Toronto-based stylist Jessica Mulroney put what might have looked at first like a cryptic post on her Instagram Tuesday night, writing about the “racist bullies” criticizing an unnamed friend about criticism. Those who know her for her other role as Meghan Markle’s longtime best friend, though, knew exactly what she was talking about: the recent wave of headlines in British press about Meghan and Prince Harry’s use of private jets while traveling in Europe this summer.

Just to make things perfectly clear, though, Mulroney screenshotted a tweet from actress Jameela Jamil that was even more direct. “Dear England and English press, just say you hate her because she’s black, and him for marrying a black woman and be done with it God dammit. Your bullying is so embarrassing and obvious. You’ve all lost your marbles,” Jamil tweeted Tuesday.

Jamil’s not the first celebrity to speak out about the criticism aimed at Harry and Meghan. Elton John was the first to comment, when he said that he paid for the couple’s flights and carbon offsets, and added that it was a matter of safety in his eyes, invoking the death of Princess Diana. In the day that followed, Pink, Ellen DeGeneres, and Harry’s close friend and polo player Nacho Figueras also commented on the recent headlines.

But it’s unusual for Mulroney to comment publicly about Meghan’s life at all. In a February 2019 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, her first since Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018, she even explained why she wouldn’t talk about her friendship with the Sussexes. “Listen, every person has to have a bit of privacy in their life. There are certain things I hold very dear and secret,” she said, referring to Meghan. “There are things I'll never talk about for sure.” For Mulroney to refer to the criticism her friend is facing in the tabloids at all is a sign that this particular story is really hitting a nerve.

In the caption on her Instagram post, Mulroney added, “Three years of undeserved hate and abuse. It's enough.” Over the years since Meghan was first publicly linked to Harry, the occasionally vicious responses from the press and commenters have prompted changes in the usual royal protocol for handling the press. First, it led Harry to issue a rare public statement about the coverage before the two were even engaged. Eventually it led the royal family to up the moderating rules on their social media channels, and for the couple themselves to beef up their communications team, including hiring PR professionals with experience in politics. Now that the private jets have been grabbing headlines for nearly three weeks, it’s unclear if it will cause further changes in royal PR strategy, let alone royal travel habits.

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