Meghan Markle married Prince Harry and became the Duchess of Sussex — just like that. Markle has a life young girls can only dream of, but she also took on a role many wouldn’t wish upon themselves. Beneath all the glitz and the glamor of a fairytale wedding is her resolve to withstand the barrage of criticism and constant scrutiny by the public eye.

Whether you love or hate her, it’s fair to say Meghan Markle has become the media’s new favorite toy, and for that she deserves much more sympathy and respect than she has received.

Her wedding was arguably the event of the century, but people shouldn’t be so quick to forget the racial slurs directed toward Meghan’s ancestry or the judgments placed on her for her past marriage. The onslaught of negative comments about the most trivial things of Markle, from her hair color to her dress color down to her skin color. These comments should not be deemed appropriate media coverage, nor should it be accepted as the norm.

Since news first broke of her involvement with Prince Harry, people have come flying out of the woodwork to get in on the action by revealing personal details regarding their relationships with Meghan for 15 seconds of fame. Instead of respecting her privacy, media tabloids have only fueled the flames and created their own journalistic spins to add to the dramatic narrative surrounding this woman.

Meghan’s father recently leaked an extremely personal letter to the media, in which Meghan implores him to stop lying and hurting her with unnecessary drama. No one deserves to have their most vulnerable and emotional moments broadcasted for the world to see, let alone to be betrayed by their own father.

I get it, the shady reporting and sleazy gossip is par for the course for a tabloid magazine; it’s the nature of the job. Do I hope that some reporters would rather uphold the dignity and honor of a woman than blast her dirty laundry on the front page? You betcha. But what I hope for more is for the media and public to treat her unique situation with more tact and grace than they have.

Meghan’s taken on a tremendous responsibility by opening herself to the public, so the least they could do for her is be more sensitive to her life circumstances, and not be so smug to pass judgment simply because she’s in the public eye.

While her unique occupation places her in the media spotlight, and the very nature of being the Duchess of Sussex requires attention, she shouldn’t have to sacrifice being treated with respect and human decency like everyone else.

Public perception can be quite fickle; one day you’re lauded as the “American Princess,” the next, you’re nicknamed “Duchess Difficult.” It’s so easy for those people, sitting in their glass houses, to cast stones upon others. It’s only fair to ask, what stones could other people cast onto them?

Alice is a freshman in LAS.

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