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Priyanka Chopra Defends Meghan Markle and Calls Her a Victim of Racism

In her interview with the Sunday Times, Chopra opened up about her friendship with Meghan

Feud? What feud? Priyanka Chopra has nothing but nice things to say about her longtime "stunning" friend Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and is one of her biggest defenders.

Since her relationship with now-husband Prince Harry was made public in 2017, the Duchess of Sussex, who is of mixed race, has drawn racist and otherwise insulting online remarks by trolls--which recently prompted the royal family to make the decision to start deleting some comments off their Instagram accounts.

In addition, over the past year, Meghan, 37, has also often come under fire from the press, who have published multiple unflattering reports about her, namely about her alleged "difficult" behavior.

Chopra, 36, told the Sunday Times that the media criticism of Meghan is "really unfortunate," adding, "But if there's anyone who can handle it, it's her."

When asked if she thinks it's rooted in the inability of some to accept a biracial woman at the heart of the monarchy, Chopra told the newspaper, "For sure, 100%. Of course it has to do with racism, it's an obvious reason. But the beauty of Meg is that she's been herself through all of this. A lot of people got to know her after everything [once she started dating Harry], but I knew her before and she's the same chick."

"Now that she's got a real platform, she talks about the same things she always did," Chopra continued. "We spent hours speaking about the difference that influence and dialogue can make to the world before this whole thing happened, so what you see now is authentically her. She's always been the girl wanting to move the needle."

Meghan Markle's Life Story: From Hollywood to British Royalty

Chopra made her comments following months of rumors of a feud between her and Meghan, sparked in December after the duchess, who was pregnant with baby Archie Harrison at the time, did not attend the actress' wedding to Nick Jonas in India. Priyanka dismissed the rumors on "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen" in March. However, they persisted, even after she took to Instagram in May to congratulate Meghan and Harry on the birth of their son.

On Thursday, Chopra and Jonas were photographed together in London and The Sun reported that day that the two visited Meghan and Harry and their baby and even gave him gifts from jeweler Tiffany &Co. The actress denied the report.

In her interview with the Sunday Times, Chopra opened up about her friendship with Meghan. The two met at a women-in-television dinner a few years ago and found that they share similar interests, such as activism, feminism and race.

"We just connected on how we see the world and as girls," Chopra said. "Meghan is such a progressive, modern girl. She's what the world is today--a self-made woman who looks like each one of us. I mean, she's stunning. But she is so completely herself."

Copyright E! Online
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