their story manipulated my words in a radio interview. As I told Meghan, I support her and wish her all the best.”

If you or someone you know feels at risk, please contact the National Suicide Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish speakers. The deaf and hard of hearing can use your preferred relay service or dial 711 before the main number for English speakers. You can also chat with the lifeline online.

Blavity EntertainmentCBSmeghan markleOprah-WInfreyShadow and ActSuitstelevisionUSA NetworkWendell Pierce