# Harry and Meghan New York Car Chase.....Bullshit? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184 "2023-05-17T19:24:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/21 "2023-05-18T12:29:54Z")
On the news last night, the New York state police stated that our soap opera couple was home 20 minutes after they left their initial location. That’s not much time to fit in a “two hour car chase”. It is, in fact, the amount of time they would need for a routine drive. I think people in general have gotten wise to Meghan and her ambition, and I think they’re desperate at this point for media attention and the money that comes with it. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/22 "2023-05-18T13:56:17Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Sure, but the paparazzi in pursuit did not help the situation and Harry grew up being told the press killed his mother. Harry could be reacting emotionally rather than rationally to the situation. In fact, given the effect his mother’s death had on him as a child, he almost certainly is. Fine. So my BS meter no longer ranks Harry as a lying drama-addict. It now ranks him as a crybaby wussball. Great. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/23 "2023-05-18T14:11:32Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > On the news last night, the New York state police stated that our soap opera couple was home 20 minutes after they left their initial location. That’s not much time to fit in a “two hour car chase”. This seems to be contradicted by the report in the NYTimes. The report states they left the theater around 9:50, drove about for an hour trying to shake paparazzi (not described by anybody as ‘high speed’), at which point their escort took them to a police station, from where a taxi was called, but the taxi couldn’t make it in due to the paparazzi, and they eventually left the precinct at around 11:30 in the original SUV. If getting home from the station took 20 minutes and if that’s the part the police confirmed, that’s 2 hours, though not all of it in vehicles and not from the theater. Taking the adjectives out of the equation, the verifiable, objective portion of their account seems largely confirmed - it took them 2 hours to get home because of the paparazzi following them around, at least sometimes quite aggressively. How much of that could have been ‘catastrophic’ or would trip alarm bells for anybody else is the subjective part and people seem to have already made their judgments (whether pro or con) based on their pre-existing opinions of the couple. > **[Prince Harry, Meghan, the Paparazzi and a Chaotic Night in Manhattan](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/17/nyregion/harry-meghan-car-chase.html?unlocked_article_code=k7mM601BSrsgDbr4MOlwXHolRhqfnNnmENnrak0HSM0oNkEEIikMhfXh1K_yaC06CThdBPO0Gi71Ou4mcJ39wlFzaIl4B4r0jDVTqX_xph9-8PIvgH7DfPXVTIflwahUDzSDAElxJcQ5aGKRs6XOX8UmPSIPfPraabJVM9gYqvkbTB16S1BWlSWykcEF2OPvHYIf4Iyuq9jy-4tskxlH17j5x08bZyhX-m4Vs-0lU8kSWue-YyCZJbPwHJWHnJxKzHLwbGGxMJLGGY3GXnEgczzCtVtev4zhjTTtWk5ZpKWOkZj_yfHSM1uAhKvrbmpUxi4TirQrZaKPn9cBBaH7v2o9&smid=url-share)** > > The initial description of the episode in Midtown Manhattan recalled the chase that killed Harry’s mother, but the fuller picture was more complicated. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/24 "2023-05-18T14:17:37Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > How much of that could have been ‘catastrophic’ or would trip alarm bells for anybody else is the subjective part and people seem to have already made their judgments (whether pro or con) based on their pre-existing opinions of the couple. As the Princess Diana tragedy so graphically illustrated, it only gets “catastrophic” if you try to outrun them at 100 MPH. I suggest, instead, a leisurely ride home followed by a calm entrance into one’s house. If you get boring enough, they’ll eventually go away or at least diminish in numbers. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/25 "2023-05-18T14:35:51Z")
I’m still waiting to find out what catastrophe nearly happened. That was the major point of the incident according to major media outlets. I assume the paparazzi nearly pushed them off a bridge, or almost set their car on fire or something of that magnitude. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/26 "2023-05-18T15:49:58Z")
Seriously. The reports make it sound like a Mad Max chase. I, too, have a hard time believing a 2-hour “chase” could even happen in NYC without getting noticed by cameras or police, much less the logistics of it. What’d they do, go up and down the Avenues on Manhattan for 2 hours? For a couple that said they want to avoid the spotlight they sure are in it a lot. It sounds like from this thread people are getting weary of the drama with these two and they have spent their sympathy. I don’t know how hard it is to fade into the background these days but other people are able to do it, so why not them? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/27 "2023-05-18T16:00:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m still waiting to find out what catastrophe nearly happened. Think you can follow a car through NYC for an hour… while driving safely? I don’t. It only takes a split second to run someone over, the place is awash with pedestrians and bikers. I’ll assume here that H&M’s driver wasn’t being a giant aggressive asshole in shaking the followers, because the last thing they want is to be the CAUSE of someone else’s injury, or to reenact his mom’s death. The paps don’t give a flying fuck, they’ll drive aggressively or illegally to get their photo. > [@snowthx](#): > > I don’t know how hard it is to fade into the background these days but other people are able to do it, so why not them? Why should they? THEY aren’t the assholes, the British Tabloids are. Let the British Tabloids fade into the background. We’ll all be better off if they did. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/28 "2023-05-18T16:05:40Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Why should they? Because they publicly stated they wanted to live a private life as regular people away from the media spotlight. Yet, it seems each week they are doing things to get attention from the media. I agree the tabloids are worthless and we’d be better off without them, but other celebrities are doing a better job controlling the narrative than Megan and Harry. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/29 "2023-05-18T16:09:14Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m still waiting to find out what catastrophe nearly happened. That was the major point of the incident according to major media outlets. I’d take it to relate to… > [@People Magazine](#): > > New York City Mayor Eric Adams referenced this event while briefly commenting on the news Wednesday. […] “Two of our officers could have been injured.” Assuming that Adams is getting his information from the officers and not from the [Mountbatten-Windsors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountbatten-Windsor), that does imply that there was a near miss that involved some officers. Medically, a near miss is the same as nothing having happened at all. Likewise, the lack of an ozone hole shows that there was never a health risk, to begin with… ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/30 "2023-05-18T16:15:47Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Because they publicly stated they wanted to live a private life as regular people away from the media spotlight. Are they not allowed to change their minds? And in this particular case, their “doing things to get attention” was driving home after an event they were invited to. This isn’t a failure to control the narrative, the tabloids are out of control, and this couple shouldn’t have to live like hermits because the tabloids are out of control. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/31 "2023-05-18T16:49:41Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Think you can follow a car through NYC for an hour… while driving safely? Yes, unless the car I’m following isn’t driving safely. I don’t know where they drove for an hour, but you can cover a lot of the city in an hour late at night like that. I do think following them around like that should be considered criminal harassment if the circumstances are bad enough, but that’s not the way it works right now, and I’m not at all convinced it applies in this case. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/32 "2023-05-18T16:57:37Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Think you can follow a car through NYC for an hour… while driving safely? Absolutely - if the car I’m following isn’t running red lights or speeding, I won’t have to do those things to keep following them. It’s really not that hard to follow someone at 25 mph (the NYC speed limit) - all you have to do is keep other cars from cutting in between. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/33 "2023-05-18T16:57:38Z")
NSFW-animated naked buttcheeks [Weird Al-TMZ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwqFgnl4rMs) ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/34 "2023-05-18T17:05:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yes, unless the car I’m following isn’t driving safely. Then tell the paps how to do it, since the LEO who spoke said there were numerous close calls, avoidance maneuvers and scooters/bikes illegally on the sidewalk that night. > [@doreen](#): > > all you have to do is keep other cars from cutting in between. For an hour… in NYC… when the other driver WANTS cars to cut in between? When the other driver wants to stick you at a red light? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/35 "2023-05-18T17:14:18Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Let the British Tabloids fade into the background. Unfortunately, at least one of them has its claws in the gullible on this side of the pond. > **[The US Sun](https://www.the-sun.com/)** > > The Best for News, Sport, Entertainment, Celebrities ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/36 "2023-05-18T17:28:29Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > This isn’t a failure to control the narrative, the tabloids are out of control, and this couple shouldn’t have to live like hermits because the tabloids are out of control. But… couldn’t they just have gone to their destination? If there are some photos taken of them for the two minutes it takes to get out of their car and into the hotel/house, so what? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/37 "2023-05-18T17:28:44Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Then tell the paps how to do it, since the LEO who spoke said there were numerous close calls, avoidance maneuvers and scooters/bikes illegally on the sidewalk that night. I didn’t see anywhere where the police said anything more than that "there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. " Everything about the numerous close calls seems to come from spokespeople or the security consultant > Meanwhile, Thomas Buda, a private security contractor who was hired to help Harry and Meghan, said that the chase started when they left the Ziegfeld Ballroom where Meghan was receiving an award, and lasted 90 minutes, [CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/americas/harry-meghan-car-crash-intl/index.html)reported. Buda said the paparazzi wanted to find out where the couple was staying in the city and that vehicles ran red lights while pedestrians were in crosswalks, drove into oncoming traffic and drove the wrong way down one-way streets. > [@Cheesesteak](#): > > For an hour… in NYC… when the other driver WANTS cars to cut in between? When the other driver wants to stick you at a red light? Yep - they are going to have a hard time sticking me at a red light unless they are running lights and/or speeding. And it doesn’t matter if the first car wants to let someone cut in if the second car stays too close. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/38 "2023-05-18T17:33:48Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Yet, it seems each week they are doing things to get attention from the media. Going to a gala is an attempt to get attention from the media? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/39 "2023-05-18T17:43:47Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > they are going to have a hard time sticking me at a red light unless they are running lights and/or speeding. And it doesn’t matter if the first car wants to let someone cut in if the second car stays too close. It’s funny because this stuff happens to me all the time. I wonder if it’s because I leave a safe distance between me and the car in front of me? I guess tailgating is not actually dangerous? > [@doreen](#): > > Everything about the numerous close calls seems to come from spokespeople or the security consultant Or, from the same article you quoted: > [@](#): > > A local law enforcement source corroborated some of the couple’s account, telling CNN that the couple were followed by a “swarm” of paparazzi in cars, motorcycles, scooters after they left the event on Tuesday. A protective team from the New York Police Department (NYPD) followed Harry and Meghan in another car, and was forced to make some avoiding maneuvers to get away from the paparazzi, the source said. > > Paparazzi on scooters and bikes zoomed down the sidewalk to keep up, the source said. There were many close calls, including short stops between front and backs of cars, but none resulted in a crash, the source added. > > The couple’s convoy was escorted to a police precinct, where they were able to regroup, the source added. It’s just a couple paragraphs down from where you quoted. And Mayor Adams also commented publicly on the incident, think he does that if nothing out of the ordinary happens? ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184/40 "2023-05-18T17:54:56Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Going to a gala is an attempt to get attention from the media? AIUI she attended a public event covered by the press and gave a speech there. I agree they should not be harassed for trying to do good with their notoriety, but it’s disingenuous to suggest they did not know there would be cameras and reporters there, because of their attendance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-and-meghan-new-york-car-chase-bullshit/984184.md?page=3)