Recently, Meghan Markle proudly announced that she had signed a new deal with Lemonada Media to continue her passion for podcasting. The deal revived Markle’s presence in the space when, less than a year ago, she and Spotify “mutually agreed to part ways” after only 12 episodes of her podcast “Archetypes.”
Markle signed the deal with Spotify in 2020, worth a reported $20 million. During episodes of “Archetypes,” the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would discuss with guests the topic of “labels that try to hold women back.” The podcast had a decent run, even topping podcasting legend Joe Rogan when it premiered. Despite strong viewership and a lineup of star guests, momentum died out after one season.
“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together,” according to a joint statement from Spotify and Archewell given to Fox Business last year. Details regarding what went down behind the scenes are sparse. However, Spotify executive Bill Simmons labeled Prince Harry and Markle “f—–g grifters” upon the cancellation of their contract.
“‘The F—–g Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we shoulda launched with them,” Simmons stated on his own podcast after the deal collapsed. “I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.”
Furthermore, United Talent Agency (UTA) CEO Jeremy Zimmer also criticized Markle for lacking skill in the podcasting space. “Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent,” Zimmer said. “And, you know, just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something.”
Others have claimed Markle’s podcasting endeavor lacked “authenticity,” where the duchess has been accused of leaving most of the interviewing to her producers while splicing the audio to create the perception that she had conducted most of it.
“There was a lack of authenticity when you discovered that Meghan prioritized interviewing the celebrities personally but allowed producers to interview some of the featured experts while dropping Meghan’s audio in later,” explained Kinsey Schofield, a royal expert and host of the “To Di For” podcast.
A widespread criticism of Markle and Prince Harry is their constant pushing of woke politics. “The topics were too woke and irrelevant. Are we really complaining about stereotypes in Austin Powers movies? Let it go. Hollywood has matured beyond that type of comedy being acceptable. Stop trying to solve problems that are no longer an issue, ” Schofield continued.
Furthermore, it is reported that Spotify originally intended for both Prince Harry and Markle to be hosts on the podcast. However, Schofield claims that the prince barely appeared in only one episode. “They likely would not have signed such a financially lucrative deal with only Meghan but all they got out of Harry was one holiday special that he barely appeared in,” Schofield said. “Meghan’s 12 episodes and their one holiday special lacked the return on investment Spotify needed to justify the relationship.”
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