On Friday, Meghan Markle shared a video of her husband, Prince Harry, surfing California’s most elite wave pool: the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch.
The Duchess of Sussex added Salt-N-Peppa’s hit “Whatta Man,” can captioned the video, lovingly, “We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this important message” She also included a fox emoji, apparently a pet name.
However, although the Royal Family member gets sufficiently pitted in the clip, it didn’t stop the haters from coming at him in the comments. See the clip below:
Harry, who’s been an advocate for environmentalism, was criticized for his using a manmade machine, versus the natural world – despite his eco-warrior status.
One commenter wrote: “Eco-Warrior Harry, who lives on the Californian coast, drives inland to an artificial surf school that uses vast amounts of vast amounts of energy to create waves.”
Another chimed in: “’That’s not surfing, that’s simply cruising on a man made wave machine.
One more: “It’s a surfing compound miles away from the actual beach.”
And lastly, “It’s in Central California. He’s nowhere near a beach!”
Related: Matthew McConaughey Wipes Out at Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch
The fact of the matter is, while wave pools are the antithesis of surfing in the natural world, and the Surf Ranch is one hundred of miles away from the ocean as the crow flies, there have been efforts made to make the project as environmentally-friendly as possible.
Speaking to that, per a GQ story, “Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch is designed with eco-friendly features, including a solar-powered wave generation system, sustainable building materials like crushed shells and upcycled foam dust for roadways, and a commitment to eliminating single-use plastics. While the primary energy source is solar, the facility also integrates environmental education, serving as a hub for learning about sustainability. Other wave parks have also adopted renewable energy and sustainable construction practices, such as using 100% renewable energy providers for grid power.”
Take that, Harry haters.
Related: Ivanka Trump Surfs* Kelly Slater’s Wave Pool (Watch)