Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Understands Meghan Markle's Struggle with the Spotlight

From Harper's BAZAAR

• After Meghan Markle opened up about the difficulties of living in the royal spotlight for ITV's upcoming documentary about her and Prince Harry, a U.S. politician across the pond tweeted out her sympathies.

• Freshman representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's life follows a similar trajectory to the duchess's, since the two were thrust into the spotlight after history-making moments.

What do a duchess of the British royal family and a freshman congresswoman in the United States' House of Representatives have in common? A lot more than you may think.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, discussed the difficulties of living under constant public scrutiny during an interview with ITV's Tom Bradby, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, an upcoming documentary about the couple's recent royal tour of southern Africa. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a freshman representative from New York who became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in 2018, retweeted the clip of Meghan with a message of rapport.

In the emotional interview, Meghan told ITV, "Any woman, especially when they're pregnant, you're really vulnerable. So, that was made really challenging. And, then when you have a newborn, and especially as a woman, it's a lot. So, you add this on top of just trying to be a new mom or trying to be a newlywed. I guess also thank you for asking because not many people have asked if I'm okay, but it's a very real thing to be going through behind the scenes."

AOC quoted Meghan thanking Tom Bradby for the question, before writing, "Sudden prominence is a very dehumanizing experience. There’s a part of your life that you lose, & it later dawns on you that you’ll never get it back. The people who treat you like a human make all the difference."

The Democratic Socialist—along with other freshman representatives part of an insurgent, progressive wave in Congress, such as Minnesota representative Ilhan Omar—similarly faces scrutiny from the media, especially from her political opponents. In January, for instance, a video of AOC dancing on a rooftop as a student went viral online, with the seeming intent to discredit her reputation. Instead, the congresswoman responded by remaking the video—this time, dancing outside of her office on Capitol Hill.

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