Meghan Markle’s Suits script was changed after Royal Family banned word
USA NetworkWhen Meghan Markle started dating Prince Harry, the creator of Suits had to change the script to cater to the Royal Family rules – and there was one word in particular she was banned from saying.
It’s easy to forget that before she was the Duchess from Suffolk, Meghan Markle enjoyed a successful career in the acting world, including a significant role in the popular legal drama Suits.
But then she started dating Prince Harry, one of the heirs to the British throne, and when things started getting serious, she was written out of the show after Season 7 and given a clean exit so she could focus on her royal duties.
Though Suits ended with its ninth season in 2019, ever since coming to Netflix and dominating the charts, there’s been renewed interest in the series – including Markle’s history as Rachel Zane.
Meghan Markle’s Suits script changed after Royal Family banned word
Suits creator Aaron Korsh has revealed that one line in particular from Meghan Markle’s script had to be changed after she started seeing Prince Harry, as the Royal Family vetoed an oddly specific word from being used: poppycock.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Korsh opened up about what it was like when the actress got involved with the British monarch, and how they had to make adjustments.
He explained that while he was “excited in some ways as everybody else,” the Royal Family “weighed in on some stuff. Not many things, by the way, but a few things that we wanted to do and couldn’t do, and it was a little irritating.”
When asked to elaborate, Korsh replied: “I remember one was a particular line of dialogue and, look, I’ll just say what the line was. My wife’s family, when they have a topic to discuss that might be sensitive, they use the word ‘poppycock’.
Netflix“Let’s say you wanted to do something that you knew your husband didn’t want to do, but you wanted to at least discuss it, and in just discussing it, you wouldn’t hold him to anything he said, you’d be like, ‘It’s poppycock.’”
For the uninitiated, poppycock is a British slang term meaning nonsense or garbage (e.g. having to change a script for one word is sheer poppycock).
The Suits creator continued: “So, in the episode, Mike and Rachel [Markle’s character] were going to have a thing, and as a nod to my in-laws, we were going to have her say, ‘My family would say poppycock.’ And the Royal Family did not want her saying the word.
“They didn’t want to put the word ‘poppycock’ in her mouth. I presume because they didn’t want people cutting things together of her saying ‘cock’.”
But here’s the twist: they were fine with the writers using the word “bullsh*t” in its place. Korsh wasn’t happy about it, but only because he’d told his in-laws that the word was going to be in the show because of them.
While at first he found it irritating being told what he could or couldn’t do, the issue was soon forgotten, and the crew were able to wrap up Markle’s arc for good with Season 7 before she went on to marry Prince Harry.
You can check out our other Suits coverage below: