A royal expert who was
labelled a ‘toxic racist liar’ and let go by CNN after she was duped
into commentating on Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview before it
aired is threatening to sue the pranksters.
Victoria Arbiter, 48, was
‘mocked mercilessly’ online by supporters of the Duke and Duchess of
Sussex, namely the so-called ‘Sussex Squad’, when she and three other
royal commentators were conned into giving their thoughts two days before the
explosives interview had been broadcast.
Days, after the hoax was uploaded to YouTube under the title ‘We, Proved Royal Experts Lie About Harry
and Meghan’, CNN canceled an offer of a new contract and she has since lost
‘literally lost all of my work’.
Ms. Arbiter also claims to have
been left with ‘acute anxiety and depression following the prank, as well as
losing tens of thousands of pounds in lost earnings, The Telegraph reports.
The single mother believes she
is a victim of fraudulent misrepresentation and is now considering legal action
against the London-based pranksters as part of efforts to restore her
reputation.
She told the newspaper: ‘I
just want to clear my name and for them to apologize and be accountable for
what they did.
‘They set out to have a laugh
and make some money and in the process destroyed my life as I knew it. If it
wasn’t for my family and friends, I don’t know what the eventual outcome would
have been.’
She added: ‘I have literally
lost all of my work. I was mocked mercilessly. I went to see a doctor who
diagnosed me with acute anxiety and depression. I still have insomnia.’
Pranksters Archie Manners, a
former Radley College student, and South African-born Josh Pieters tricked the
royal experts into giving pre-recorded interviews by using the fake company
name Beneath the Fold.
Among those conned was also Ms.
Arbiter’s father Dickie, former press secretary to the Queen, Richard
Fitzwilliams and Majesty magazine editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward.
Mr. Arbiter had agreed on a fee
of £300 with the pranksters and told them they needed a pre-record – a concept she
said is recognized industry practice.
But the YouTube video was then
posted with claims from Mr. Manners, 29, and Mr. Pieters, 28, that the experts
were giving their opinions on the footage they had not seen to ‘jump on the buzz of
the Harry and Meghan interview’.
In the original video, she
told the pair: ‘She [Oprah] did ask the tough questions, she had to ask the
tough questions, but at the same time, I think she did ask those questions in a
sympathetic light.’
She also told of how Oprah had
given the Sussexes an ‘easy ride’ because they are already well known to each
other. and described of being ‘incredibly moved, stunned, saddened’ by the rift
between Harry and William.
But Ms. Arbiter says the video
had been heavily edited and she had declined to comment at times as she was
unaware of what was in the then unaired interview.
Other comments she gave to the
pranksters were said to be based on snippets and teasers that had already been
made public prior to its broadcast.
The royal expert said she
could ‘hardly breathe’ when she came to the realization that she had been
tricked.
