Dame Deborah James has responded to criticism of a remark she made with reference to Meghan Markle ahead of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend celebrations.
The 40-year-old, who is receiving end of life care at her parent’s house after battling bowel cancer since 2016, had said that she was "determined" to not pass away over the weekend and therefore "stealing thunder" from Meghan Markle.
Deborah was hit with criticism on social media from a number of people who thought it was an "uncalled for" jibe at the expense of the Duchess of Sussex.
On Sunday morning, she tweeted an explanation for the comment, telling her 103,000 followers that it was "joke".
She wrote on Twitter : “Meghan comment is a joke, apparently you can still find a send-off fun in your day!
“The rest is not. Is dying the last taboo of them all?
“I thought poo talk was hard, but navigating end of life care makes checking your poo easy by comparison of DNR chat and respect documents!”
After the criticism, Deborah's statement was met with praise with many sharing kind words of support.
One commented: "If people don’t see the humour, that’s not on you...You make as many jokes as you like. This is your experience. It is only for us to support you with it (although we’d all rather not have to).”
Another wrote: “A bit crude but nothing like humour to keep one's spirits up. You're doing great Debs.”
Podcast host Deborah had unintentionally caused controversy with a comment she made on social media.
At the end of last week, as the Platinum Jubilee celebrations began, she told The Sun: "I’m determined not to die over the Jubilee weekend, I don’t want Meghan stealing my thunder.
“I haven’t worked so hard to raise cancer awareness and money to help find a cure, only to miss out on another front page when I go."
The comment was misunderstood by some, with one person tweeting: "What a bizarre thing to say!”
Another confused tweeter wrote: “I hope you get to live way beyond the Jubilee weekend. Meghan comment was uncalled for though.”
They then added on Twitter: “When Deborah James says even jokingly she doesn't want anyone - let alone Meghan Markle - steal her thunder we all lose a bit of respect for her.”
Since revealing that she only has months left to live, Deborah launched her Bowel Babe Fund for Cancer Research UK and has raised more than £6million in a matter of weeks.
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