Meghan Markle, Prince Harry slammed as ‘lazy,’ ‘f–king grifters’ by Spotify as they face money disaster

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry had been branded “lazy” and “f–king grifters” by Spotify staff Friday after the podcasting community canned their $20 million deal.

Invoice Simmons, the sportscaster who can also be head of Spotify’s worldwide sports activities content material, mentioned on his personal podcast, “’The f–king grifters.’ That’s the podcast we shoulda launched with them.” 

His assault deepened the couple’s disaster as sources mentioned they had been “lazy” in comparison with the Obamas, who additionally had a Spotify contract.

The collapse of the deal piles monetary strain on the Sussexes as exorbitant payments for his or her Montecito, Calif. way of life mount. 

Their sprawling Tuscan-style property, purchased for $14.7 million in June 2020, has a hefty mortgage. Annual property taxes alone value $144,427 and there’s staffing and upkeep on high.

The invoice for the couple’s non-public safety element is believed to be about $2 million a yr, there are authorized charges from Harry’s never-ending battles with the British press — and so they must maintain their Archewell firm afloat with out Spotify’s money.

“They’re not broke,” burdened a supply. “However they’re going to must maintain spending their cash, as an alternative of banking it.”

The Sussexes’ Spotify deal was signed in 2020 however delivered simply 13 hours of programming in two and half years — 12 episodes of Markle’s “Archetypes” podcast, and a one-off vacation particular. 

They won’t be paid something near the complete quantity they may have earned underneath the deal.

Sources pointedly contrasted the Sussexes’ failed cope with the Obamas’ related deal, which ended final yr.

“Though ‘Archetypes’ did properly and obtained a few awards, while you go right into a deal like this, to have only one collection over that course of time isn’t nice,” a supply near the Sussexes’ deal mentioned.

“To place that into context, the Obamas and their manufacturing firm, Increased Floor, delivered a number of new collection.”

Simmons informed how he had been referred to as in to assist Harry — unsuccessfully — saying, “I gotta get drunk one night time and inform the story of this Zoom I had with Harry to attempt to assist him with a podcast concept. It’s certainly one of my finest tales.”

He added, “I want I had been concerned within the ‘Meghan and Harry go away Spotify’ negotiation. That’s a podcast we must always’ve launched with them.”

One other business insider added, “Spotify needs to deal with individuals who drive sturdy audiences, like Alex Cooper, Dax Shepard and Emma Chamberlain. There are lots of nice creators who’re very keen.

“Meghan and Harry are the outlier on all of this, I feel they’ve come off as being lazy and tough.”

In a press release, each Spotify and Archewell mentioned they “mutually agreed to half methods and are pleased with the collection we made collectively.” 

Shedding Spotify is a dramatic change in fortunes for the pair since they stop being full-time royals, pleaded for privateness and launched their new American lives with an explosive Oprah Winfrey interview trashing Harry’s household in 2021.

However since signing offers with Netflix and Spotify, the couple’s reputation seems to have plunged and so they have been tormented by workers turnover.

Final month, the 2 had been mocked for claiming they had been pursued at “excessive velocity” for hours by “extremely aggressive” paparazzi in a “close to catastrophic automotive chase” by means of the streets of New York, at one level swapping their SUV for a cab — whose driver contradicted the account, resulting in extra public derision. 

The now seem solely estranged from the royal household. Saturday will mark the primary Trooping the Color celebration since Queen Elizabeth’s loss of life and the primary of King Charles’ reign — however, as a non-working royal, Prince Harry isn’t invited to the army ceremony.

The Sussexes signed an estimated $100 million, five-year cope with Netflix again in September 2020 and employed former Disney+ exec Chanel Pysnik the subsequent yr. 

She served as an government producer on their Netflix docu-series “Harry and Meghan,” which was a world hit.

However up to now, the one different present the couple has popping out is “Coronary heart of Invictus,” which was filmed whereas they had been on the Invictus Video games, for wounded service personnel, in The Hague final yr.

Web page Six has been informed it’s nonetheless slated to stream in August, a month earlier than Harry and Markle fly to Germany for this yr’s Invictus Video games. It’s unclear if this time they are going to be accompanied by documentary crews.

A Netflix supply mentioned they continue to be “very valued” companions with the corporate, and the choice is “enterprise as traditional.”

Comparatively, the Obamas’ Netflix deal has landed the streaming service an Oscar — for the previous first couple’s first-ever piece of content material, “American Manufacturing unit” — and delivered a stream of documentaries, kids’s exhibits and films. 

This yr’s deliberate releases from the Obamas embrace a film starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali and Ethan Hawke.

Regardless of the collapse of the Spotify deal, Markle — who sees herself as an entrepreneur — is planning to launch her personal enterprise, akin to Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop. 

She additionally would like to be the face of a luxurious model, one thing like Cartier, in line with associates.

“Meghan is tremendous quiet for the time being,” mentioned somebody who is aware of her. “And he or she at all times does that simply earlier than she makes an enormous announcement.”

As for money, the Sussexes are nonetheless working with Hollywood cash man Adam Lilling and Markle’s longtime enterprise supervisor Andrew Meyer. Their relationship dates again to when she starred within the TV present “Fits.”

Harry can also be incomes from on-line remedy start-up Higher Up, the place he has the title of Chief Influence Officer. He’s not paid as an worker, Web page Six is informed, however is on a bigger deal.

The Sussexes have, nevertheless, turned down work, together with being visitor audio system to a gaggle of CEOs at a closed-door “summit” in California. 

Insiders counsel that Markle’s new super-agent, Ari Emanuel, the CEO of William Morris Endeavor, often is the individual to proper the ship after a rocky begin to their Hollywood ambitions.

“Harry and Meghan have additionally had lots of turnover on that workforce over time,” mentioned the business insider: “Now, Meghan has clearly employed Ari Emmanuel at WME, so let’s see what he does.”

Royal historian and writer Hugo Vickers mentioned that their solely upcoming Netflix present, on the Invictus Video games, demonstrated the place the couple had gone fallacious. The prince based the video games lengthy earlier than assembly his spouse.

“Harry was doing so properly with the Invictus Video games, its very motto is ‘I’m the grasp of my destiny, I’m the captain of my soul’, in different phrases — don’t be a sufferer,” he informed Web page Six.

“And Harry has accomplished precisely the other, he has informed all these great courageous troopers to get a life and he turns himself right into a depressing sufferer.”

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As regards to the Sussexes’ plans in America, Vickers added, “Something they must say, they’ve mentioned it now.

“So they might must be extremely dramatic and reinvent themselves like Madonna does, or they will run out of steam and persons are going to get tired of them.”

As for the long run, PR guru Mark Borkowksi mentioned, “All of the noise has been subsiding and on this fast-moving celeb agenda they want a brand new trick.

“This is a chance for Meghan to take inventory. There are extra classes in failure than success. 

“It’s necessary to notice that failure is a pure a part of life, and it doesn’t outline an individual’s price or potential. Time to make use of a essential buddy.”