Meghan's Dish Soap Story 'Boring' and 'Self Aggrandizing'—Meghan McCain

The lead anecdote of the first episode of Meghan Markle's solo podcast Archetypes has been labeled "boring in its familiarity" and "self aggrandizing" by right-wing political commentator Meghan McCain.

McCain, the daughter of Republican senator John McCain, has become an outspoken critic of Meghan and Prince Harry after initially voicing her support for the couple when they stepped away from the royal family and gave a bombshell interview to Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

The commentator's critical response to Meghan's podcast follows the inaugural episode's release on Tuesday featuring a special interview with tennis star Serena Williams.

Upon its announcement in March, Meghan stated that the aim of Archetypes was to "dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back."

The central theme of the first episode was the label "ambitious," which the royal explained she "didn't feel the negative connotation" behind until she started dating Harry in 2016.

The podcast received a positive response online while British critics published mainly negative reviews.

McCain, in her column for MailOnline on Wednesday, stated her belief that American publications have not criticized the duchess' output for fear of being called out by her supporters.

"If they dare voice the slightest criticism of anything the woke royals do, they know they will automatically face the howls of the progressive left."

"That is something that can be both scary and intimidating for many people. I am not many people," she continued before calling the Sussexes "insufferable."

At the beginning of the 57-minute podcast episode, Meghan repeats a story that was widely reported at the time her relationship with Harry became public knowledge; that at age 11 she campaigned to have a Procter & Gamble-owned dish soap label change an advertising campaign because it's implication that only women washed dishes was sexist.

After appearing on Nick News and writing a letter to then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, the manufacturer changed the campaign, though whether this was directly down to Meghan has been disputed by some, including biographer Tom Bower.

McCain wrote that the anecdote was now "boring in its familiarity, and it's self-aggrandizing."

"The first ten minutes of the podcast are entirely focused on Meghan retelling a story about getting a soap commercial changed when she was 11 years old," she said.

"This is a story she has told many times before. Its accuracy has been up for debate as recently as in Tom Bower's new book, Revenge. But she is very, very proud of herself and is laying out the groundwork that this is a feminist podcast and that she has been bravely calling out sexism in the media from a prepubescent age.

"But it's boring in its familiarity, and it's self-aggrandizing, mostly because it sounds like she is reading off a well-written script."

On the first guest interviewee being Meghan's friend Serena Williams, McCain questioned whether the royal would engage in debates on the podcast or just discuss subjects with those who share her viewpoint.

"Is she only ever going to interview close friends and ignore any debate?" she wrote.

"Is she planning on inviting anyone who challenges her world view or disagrees with her? Or—and I'm taking a wild guess here—is this just a medium for which the Duchess will interview sycophants who want to ruminate on how difficult it is to be a rich woman, yet have no concrete solutions on how to fix it?"

For all her criticism, McCain does afford Meghan one compliment, saying she has a "beautiful" speaking voice.

"To her credit, she is a great voice actress," she said.

"She has a beautiful, soothing, melodic cadence to the way she speaks on the podcast that would work very well for a meditation or relaxation app."

Despite McCain's negative opinion of the podcast, this has not been shared by all commentators, including the Daily Mirror lifestyle editor Courtney Pochin, who wrote on Twitter: "I'm sorry but Meghan Markle is a genius for this. A podcast about the words used against women, after she's been called everything under the sun. A big FU to her haters, but in a very classy and clever way."

Broadcaster and journalist Jasmine Dotiwala also praised the duchess as "a great speaker, presenter, host & interviewer."

She posted on Twitter: "Driving listening to #MeghanMarkle new @Spotify podcast #Archetypes. She discusses powerful women & overcoming barriers, choosing to challenge, the fact that society doesn't often approve of ambitious women with @serenawilliams & other super-dope women!"

Archetypes debuted at number two in the U.S. and U.K. Spotify podcast charts with episodes scheduled to be released weekly.

At the end of her discussion with Williams, Meghan announced that the second episode of the podcast would feature Mariah Carey.

Newsweek has approached representatives of McCain and Meghan Markle for comment.