Misan Harriman and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex speak during “The After” event at a private residence in Montecito, California, in November 2023.Photo:Emma McIntyre/Getty
Emma McIntyre/Getty
Meghan MarkleandPrince Harry’s friend Misan Harriman is speaking out following accusations that he doctored thephoto that the couple shared to announce they were expectingtheir second child,Princess Lilibet.
On Wednesday, the professional photographerposted the original picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Instagramhe took during a remote photo session in 2021 when Meghan was pregnant with their daughter, now 2, to denounce aDaily Mailreport that he manipulated the image.
“The original Jpeg without the black and White grade, I expect a full apology and retraction from@dailymail@telegraph,” Harriman captioned the post on Wednesday.
Harriman’s update followed a video he posted earlier on Wednesday to debunk theDaily Mailreport that alleged: “a resurfaced podcast has revealed that the intimate 2021 black and white photo of the couple used to announce her second was doctored.” Harriman claimed that theMailtwisted what he told Michael Berkely on the BBC’sPrivate Passionspodcast in 2022 to meet the news cycle. On Monday,Kate Middletonissuedan apologyregarding theMother’s Day photoreleased over the weekend after multiple global photo agencies pulled the picture around suspicion of manipulation.
“Unfortunately, there’s been an article on theDaily Mail, saying that I have admitted to doctoring the pregnancy announcement portrait I took of Harry and Meghan,” Harriman began an address shared to social media. “Apparently, I was switching out trees and meadows…this is crazy.”
“No trees or meadows were moved or swapped, this is the image straight out of camera,” Harriman added in the post sharing the color photo. “Also that is a Jacaranda Tree, not a willow tree.”
Karwai Tang/WireImage
The filmmaker and photographer, whose directorial debutThe Afterwas nominated for an Academy Award in the Live Action Short Film category at the2024 Oscars, played back the segment fromPrivate Passionsand explained they were talking about popular technology photographers used for virtual shoots during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“My most well-known virtual shooters, the portrait I took of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, announcing their pregnancy. It’s a very joyous image. The technology allows you to take over a phone or iPad, and they can hear my voice, and I can still press the shutter and compose with ease. It’s extraordinary what you can do with technology,” Harriman said on the show.
“They weren’t actually under a willow tree, were they were lying out solely in a meadow, weren’t they, Harry and Meghan, when you took the photograph of them?” Berkely asked.
“They were lost at home in their love, in their garden, comfortable, celebrating new joy, new life, the fortitude of hoping for light in life after such a loss that they went through with the miscarriage. It really was a particularly joyous image to celebrate life itself,” Harriman replied, referring to thepregnancy lossthat the Duchess of Sussex shared that she suffered in 2020.
Misan Harriman at the he BoF VOICES Gala Dinner and Party at Soho Farmhouse on November 30, 2023 in Chipping Norton, England; Meghan Markle at the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards: Celebrating Generations of Progress & Power at Ziegfeld Ballroom on May 16, 2023 in New York City.Dave Benett/Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty
Dave Benett/Hoda Davaine/Dave Benett/Getty; Kevin Mazur/Getty
“How that exchange could amount to me admitting to doctoring an image is insidious and really dangerous journalism. Any mention of meadows and willow trees came out of the person doing the interview, not my mouth,” he said. “I did my best to ignore it and focus on what I wanted to talk about.”
“To see an article saying, as fact, that I did what I did not do is extraordinary to me. And then to try to merge it with this current news cycle of what’s happening is tragic to see,” he continued, seemingly referring to the Mothering Sunday photo scandal without mentioning the Princess of Wales.
“It was a virtual shoot that I shot on an iPad, an 8-mega pixel iPad. The only thing that was changed was a black and white color grade. That’s it,” Harriman said.
David Oyelowo, Misan Harriman, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during “The After” event at a private residence in Montecito, California, in November 2023.Emma McIntyre/Getty
Meghan, 42, and Prince Harry, 39, have had the celebrated photographer capture many of their milestone moments through the years, from the pregnancy announcement to Princess Lilibet’sfirst birthday photoin 2022 to their appearance at theOne Young World Summitand Meghan’s portrait announcing hernew podcast dealwith Lemonada Media.
“I’ve been very lucky to photograph many special moments with her and her husband and her family,” Harriman recentlytold PEOPLE— and the supportive relationship goes both ways.
In November 2023, Meghanhosted a special screening and moderated a talkbackwith Harriman andThe Afterstar David Oyelowo at a private home in Montecito, California, where the Duchess of Sussex lives withPrince Harryand their 4-year-old sonPrince Archieand 2-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet.
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
“She is really as a sister to me,” the Nigeria-born filmmaker-photographer told PEOPLE when asked what the Duchess of Sussex’s support meant and later explained that “my images of them do all the talking.”
“Portraiture for me, whether it is royalty or whether I’m in the tip of the spear in any of the civil rights movements that I care deeply about, is looking for truth,” said Harriman, who appeared in theHarry & MeghanNetflixdocuseries. “That’s fundamentally what my lens is there, to capture the human condition in full fidelity.”
source: people.com
