Meghan Markle reacts awkwardly to Brooke Shields ‘prostitute' comment

Meghan Markle was taken aback by Brooke Shields’ recalling of playing a prostitute’s daughter in 1978 film Pretty Baby.

Meghan joined Brooke as a speaker at the South by Southwest Festival on International Women’s Day. At the event, the Duchess of Sussex delivered a powerful speech on Women empowerment.

Meghan shared her experience with cyber bullying and reflected on the need to bring about change in that area. However, after she shared her experience of starring in a sexist TV ad at 11, Brooke went on to quip, "When I was 11, I was playing a prostitute."

Taken aback, the Duchess of Sussex mumbled something, followed by: "A little different." The Suits star had a huge smile on her face but quickly composed herself to continue the discussion.

Meanwhile, Meghan said she couldn't “make sense of” cyberbullying and argued: "If you're reading something terrible, terrible about a woman, why are you sharing it with your friends? Why are you choosing to put that out in the world? What if it was your friend, your mum, your daughter?"

She said: "There are lots of women at the highest executive level who are great champions of women, great philanthropists, and they are working in these spaces.”

Read more: Meghan Markle recalls being target of ‘cruel' bullying during pregnancy

"And yet they are allowing these behaviours to run rampant. And at a certain point, they have got to put the do's behind the say's, and really make some changes on a systemic level," Meghan concluded.