Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been named the “biggest losers” in Hollywood by industry experts following a miserable year for the former royals.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a $100 million (£80 million) mega-deal with Netflix in September 2020, just months after they stepped down from senior roles in the Royal Family, to produce documentaries, films, shows and children’s programming. However, more than three years later, they’ve only released two docu-series – Harry & Meghan, and Heart of Invictus.
That same year they also signed a deal with Spotify, worth around $20 million (£15.6 million), but parted ways with the music streaming giant earlier this year. It was reported that executives were frustrated at the lack of content the couple had provided, as during the three years they were working with Spotify, they only released Meghan’s critically-panned Archetypes podcast.
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Getty Images Ms. Foundation for Women)
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Getty Images)
Now, the Sussexes have been named among the biggest losers of Hollywood by The Hollywood Reporter, following a dismal 12 months for the couple. In the publication’s 2023 review, they pinpointed 11 people who they felt had failed to enjoy much success throughout the year.
They were criticised for their “whiny Netflix documentary” and they took aim at Harry’s explosive memoir Spare, dubbing it “a whiny biography”. The Hollywood Reporter claimed the couple had “fled a life of ceremonial public service to cash in their celebrity status in the States” but had failed to enjoy any success, and had even been mocked in an episode of South Park.
“The Harry and Meghan brand swelled into a sanctimonious bubble just begging to be popped – and South Park was the pin,” the authors wrote. “Still, all the scorn and mockery beats otherwise having to attend 200-plus official royal family engagements a year, which sounds hellish.”
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Netflix)
Harry and Meghan have seen their popularity wane in the US and in the UK following their departure from the Royal Family. Their sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey was blasted by critics, and Harry’s memoir Spare, which was released in January, made a series of damaging allegations against members of the monarchy, including his brother Prince William.
There were high hopes for Harry and Meghan’s success in Hollywood, but sadly, the couple failed to impress industry bosses, and labelled “grifters” by one Spotify exec, who poked fun at Harry’s lack of experience. On his podcast, Bill Simmons fumed: “The F**king Grifters. That’s the podcast we should have launched with them. I have got to 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 … F**k them.”
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