Meghan Markle made headlines this week when news broke that her father allegedly keeps child abuse imagery in his home, and “Saturday Night Live UK” was quick to weigh in.
On Saturday’s installment of “Weekend Update,” hosts Paddy Young and Ania Magliano riffed on the allegations against Thomas Markle, joking that they simply mark the Duchess of Sussex’s latest attempt to gain favorability in the U.K.
“In royal news, it’s been a big 24 hours for Meghan Markle, whose dad has been accused of being an alleged pedophile — in another pathetic attempt to win over the British public,” Young joked, adding that her father, Thomas Markle, moved to the Philippines last year “in a sure sign of his innocence.”
Magliano added that the allegations actually could mean Markle is a real royal.
“If the allegations about Meghan Markle’s father are true and he is a pedophile, there is a genuine chance Meghan could be considered royal,” she said.
Watch the clip from “SNL UK” below:
On Thursday, it was reported that Markle’s estranged father Thomas is under investigation over claims by his son alleging that he kept child abuse imagery in their shared home in the Philippines. Speaking with The Sun Thursday, Thomas Markle Jr. said he was “horrified” by what he had found and felt he had “no option” but to report his father to the local police.
In a statement Friday, Meghan claimed to have first learned of “disturbing” allegations about her father in 2018 when a letter was sent to London’s Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection division. She said the letter contained “troubling and disturbing allegations against my father and I was given assurances that these were being investigated.”
“I am deeply distressed at the news that has come to light in the last 24 hours,” she said. “My thoughts are with any children who may have been harmed.”
