Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's frank discussion of the impact of the British tabloids on their mental health has spurred an even wider conversation about the power of the press in the United Kingdom. And Hugh Grant is now pulling up a seat at the table to share his own harrowing experience with the tabloids.
The reach of the British press has come under scrutiny after Harry and Meghan's revealing sit down with Oprah Winfrey. During the interview, the couple revealed that the tabloids had been relentless in their negative press towards Meghan, playing a major role in the downturn of her mental health while being barely restrained by the Royal Family.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Grant has been vocal about his support of Harry for awhile, but pegged to the new Oprah interview, The Undoing actor was once again inspired to talk about what he personal experienced at the hands of the British tabloids. Appearing on an episode of the WTF podcast, Grant shared that the early successes of his career were tainted by paparazzi going to extreme lengths to get information about him. There was no line that they wouldn't cross, said the star, to invade his privacy.
“It wasn’t just my cellphone messages that were being accessed, it was also my home line,” Grant explained to WTF host Marc Maron. “For years and years, they were listening...my medical records [were stolen], and my car had bugs put into it so they knew where I was.”
The only reason that Grant knows exactly how far the tabloids went to access his information? He's actually connected with some of the private investigators hired to follow him back in the day. The former foes are now allies in Grant's continued fight against media intrusion via campaign group Hacked Off, joining forces with him to advocate for victims of "press abuse" and push for regulation of U.K. media. It's all for a good cause, but some of the former investigators have joined the movement because they have a score to settle with the tabloids themselves.
"They're so pissed the editors, executives and owners of these newspapers have got away scot-free, while some of these foot soldiers have gone to jail, that they are now coming over to our side and spilling the beans," Grant explained on the podcast.
Grant and the Sussexes aren't the first high profile celebrities to be targeted by the tabloids, and they won't be the last. But the hope is that by talking openly about the repercussions, the calls for change might actually lead to real action being taken.