Omid Scobie doubled down to defend Endgame on British TV today

Omid Scobie doubled down to defend Endgame on British TV today and refused to take any responsibility for the racism scandal over the naming of two royals in its Dutch translation, declaring: ‘I never submitted a book that had those names in it’. The Sussexes’ favored royal reporter has squarely blamed the publisher in the Netherlands – and denied it was part of a money-spinning ‘stunt’ to shift more copies. Mr Scobie also offered no explanation as to how the Dutch version of Endgame ended up pointing the finger at two members of the Royal Family now accused of asking about the color of Archie’s skin before he was born.

In an interview with ITV’s This Morning, which started with a denial he is ‘Meghan’s mouthpiece’, Omid offered no mea culpa or apology for the error, adding: ‘I am obviously frustrated. I wouldn’t say I am upset about it’. Asked if the Dutch farrago was a ‘stunt to sell books’ in the face of poor reviews, he said: ‘I wish it was the case’ and that ‘an investigation is underway’. ‘I had never submitted a book that had their names in it, so I can only talk about my version. I wrote and edited the English version of the book with one publisher. That then gets licensed to other publishers. I can’t speak Italian, German, French, Dutch or any of the other languages that it’s come out in’, he added. 

Mr Scobie’s appearance on the This Morning sofa with Craig Doyle and Alison Hammond began with an immediate denial that he is ‘Meghan’s mouthpiece’, ‘her cheerleader’ or just ‘some mouthy fan’. He claimed he had been treated ‘unfairly’ and these pro-Sussex monikers are all part of ‘a character assassination’. In order to hammer home his point he said: ‘I have very little interest in what they [the Sussexes] are doing in California. Harry and Meghan are irrelevant to the future of the Royal Family’. But he admitted he had been ‘sympathetic’, claiming he had witnessed unfair treatment of the Duchess of Sussex when she was a working royal ‘so I did go on television and talk about the racism she faced’. 

Denying that he was ‘Meghan’s mouthpiece, he said: ‘I’m not their friend. I have never sat down privately with Meghan for an interview, exchanged information with Meghan. I am not in their private world’. He also said that he and Endgame had been unfairly criticized. He said: ‘I knew this book would be controversial, whether it’s about race or the Palace’s relationship with the press. I never expected it to be presented fairly’. He said: ‘There have been unfair attacks on me’. He said that he believed that he has been victimized because he was saying ‘loudly from the start’ that Meghan suffered racism. He added that because he is mixed race he has a different perspective on the racism she had – but insisted that he not just some ‘mouthy fan’. Mr Scobie was asked how the names had appeared in the Dutch version now pulled from the shelves. Piers Morgan said them on live TV last night. 

He said: ‘It’s still being investigated now. I wrote and edited the English version of the book with one publisher. That then gets licensed to other publishers. I obviously can’t speak Italian, German, French, Dutch or any of the other languages that come out. So the only time you hear about the book is once it’s come out in the public domain. I’m as frustrated as anyone else. I make it very clear in this book that I in every way possible want to adhere to the laws surrounding this subject. It’s why I’ve been very careful in how it’s described in the book and it’s why I’ve never spoken about it beyond what I’ve said in the public domain before. The reality is though is that this is information that is not privy just to me. Journalists across Fleet Street have known those names for a long time. We’ve all followed a certain code of conduct when it comes to talking about it. It’s frustrating that now what’s going on in the Netherlands with the book that was obviously immediately rescinded and is now being reprinted has happened, and I’m glad to hear so. But for me I can only talk about the English version of the book that I wrote and produced.’

Scobie told ITV’s This Morning that coverage of Meghan Markle was often ‘steeped in xenophobia, misogyny and prejudice’. He said: ‘I do think when Meghan was a working member of the royal family she was massively mispresented in a lot of the coverage. A lot of it was steeped in xenophobia, misogyny and prejudice, and I’ve always said that very loudly from the start. It’s the thing that has made me a target for many people in terms of someone who is just seen as like some mouthy fan of her rather than perhaps OK, I’m a mixed race member of the press pack and I’ve got something different to say about it.’ Omid said he had never used the ‘racist’ word in relation to the comments over Archie’s skin color, adding that it was described as ‘unconscious bias’.

He admitted he ‘knew this book would be controversial’ and it ‘obviously goes into areas that often royal correspondents often shy away from’. He added that he ‘never expected it to be presented fairly by newspapers’ and it was also ‘frustrating’ to see so much written about the book ‘that just wasn’t true’. Royal experts and insiders have said there is anger at the heart of the British Royal Family over the scandal, heightened after Piers Morgan revealed the names on live TV last night. It came as an indomitable King Charles III today brushed off the row over Endgame. The King has landed in Dubai where he will give a keynote speech at the COP28 climate change conference. When asked by Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu how he was, the monarch replied: ‘I’m all right very much, just about’. 

He added: ‘Having had a rather ancient birthday recently recovering from the shock of that’ – a nod to turning 75 earlier this month. Charles, 75, kicked off his 48-hour trip – in which he will give an opening address as COP28 environmental summit – with a 30 minute bilateral with Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The pair met at a hotel in Dubai ahead of the conference to discuss energy, environment, the Commonwealth and likely the situation in Gaza and Israel. Read the full story: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12809093/Palace-race-row-omid-scobie-endgame-Morning.htmll?ito=msngallery

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