Some people are bad cooks, and then there's whatever Meghan Markle attempted on With Love, Meghan. The Netflix series delivered what might be the most bewildering display of knife misuse ever witnessed.
Now, Shun Cutlery, the unfortunate brand behind the knife in Meghan’s fumbling grip, appears to be distancing itself at lightning speed, likely scrubbing any evidence of its involvement before it gets fully "Markled." One can only imagine the horror at Shun’s headquarters when they saw their premium Santoku knife being held as if it were a cursed artifact from a horror film. Meghan’s grip was so unnatural it looked like even her own hand was trying to escape. The poor onion she attempted to chop was in more danger from sheer incompetence than from the razor-sharp blade itself.
What should have been a simple cooking segment quickly spiraled into a PR disaster. Instead of showcasing the Santoku knife as a sleek and desirable tool, Meghan made it look like a medieval relic being awkwardly wielded by someone who had never set foot in a kitchen before. But, of course, this wasn’t really about cooking—it was about selling. Between clumsy cuts, both figurative and literal, and jarring product placements, the entire segment felt more like an infomercial than an actual cooking show. The problem? Watching someone who can’t cook attempt to sell a high-end chef’s knife is about as convincing as watching someone who can’t drive try to promote a luxury sports car. “Meghan isn’t cutting an onion—she’s cutting a deal,” one unimpressed critic noted. Unfortunately for Shun, the only thing being sliced here seems to be its patience, as backlash erupted almost immediately. The company now appears to be retreating from Meghan faster than a celebrity fleeing a disastrous endorsement.
But the knife debacle was just the beginning. Meghan’s insistence on cooking while dripping in jewelry had viewers wondering if she was more focused on showing off her ring stack than actually preparing food. And then there was the pristine beige outfit—who chops vegetables while looking like they just stepped out of a luxury boutique? “She’s terrified that without the rings and beige aesthetic, we’d see her for who she really is—just another grifter in the kitchen,” one viewer snarked. It wasn’t just the lack of technique that had people talking; there was a palpable desperation in the entire performance, a painful attempt to appear effortlessly domestic while achieving the exact opposite.
Knife skills don’t come naturally to everyone, but Meghan’s effort was so forced that it only emphasized how much of her public persona feels like an elaborate act. In a final, ironic twist, Shun’s Santoku knife is marketed as excelling at three virtues—dicing, slicing, and chopping. Unfortunately, none of those virtues include surviving a Markle PR disaster. As the backlash rages on, the only question that remains is whether Shun Cutlery can recover from this catastrophe or if Meghan has once again doomed yet another brand to oblivion.
