Meghan tells of friction over jam as lifestyle series launches on Netflix
The Duchess of Sussex’s gifts of homemade jam caused friction with her celebrity friends after the numbered jars appeared to leave some feeling demoted.
Meghan insisted there was no hierarchy behind the list of names but admitted during an episode of her new Netflix series some of the recipients took things “very personally”.
She chatted about her jam with actress and comedian Mindy Kaling, invited to her home during the second episode of her series With Love, Meghan, to make food and decorations for a children’s party.
During a light-hearted exchange Meghan said about the numbered jam jars: “It was not a ranking, it was just ‘let me share them’ and then people started to take it very personally.”
Kaling, whose jar was number 19, told her: “When I received that in the mail, a box of your preserves it was probably one of the most glamorous moments of my life.
“But then I looked at the label, and it said they were something like 50. And then I of course, as a very hierarchical person, was like ‘who are these other 50? Does having a lower number make me more special…'”
Among those who received jars were reality TV star Kris Jenner matriarch of the Kardashian family, Delfina Blaquier, the wife of Harry’s professional polo playing friend Nacho Figueras, and Meghan’s former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer.
Ms Blaquier’s jam was labelled “10 of 50” and last year she posted a picture of it spread on bread and another of the jar being held, with the words “Strawberry jam makes me happy. And I love your jam…”
Meghan said to Kaling she would send her a jar of her new raspberry jam, telling her: “I did save one of 50 for my mom of course, felt like the right thing to do.
“And then I just thought, anyone who got one of those 50 jars that I was making on my stove in my actual kitchen at my house, I hope they all felt like ‘I want to share this with you’.”
Meghan laughed when the actress replied: “It was extremely good, and a lot of people asked to taste it. You know what I told them, ‘get your own jar’.”