The backlash from Meghan Markle's failed podcast rages on.
After Spotify pulled the plug on the Duchess of Sussex's underwhelming "Archetypes" podcast, the CEO of United Talent Agency, Jeremy Zimmer, expressed his disappointment at the ill-fated venture.
"Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent," the executive said at the 2023 Cannes Lions advertising festival last week. "And, you know, just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something."
The harsh words from Zimmer — who has represented performers like Mariah Carey, Bryan Cranston, DJ Khaled, Chelsea Handler — comes as it was revealed that she and Prince Harry failed to deliver high numbers after inking the $20 million deal with the music streaming platform in 2020.
This is far from the first time a higher up spoke out about the estranged royals and their business practices. As OK! previously reported, Spotify exec Bill Simmons called the married couple "grifters" for dropping the ball with their deal. "I wish I was involved in the Meghan and Harry [leaving] Spotify negotiation," he spilled during an episode of his own podcast.
"'The f****** grifters.' That’s the podcast we should of launched with them," Simmons joked. "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."
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With all of the negative responses, royal experts pounced on the opportunity to slam the duo. “The idea was that several series would be produced,” commentator Richard Fitzwilliams recently explained. “Since only one was, there’s no doubt the contract could be considered a failure. Clearly, this relationship hasn’t been as mutually beneficial.”
In an official June 15, statement about the end of the audio project, the company's head of podcast business, Sahar Elhabashi, explained,"We have made the difficult but necessary decision to make a strategic realignment of our group and reduce our global podcast vertical and other functions by approximately 200 people, or 2% of Spotify’s workforce."
Semafor spoke with Zimmer about Meghan's audio talents.
