As the shock begins to subside from Kate Middleton's video announcement that she is suffering from cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatment, the reality is slowly settling in — especially for social media users — about just how wrong and inappropriate all the rumors and jokes about Princess Kate's health and whereabouts have been these past few months.
Social media is startling to grapple with that unfortunate realization — with as many apologies for past conspiracy theories pouring in as messages of support for the Princess of Wales.
One viral post that sums up the situation pretty succinctly reads, “all the kate middleton and Royal family jokes i laughed at these past couple of weeks and to find out she’s been battling cancer… im going to hell.”
Another user noted, “Kate Middleton has cancer and we were all saying she got a BBL…”
Some tried to deflect the uncomfortable feelings of guilt with humor and memes, such as a tweet that read, “Me reviewing all the Kate Middleton tweets I liked over the past couple weeks.”
Me reviewing all the Kate Middleton tweets I liked over the past couple weeks pic.twitter.com/A5AGSNDQOw
— I Think You Should Parent 💦🥩+👕🙍♂️ (@ITYSLKids) March 22, 2024
Some celebrities even had the foresight to speak out against all the awful Princess Kate conspiracy theories before her video announcement on Friday. In Jimmy Kimmel's monologue on Thursday night's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, he took a serious turn for a beat to remind viewers, “She had an operation, she had abdominal surgery. Maybe she has a colostomy bag and doesn’t want everybody to see it.”
He continued, “I mean, really. People are demanding she get dressed up and march through London so we can have a look at her. Leave this woman alone!”
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis issued an even sterner warning on her Instagram account, just hours before Middleton's major health announcement. Curtis wrote, “Can we please just STOP with this bulls–t conspiracy theory? This is a human being with young children, and clearly some sort of a health issue. That is a private matter.”
Curtis added, “Do we not have better things to do and more important things to think about and be concerned about than this? It's a really low poin [sic] in our society when there are SO MANY crucial issues that need our attention.”
View this post on Instagram
The issue is yet another reminder in the age of social media and instant answers that it's unfair, unkind and unrealistic to expect immediate and full disclosures regarding private health matters from public figures — who are human like the rest of us and need their own time, space and privacy to process such information and discuss it first with their own families.
Social media users were forced to don similar about-faces after a recent health disclosure from actress Olivia Munn. Munn had been heavily trolled online from users wondering if she and comedian John Mulaney had broken up when she didn't post for a while, before Munn revealed she's been fighting an aggressive form of breast cancer.
The conspiracy theories directed at Kate Middleton are particularly unconscionable since she previously disclosed she would be undergoing a serious medical surgery, explained she would be out of the spotlight for a while, and asked for privacy during that time — and the public basically did the exact opposite.
In Kate Middleton‘s emotional video, she again asked for “time, space and privacy while I complete my treatment.” Hopefully social media users will heed her advice this time around.
Follow Us
Subscribe