Wille Rydman commented on the statement given by Meghan’s spokesperson in a message to Iltalehti.
Wille Rydman published a photo together with Duchess Meghan on Monday. Inka Soveri
Social and Health Minister Wille Rydman’s selfie with the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, made social media quickly buzz.
The photo shared by Rydman on the messaging service X and Instagram quickly gathered comments from the duchess’s fans. At the same time, many social media users also brought up Rydman’s previous antics. Rydman has been in trouble for, among other things, the racist language he used in private messages. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo condemned the language used by Rydman, but emphasized that confidence in Rydman remained.
In addition, in the summer of 2022, Rydman found himself in the middle of a harassment scandal, when HS reported on allegations that Rydman had behaved harassingly towards young women. Rydman was ultimately not charged after the subsequent investigation.
The Daily Mail according to the photo in question has caused Meghan’s reputation to suffer. The newspaper writes that Meghan is now trying to distance herself from Rydman.
Herttuattare’s spokesperson commented on the photo that caused an uproar by stating that it is impossible to check the backgrounds of all people who request a photo together.
– To be clear, the duchess does not know Mr. Rydman, she had no prior knowledge of his participation in the event and she was not aware of the disturbing allegations related to him, the spokesperson said.
On Monday, Rydman commented on the meeting between the two in a message to Iltalehti. According to the minister, he was in Geneva at the WHO annual meeting when he met the duchess.
– Meghan was opening an exhibition and then came to dinner with us, Rydman communicated.
He described Meghan as pleasant and friendly.
According to Meghan’s spokesperson, the duchess agreed to a group photo as a courtesy after dinner.
– The Duchess attended a dinner hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva, where there were more than 25 ministers and delegates before the World Health Assembly.
– When he was leaving the event, several participants approached him and asked for photos. As is often the case at public events and time permitting, the duchess politely agrees to such requests, he said.
Rydman commented
Rydman commented on Meghan’s spokesperson’s statement in a message to Iltalehti. The minister is still upset by the claims made by Helsingin Sanomat about him.
– It is unfortunate that the baseless claims spread by HS in recent years still pop up from time to time as if they were true.
He feels that in the international context the situation is particularly unfortunate, as foreign operators often do not have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the original background information sufficiently.
Rydman says that in Finland “most of those who have no motive to believe someone else must have already realized the baselessness of the claims”.
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On Sunday, Meghan participated in the Lost Screen Memorial event organized in Geneva, Switzerland, where the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and ministers from different parts of the world were also present.
The event commemorated children who have lost their lives as a result of online violence and digital harm. Meghan gave a related speech at the event.
The story was updated on May 19, 2026 at 10:27 p.m. Added Wille Rydman’s comments.
