Nelson Mandela's grandson has slammed Meghan Markle for suggesting her marriage to Prince Harry sparked as much joy in South Africa as the release of the anti-apartheid activist from prison after 27 years.
Markle made the comments to The Cut magazine as part of a wide-ranging interview.
She told the magazine that three years ago, a South African actor told her at the launch of the live-action Lion King movie: "I just need you to know: When you married into this family, we rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison."
But Zwelivelile "Madla" Mandela, the grandson of the activist, said the two could not be compared and the release of his grandfather was far more important than her marriage "to a white prince".
"Madiba's celebration was based on overcoming 350 years of colonialism with 60 years of a brutal apartheid regime in South Africa. So It cannot be equated as the same," he said.
"Every day there are people who want to be Nelson Mandela, either comparing themselves with him or wanting to emulate him.
"But before people can regard themselves as Nelson Mandelas, they should be looking into the work that he did and be able to be champions and advocates of the work that he himself championed."
It's not the first quote from Markle's The Cut interview to spark a furore.
She revealed Prince Harry felt he 'lost [his] dad' and considered moving to New Zealand following their exit from the Royal Family.
Her comments have been widely criticised as she revealed more about the royal rift after the pair stepped back as senior members of the family.
"The Mandela anecdote alone had me gagging. How dare she use her title to keep trashing the institution that gave it to her? Shameless & shameful," UK broadcaster and vocal critic of Meghan, Piers Morgan, tweeted.
Overnight, the latest episode of Markle's Spotify podcast Archetypes was released, in which she said she felt she was "treated like a Black woman" for the first time after she started dating Prince Harry.
She told guest Mariah Carey prior to that she'd always been treated like a "mixed woman".
"I mean, if there's any time in my life that it's been more focused on my race, it's only once I started dating my husband," she said.
"Then I started to understand what it was like to be treated like a Black woman. Because up until then, I had been treated like a mixed woman. And things really shifted."
