Emma Grede’s Women-Led Dinner, Attended by Meghan Sussex, Mocked as Tasteless by UK Press

How Meghan Sussex’s candlelit dinner for women was mocked as “vulgar” while Donald Trump’s Windsor banquet was hailed as “royal splendour.”

Two dinners, two worlds, and one glaring double standard. Within a month, the Daily Express ran two very different stories by the same reporter, Hanisha Sethi. One praised Donald Trump’s Windsor Castle state banquet, paid for by UK taxpayers. The other mocked Emma Grede’s vegan dinner in Los Angeles as the “worst dinner party in history.”

The British press framed only one event as an embarrassment, showing once again who they allow to gather, dine, and connect, and who they choose to shame.
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Meghan Sussex and the Dinner That Sparked Outrage

The October 18 Express headline read: “Meghan Markle roasted over ‘worst dinner party in history.’” Co-written by Hanisha Sethi and Lauren Welch, the piece amplified restaurant critic William Sitwell’s tirade from The Telegraph, calling the gathering “grotesque,” “vulgar,” and “tasteless.”

The event, hosted by Emma Grede, the British CEO of fashion brand Good American, celebrated women’s leadership with a vegan menu and As Ever wines supplied by Meghan’s label. Guests included Rachel Zoe, Maria Sharapova, Bozoma Saint John and Nicole Avant, among others

Yet readers found a different story. The Express reproduced Sitwell’s insults without context, framed them under “Royal News,” and platformed reader comments filled with derision, some racially bigoted, others openly mocking Meghan’s presence in Los Angeles. What was designed as a women’s networking dinner became a spectacle of moral outrage.

The Trump Banquet and the Celebration of Excess

Just one month earlier, the same reporter had published an article titled “Incredible pictures from Trump’s state banquet prove one thing.” The piece described Windsor Castle’s banquet hall as remarkable and meticulously planned, calling it a celebration of confidence and individuality.

Donald Trump was quoted describing the occasion as one of the highest honours of his life. Hanisha Sethi’s coverage focused on the glittering chandeliers, the luxurious food and wine, and Melania Trump’s gown, which she called unapologetically glamorous. The tone was reverent, presenting the evening as an image of elegance and diplomacy.

Missing entirely was any reference to cost, controversy, or the question of extravagance during a cost-of-living crisis. Reporters portrayed the former president’s taxpayer-funded state banquet as an act of statesmanship and labeled Emma’s privately organised, women-led candlelit dinner as tasteless.
The same outlet called Emma Grede’s vegan dinner “vulgar” yet praised Trump’s royal feast as “incredible.” The hypocrisy writes itself.

How the Media Polices Elegance

That both stories appeared in the Daily Express Royal section tells its own story. When Meghan Sussex raises a glass at a women’s event, it becomes “self-congratulatory.” When Donald Trump dines beneath golden candelabras, it becomes “historic.”

The double standard is not simply stylistic. It reflects how class, gender, and race still shape British media’s idea of respectability. Emma’s event, attended by Black and brown women, was moralised as excessive and vain. Trump’s, attended by royals and billionaires, was moralised as patriotic and grand.

The identical byline makes the contrast unavoidable. Both articles glorify elite dining, but only one is treated as a moral failure. That inconsistency reveals what the coverage refuses to confront: the bias that decides who may enjoy luxury without apology.
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Final Thoughts

The dinner Meghan attended was not about spectacle. It was about women creating space for one another through visibility, mentorship, and shared strength. Yet within parts of the British press, the sight of a Black woman leading such a table still seems to provoke discomfort.

A month apart, Hanisha Sethi’s coverage exposed Britain’s media paradox: deference to power and disdain for independence. Reporters described Trump’s Windsor banquet as “meticulous” and condemned Meghan’s Los Angeles dinner as “revolting.” And note, Meghan only attended a dinner her friend Emma hosted. The contrast reveals whose gatherings the media considers worthy.

It is also striking that Sethi, a woman of color herself, reinforces the same patriarchal and white supremacist narratives that diminish women coming together to support each other in a society driven by competition and control.

The tale of two dinners is not about food. It is about framing, about who is permitted celebrate and who is scolded for taking up space.