Meghan Markle's Canadian 'Suits' co-star Patrick J. Adams says he is 'very, very happy' that she has been talking about the election after she 'told Americans to vote the president out'

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One of Meghan Markle's former Suits co-stars has praised the Duchess of Sussex for speaking out about the upcoming US election after her comments drew sharp criticism from both sides of the Atlantic. 

Patrick J. Adams, who played Markle's love interest in the hit show, said in a new interview that he was 'very, very happy' with his friend's efforts to encourage people to vote next month. 

The Canadian actor was promoting his new Disney+ show The Right Stuff, when he was asked whether he'd seen the Duchess since she relocated to the United States. 

'I think she's pretty busy, but I am happy to have her back stateside,' he told Access Hollywood on Friday. 

Patrick J. Adams said he is no longer in regular contact with Meghan Markle but is glad she is back in the United States and that he was 'very, very happy that she's becoming very vocal and doing whatever she can to help the election in November' after she and Prince Harry urged people to vote in a video message 

 The Canadian actor was promoting his new Disney+ show The Right Stuff when he commented on the Duchess of Sussex's recent video message with Prince Harry, which some have seen as a thinly-veiled criticism of President Donald Trump and indication of the couple's support for Democrat Joe Biden

 He added that he is 'very, very happy that she's becoming very vocal and doing whatever she can to help the election in November.' 

The actor, who attended Markle's 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, also said he was no longer in regular contact with the Duchess. 

'I miss my friend, but I'm very happy she's doing well.' 

Adams and Markle starred together in the hit US legal drama Suits. Adams played Mike Ross, an extremely intelligent college dropout who starts practising as an unlicensed lawyer, while Markle played Rachel Zane - a paralegal and Ross' love interest

Adams was one of several Suits stars that attended Markle's 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. He is seen above at the venue with his wife Troian Bellisario, an actress best known for her role in Pretty Little Liars

His comments come after Markle and Prince Harry urged Americans to vote and hinted that they support the Democratic candidate Joe Biden in a recorded video message.

The Duke of Sussex urged people to 'reject hate speech' while the Duchess called the November 3 vote 'the most important election of our lifetime.'

They made the comments in a Time 100 video produced to go with the publication of this year's list of the most influential people, in which the couple do not appear. 

The Duke and Duchess spoke out about the upcoming US election, in a stark break with British tradition that prohibits royal involvement in politics. However Buckingham Palace issued a statement reminding people that the couple are not working members of the royal family and made the statements in a private capacity

Prince Harry said: 'As we approach this November, it's vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity'

'As we approach this November, it's vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity,' said Harry – in a line some observers in Britain and the US immediately took to be a plug for Joe Biden and a slap at President Trump. 

California-born Markle, 39, said: 'We're six weeks out from the election, and today is Voter Registration Day. 

'Every four years, we're told the same thing, 'This is the most important election of our lifetime. But this one is. When we vote, our values are put into action, and our voices are heard.'  

President Donald Trump slammed Markle from the White House podium following the video's publication, saying 'I'm not a fan of hers,' in response to a question posed by DailyMail.com.

'I would say this - and she had probably heard that - I wish a lot of luck to Harry because he's going to need it.' 

Trump slammed Markle from the White House podium following the comments, telling DailyMail.com that he's 'not a fan of hers.' 'I wish a lot of luck to Harry because he's going to need it'  

On the other side of the Atlantic, some voiced concern that the Duke and Duchess had crossed a line as the royal family are expected to remain politically neutral at all times. 

However, Buckingham Palace issued a statement reminding people that 'the Duke is not a working member of the royal family' and describing his comments as 'made in a personal capacity'.  

While many viewers saw Harry and Meghan's comments as a thinly-veiled endorsement of Biden, a source close to Harry insisted the Duke was not referring to Trump or any other individual.

'The duke was talking about the tone of debate in the run-up to an election which is already quite febrile,' they said.

'He is not talking about any candidate or specific campaign. 

'He is building on a lot of stuff that he's said before about online communities, how we engage with each other online, rather than specifically making any political points.' 

In the US, Trump aide Corey Lewandowski swiped at the couple before the president himself fired back at Meghan on Wednesday evening. 

'They made Britain great again by leaving, I hope they do the same for us,' Lewandowski, now a senior 2020 advisor to the Trump campaign, told DailyMail.com Wednesday.  

Trump campaign spokesman Jason Miller argued that Harry's warning about 'hate speech' could be seen as an attack on Biden, who leads in the polls.  

'I'm assuming you're asking me because of Joe Biden's record of hateful and divisive language, particularly toward the African American community?' he responded when asked by DailyMail.com for comment. 

He added: 'I read this as warranted criticism of Joe Biden's racist policies. He's the only person I know of who has spoken at a Klan member's funeral!' – a reference to Biden's eulogy for former the late Senate leader Robert C. Byrd, who was a Klan member in West Virginia in the 1940s but later apologized for what he called a 'sad mistake.'    

Markle told Marie Claire in August that she intended to vote. 'I know what it's like to have a voice, and also what it's like to feel voiceless,' she said. 

'I also know that so many men and women have put their lives on the line for us to be heard. 

'And that opportunity, that fundamental right, is in our ability to exercise our right to vote and to make all of our voices heard.'

Before marrying Harry but after Trump's election, Markle called Trump 'misogynistic' and 'divisive' in a TV appearance. 

Speaking in the video message, apparently filmed from their California home, Harry admitted he was not eligible to vote - adding that he had never voted in the UK either where convention dictates that royals keep well clear of politics.   

Royal experts told DailyMail.com that the couple should give up their titles and sever their links to the monarchy for good if they wanted to comment on US politics, while insiders told The Times that palace aides would be concerned about their intervention.  

Markle's involvement in the Time 100 video follows a separate intervention last month in which she urged women to turn out at the election. 

The Duchess addressed viewers at the When All Women Vote Couch Party - an online event organized by non-profit organization When We All Vote, which was founded by Michelle Obama. 

Speaking directly to the volunteers and workers tuned into the summit, Meghan continued: 'It is fair to say that we are all very grateful for your work because we need it now really more than ever. 

'When I think about voting and why this is so exceptionally important for all of us, I would frame it as: We vote to honor those who came before us and to protect those who will come after us because that's what community is all about and that's specifically what this election is all about,' she said. 

This week, feminist activist Gloria Steinem revealed that Markle had joined her in cold-calling Americans and urging them to vote.

Last month, Markle (left) joined feminist icon Gloria Steinem for a 'backyard chat' in which she praised Biden's choice of Kamala Harris as a vice presidential nominee, saying she was 'so excited' to see a fellow biracial woman in that role

 Steinem told Access Hollywood: 'She came home to vote. The first thing we did, and why she came to see me, was we sat at the dining room table where I am right now and we cold-called voters.'

'Said 'hello I'm Meg' and 'hello I'm Gloria' and 'are you going to vote?' That was her initiative.'

Markle has also told Steinem she was 'so excited' to see fellow mixed-race woman Kamala Harris nominated for vice president, in another strong hint that she is backing the Democratic ticket.  

'I'm so excited to see that kind of representation,' she said. 'You know, for me, being biracial, growing up, whether it was a doll or a person in office, you need to see someone who looks like you in some capacity. 

'As many of us believe, you can only be what you can see. And in the absence of that, how can you aspire to something greater than what you see in your own world? I think maybe now we're starting to break-through in a different way.'

Many took the Duke and Duchess' comments in the recorded video message for Time 100 as an indication of their support for Democratic candidate Joe Biden (right) and his vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris (left) who Markle had praised in an earlier video

Meanwhile, Markle has also taken in voter appeals, at which she made a bold plea to women across the US to take part in the 2020 presidential election, speaking out about the need for 'change' at an online voter summit, while telling participants: 'If we aren't part of the solution, we are part of the problem.' 

Before marrying Prince Harry in 2018, Markle was no stranger to politics, ridiculing then-presidential candidate Donald Trump during a 2016 appearance on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore.

She said Trump was 'misogynistic and divisive' and indicated her support for Hillary Clinton. 

Harry is a friend of former president Barack Obama, interviewing him on a guest-edited episode of BBC Radio 4's Today Programme in 2017. 

Harry is a friend of former president Barack Obama who he interviewed on a guest-edited episode of BBC Radio 4's Today Programme in 2017. Obama is also a supporter of the Invictus Games, an international sporting event for injured veterans created by the Prince

Both Harry and Markle are said to enjoy a friendly relationship with the Obamas. Harry is seen here with former first lady Michelle Obama during the 2016 Invictus Games, which were held in Florida

'Part of my role and part of my job is to shine a spotlight on issues that need that spotlight, whether it's people, whether it's causes, issues, whatever it is,' Harry said at the time.

'So I will continue to play my part in society and do my job to the best of my abilities so that I can wake up in the morning and feel energised.'

Despite the Obama friendship, the couple avoided a constitutional row by inviting neither the Obamas nor the Trumps to their 2018 wedding at Windsor Castle. 

Earlier this year, two Russian pranksters said they had duped the Duke of Sussex into criticising Trump in a phone call where they posed as climate activist Greta Thunberg. 

'I don't mind saying this to you guys, I think the mere fact that Donald Trump is pushing the coal industry so big in America, he has blood on his hands,' Harry allegedly said. 

Buckingham Palace did not confirm or deny the authenticity of the call.