“She kept saying she was 11!” Shields continued. “She wrote to the company, they changed the text, they changed the commercial. It was just too precious, and I was like, they’re not going to want to sit here for 45 minutes and listen to anybody be precious or serious.”

Lightening the Mood

Shields explained that she decided to break the seriousness of the moment with humor.

“I go, ‘Excuse me, I’m so sorry, I’ve got to interrupt you there for one minute.’ I was trying not to be rude, but I wanted to be funny because it was so serious,” she recalled.

She then turned to the audience with a joke: “I just want to give everybody here a context as to how we’re different. When I was 11, I was playing a prostitute,” referencing her role in the 1978 film Pretty Baby. Shields said the crowd “went insane” and that the tone of the panel became “more relaxed” after that moment.

Meghan’s Ongoing Advocacy for Social Justice

Markle has frequently shared the dish soap story as a pivotal moment in her early advocacy journey. The original Procter & Gamble ad said, “Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans,” which was later changed to “People all over America” following her letter.

In adulthood, Meghan has continued her work in social justice and gender equality. She co-founded the nonprofit Archewell, supports organizations like Smart Works, which helps women reenter the workforce, and regularly speaks out on issues such as racial justice and maternal health.