Meghan Markle's Thanksgiving cooking clip has set off an unexpected online backlash, with thousands of viewers raising concerns about salmonella risks and food-handling hygiene after the Duchess of Sussex appeared preparing a holiday turkey. The short video, circulated through the Sussexes' platform, quickly drew scrutiny on X, Instagram and TikTok, where users accused the clip of showing improper handling of raw poultry and questioned whether the kitchen setup followed basic domestic safety standards.
The footage, intended to show a casual holiday moment, briefly shows Meghan seasoning and preparing a turkey. RadarOnline reported that several commenters focused on her wearing rings and bracelets while touching raw poultry, a detail many viewers said could contribute to cross-contamination. The clip's warm tone was overshadowed as criticism spread across social media communities that analyze celebrity cooking content.
Commenters repeatedly invoked salmonella in their reactions. Some users warned of "possible cross-contamination," while others joked about holiday meals ending badly. Several viewers also pointed to moments in which Meghan appeared to handle ingredients without visible handwashing or placed items on counters they argued should have been sanitised. The claims did not come from food-safety authorities but were instead crowdsourced judgments from viewers responding to the edited sequence.
The rapid escalation of the debate reflected the unique scrutiny attached to celebrity domestic content. Meghan Markle's lifestyle and cooking posts have often generated close analysis, and holiday food preparation-already a sensitive subject for many households-amplified viewer reactions. Small gestures such as how utensils were placed or how long she touched raw poultry became focal points for critics across entertainment and domestic-living forums.
Food-safety experts frequently warn families about increased risks during holiday cooking, especially with raw poultry. Issues such as improper handwashing, mixing raw and cooked foods, and failing to disinfect surfaces are among the most common causes of foodborne illness. These wider seasonal concerns helped intensify the reaction, as viewers linked the footage to broader anxieties about Thanksgiving kitchen mistakes.
Lifestyle bloggers and home-cooking pages have since weighed in, urging followers not to treat the viral clip as a guide to safe preparation. Some creators cautioned that the video is heavily edited, making it impossible to determine the full hygiene sequence. Others argued that the online response demonstrates how quickly curated content can fuel perceptions about everyday risks, even when incomplete.
The clip also highlights how public expectations have shifted for high-profile figures who share domestic scenes. Even benign household tasks-cutting vegetables, plating food, handling utensils-can generate headlines when magnified across global platforms. In this case, the Thanksgiving scene became a prompt for broader discussions about safety rather than a simple holiday message.
