George Clooney is speaking out in defense of pregnant Duchess Meghan, who’s facing a media firestorm regarding her estrangement from her father and her reported feud with sister-in-law Duchess Kate. In fact, the 57-year-old actor even compared the scrutiny surrounding Meghan, 37, to that of Princess Diana, Prince Harry’s late mother.

“They’re just chasing Meghan Markle everywhere,” Clooney said at a Television Critics Association panel in Pasadena, California, on Monday, February 11, per CNN and the Associated Press. “She’s been pursued and vilified. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to see that.”

After he and wife Amal Clooney befriended the royal couple and attended their wedding in May 2018, George has grown concerned for Meghan’s safety. “She’s a woman who is seven months pregnant and she is being pursued and vilified and chased in the same way that Diana was, and it’s history repeating itself. And we’ve seen how that ends,” he added, referencing Diana’s 1997 death in a car crash following a pursuit by paparazzi.

The Catch-22 star also criticized the Mail on Sunday’s recent publication of a letter Meghan supposedly wrote to father Thomas Markle, telling him he has “broken [her] heart into a million pieces” and “manufactured such unnecessary and unwarranted pain” with his interactions with the press.

“You’re taking a letter from a daughter to a father and broadcasting it everywhere,” George observed. “She’s getting a raw deal there. It’s irresponsible. I’m sort of surprised by that.”

In December, an insider told Us Weekly that Harry, 34, feels guilty about Meghan’s unhappiness amid all the negative press. “Meghan made a huge sacrifice by moving across the pond, away from her mom and friends,” the insider explained. “Marrying into the royal family isn’t anywhere near as glamorous as it seems, so in a lot of ways Harry feels responsible for Meghan being so miserable.”

That same month, a source close to the former Suits actress told Us that Harry “takes any attack on Meghan very personally” and “wanted to publicly make a statement many times defending Meghan and addressing the false rumors but was advised not to.”

Meghan and Harry, who confirmed their relationship in November 2016 and announced their engagement in a year later, are expecting their first child around late April.

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