Prince Harry dropped some bombshells regarding his family and it has echoed in a resurfaced clip of Hugh Grant talking about British politics as reported by Newsweek.
The Duke of Sussex told Oprah Winfrey there was an “invisible contract” through which his family invited the media into their lives in exchange for positive coverage. He also said during the March 2021 conversation that the royals feared criticism in the tabloid press.
Hugh Grant opens up on the matter
The account bears some similarities to an old clip that has gone viral on Twitter of British actor Hugh Grant suggesting U.K. politicians fear the media.The video was posted alongside a Tweet which read:
“Hugh Grant years ago called the UK press a protection racket that scared politicians into silence.
“Prince Harry says that the Royal Family is terrified of the tabloids because they know where all the skeletons are buried With #Spare, Harry has taken away any power over him.” The post has been viewed more than186k times and liked nearly 3,000 times.
Both Harry and Grant have for separate reasons also taken aim at the same newspaper executive—Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News UK, publisher of The Sun, The Times and The Sunday Times.
The video clip of Hugh Grant appears to date back to an appearance by him on BBC political debate show Question Time on July 7, 2011, which was the date Rupert Murdoch’s media empire announced the closure of the News of the World brand in the wake of phone-hacking allegations.
Grant said:
“When they tried to bring Rebekah Brooks in to see them and she refused and they asked again and she refused and they kept asking and the message got through to the select committee if you make me come I will destroy your personal lives.
“And that’s what MPs have been. They have been on an individual basis absolutely terrified.” He added: “This is a protection racket and it should not be called anything else.”
