Omid Scobie is finally setting the record straight!
The author has been in the hot seat ever since the release of his new book, Endgame, came with a major bombshell! As we’ve covered, the Dutch version was promptly pulled from shelves when it was revealed to contain a so-called error — it exposed King Charles III and Princess Catherine as the alleged royal racists!
This is obviously a huge f**k up, especially since Omid had gone out of his way to avoid name-dropping them in the English version out of an abundance of caution due to UK laws. So, when the names leaked, everyone started to wonder if this was some messed up PR move to boost book sales, which he desperately needed. But he’s clapping back at the allegations and finally breaking down exactly what happened!
In a candid new op-ed for i newspaper out on Friday, the Finding Freedom writer rehashed the scandal from his POV, noting he was on a press tour in the US when the revelation broke. Without having a proper understanding of the controversy, he avoided giving a straight answer when constantly questioned about it. As he returned to the UK, the controversy had only escalated.
After allegedly being “followed” and met with “violent threats” from people who were unwilling to consider that criticisms about the royal family could be anything other than an “attack,” he can now confidently say:
“To be clear, the only publisher I worked directly with was the one covering the US and UK. I spent almost two months with independent British barristers and in-house legal counsel to ensure that every detail in the finished book was legally watertight.”
But as previous reports have suggested, an early version of the book was sent out to translators to get a head start on their work. And it was in this version that the royal identities remained, he continued:
“Unbeknownst to me at the time, early and uncleared text was provided to the Dutch publisher in order for them to start work on the translation, with the understanding that their translation would be updated to reflect the final version of the book I officially submitted.”
Seems a bit risky to send an early draft out, especially one containing such shocking claims, but it worked in some countries, including “France and Italy” who made the appropriate revisions once they got the final version of the book. But all it took was one country to slip up and voila: drama!
Interestingly, despite wanting to clear his name, Omid never flat-out denied that Charles and Kate Middleton were involved in the icky conversations. He just deflected the blame off himself and reiterated that “those who took part in” the conversations about Prince Archie‘s skin tone before his birth “were to remain a mystery.” Hmm…
The royal expert also used the article — appropriately titled “Endgame backlash shows how unwilling we are to confront racism” — to SLAM the royal family for their unwillingness to address the alleged racism issue in The Firm and their failure to stick up for Meghan Markle. He wrote:
“For the 12.8 million ethnic minority individuals in multicultural Britain today, shooing away opportunities to meaningfully explore the royal institution’s historic links to slavery (and the impact its legacy has had on the country), or have serious conversations around the royal institution’s failure to protect its only family member of colour, sends a clear message that the issues just don’t matter. Rather than properly address everything as part of a genuine attempt to modernise and better reflect the diverse country they serve, the Royal Family continue to sweep the issues, and more, under the rug.”
Oof. The Palace has yet to release a statement about the book’s claims, but sources did argue they blamed the Suits alum for the problematic leak (though other insiders denied she or her team were involved). It would seem Omid has confirmed this wasn’t her fault, too, and he clearly remains #TeamMeghan! You can read his full statement HERE.
Thoughts?! Do you think he’ll face any legal action from the royals over this?
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