Meghan Markle and Prince Harry feel Justine Bateman’s disparaging comments were “offensive” after they stepped up to help Los Angeles wildfire victims on Friday.
The “Family Ties” alum labeled the couple “disaster tourists” as photos surfaced of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex distributing food and supplies to victims outside the Pasadena Convention Center.
“It’s offensive to Meghan and Harry that anybody would think this is merely a photo opportunity,” a source exclusively tells Page Six.
The pair currently live approximately 90 miles north of the city, however, our source says, “Meghan was born and raised in Los Angeles so this is, and always will be, home to her.”
According to the insider, Markle, 43, is “not just a tourist” and “her heart is completely broken for all the lives that have been lost and for those whose homes have been destroyed in these fires.”
Harry, 40, and Markle “invested significant time and resources, they have donated money and essential items.”
“They have also dedicated countless hours to volunteering, long before the media even caught wind of their involvement,” the source tells us.
Reps for the Sussexes and Bateman did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.
Bateman slammed the couple on X Saturday, writing that the couple “are no better than ambulance chasers.”
The actress, 58, reposted a clip over the weekend of Harry and Markle lending a hand at a convention center in Pasadena, Calif.
Bateman wrote, “What a repulsive ‘photo op’ they achieved. They are ‘touring the damage’? Are they politicians now?”
She concluded, “They don’t live here; they are tourists. Disaster Tourists. #PalisadesFire.”
Multiple fires erupted in Los Angeles last week. The biggest of them, the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire has displaced over 150,000 people and burned over 40,000 acres.
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