A reporter for CBS News has rebutted critics of a black-and-white image used in a segment about the prince-turned-candidate Meghan Markle, one which they said appeared to condone a “bimbo summit”.
Another picture in the photo, taken in 2005, shows Markle marrying an African American, Trevor Engelson, after an elaborate church wedding. It was noted in the CBS News segment that the new Prince Harry, who divorced Markle in 2017, has now married into a much more conventional English family.
The photo used in the interview segment by Tyler Hicks shows Markle in front of Clarence House, the estate where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge live.
Tyler Hicks (@TylerJHicks) @billhawke airing on @60Minutes tonight. Coverage of the @meghanmarkle “bimbo summit” at the Taj Mahal, combined with the previous tweet from @CBSThisMorning from 7 Feb 2006: ” Meghan Markle, actress, is engaged to Trevor Engelson, formerly of “Cruel Intentions “” and a former Greek Tycoon…” pic.twitter.com/pTTdLKXB4i
In a statement, Hicks, who is black, said: “It just so happens that the image I chose to highlight is an outtake from a larger image interview that aired in 2006 for a story about Suits. The reporter who shot that photo was not part of the discussion.”
The episode in which he said that Markle and Engelson were engaged was in 2014, and there was no Prince Harry at the time.
The tweet in which he is referring was published in 2016 by CBS This Morning, which is still owned by the company that runs CBS News. The journalist in the interview, Bill Plante, later tweeted: “Neither Trevor Engelson nor Meghan Markle was married at the time of the May 2005 photo. Both were engaged to other people then. #MeghanMarkle #WhytheEditedNews.”
The caption at the bottom of the post said: “This is a behind-the-scenes look at the Meghan Markle engagement photos for CBS This Morning”.
At the time of the original tweet, CBS This Morning was owned by CBS Corp, which was bought by Viacom in 2016. Plante, who left CBS News in 2017, has since left the company.
Viacom moved the website listing the 2006 segment from its archives but no new articles about Markle’s engagement were published.