WELP, CRITICS ARE STILL WRONG: HERE'S THE REAL (GINGER) TEA ON “WITH LOVE, MEGHAN: HOLIDAY CELEBRATION”

There are certain cultural inevitabilities we’ve come to accept: pumpkin spice will return every September, Spotify Wrapped will tell on us by December, and anytime Meghan Markle releases anything, the critics will reach for their fainting couches like Victorian aristocrats discovering ankles for the first time. And so, when With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration dropped, the reaction was as predictable as Santa at the mall—performative sighs, overwrought think pieces, and pure venom toward a woman who dares to...gasp...bake cookies.

Here’s the thing everyone seems determined not to admit: the special is actually… lovely. Joyful. Warm. And—brace yourselves—fun.

Critics approached it like a high-stakes political summit instead of what it actually is: a cozy, glossy, holiday variety special that does exactly what it says on the tin. It isn’t trying to reinvent the genre; it’s trying to join it. But somewhere between Meghan’s past lives as an actress, a duchess, and a full-time tabloid lightning rod, reviewers forgot how to watch something without projecting their own unresolved feelings about women who refuse to stay in the boxes they’re assigned.

It's About Making People Feel Comfortable.

When Michael Bublé releases a holiday special, we call it festive. When Meghan does it? Suddenly people want a full sociological thesis statement and a three-act character arc. Critics complained it was “too polished,” as if they expected her to bake cookies over a campfire in the woods while confessing her deepest traumas to a camera operator named Jeff. They called it “overly curated,” as though curation isn’t literally the entire aesthetic language of modern holiday programming. They rolled their eyes at its earnestness while forgetting that earnestness is the entire point of Christmas content. (We watch holiday movies where people quit their cushy corporate jobs to restore tree farms, but Meghan Markle smiling in a kitchen is somehow a bridge too far? Be serious.)

And let’s talk about the unspoken part: Meghan Markle has become the Rorschach test of our era. People don’t react to her; they react to what she represents. Critics aren’t reviewing the special so much as reviewing their own parasocial grudges.

One criticism repeated across reviews: it’s “light,” “frictionless,” “safe.” To which I pose a radical question: Have any of these people actually seen a holiday special?

Holiday specials are built on the architecture of comfort. They’re engineered like weighted blankets: soft, soothing, and designed to lower everyone’s blood pressure. With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration nails that brief. It’s visually delicious, seasonally campy, and sprinkled with just enough sentimentality to soften the edges of a brutal news cycle (or invasive relatives).

It's Pretty Jolly in Here.

If you read between the lines, what frustrates critics isn’t the special itself—it’s that Meghan made something. She executive produced it. She framed the joy she wanted to highlight. She chose softness in a moment when public discourse is addicted to spectacle.

It’s almost as if people don’t know what to do when a woman, especially a biracial woman who’s survived an industrial-strength smear campaign, opts out of performing suffering for their consumption. The show’s warmth reads as defiance. The aesthetic choices feel political. The very existence of the special seems to threaten those who prefer Meghan Markle to be either a cautionary tale or a controversy machine—never a host guiding us through a perfectly delightful holiday hour.

At a certain point, the backlash starts to look less like criticism and more like impatience that Meghan refuses to confirm their priors. Because when you actually watch With Love, Meghan, holiday edition, it’s…nice. And sometimes “nice” is enough. Sometimes that’s the entire point.

And maybe we can all admit, quietly, privately, after one too many glasses of mulled wine: the world could probably use more nice things right now.

You Can Do Things That Make People Feel A Little More Seen.

The With Love, Meghan Holiday Celebration succeeds at being exactly what it intends to be: a holiday offering filled the kind of seasonal softness we’re usually thrilled to receive this time of year. It’s part cooking demo, part cozy hangout, part Pinterest board come to life. One moment she’s chatting with Naomi Osaka about pressure, joy, and how to protect your peace when the world won’t stop looking at you; the next, she’s at a table making wreaths with a childhood friend. In between, there are glittery craft segments, personalized "puppy chow", cookies that look almost too pretty to eat, and a steady stream of “you can totally do this at home” hosting tips.

If you let go of the discourse and watch it like you’d watch any other festive special, you might find yourself enjoying it in spite of yourself.

It almost makes you wonder: maybe the special itself isn’t the problem at all..

4.5/5 ★: If you let go of the discourse, you might find yourself enjoying it in spite of yourself.