ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith bizarrely pounced on the British royal family on Tuesday when he delivered a scathing verdict on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The pundit is the latest media personality to offer his opinion on the couple following the split from Sportify.
Top Spotify exec and former ESPNer Bill Simmons called Harry and Markle “fucking crooks” after the Sussexes split from the music streaming giant.
Now, Smith claimed on his self-titled podcast that no one is interested in the couple unless they make headlines with their feud with the royal family.
“If Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex aren’t complaining about the royal family, I don’t know if anyone cares what they have to say,” Smith said on The Stephen A. Smith Show.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith delivered a scathing verdict on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Spotify and the Sussexes said last week they had “by mutual consent decided to go our separate ways and are proud of the series we’ve made together.” Meghan and Harry are seen at the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York on May 16, 2023
I don’t give a fuck about the royal family. Doesn’t matter.
But this Meghan Markle podcast/Spotify situation is worth talking about https://t.co/WZqPt7evya
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) June 19, 2023
‘[…] I’m not trying to fool you [Meghan Markle] like she has no talent or anything. She did damn well [the show ‘Suits’]… I love “suits”. In fact I will watch them again… I love this show […]
“But what I’m saying is that unless it’s insulting their family, you really don’t care what they have to say.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex only produced a 13-part podcast series for the company, despite inking a $20 million deal three years ago.
Spotify and the Sussexes’ production company, Archewell Audio, released a joint statement Thursday night, saying they had “amicably agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we’ve made together.”
“The damn scammers,” Simmons said while introducing the couple on Friday’s episode of his own platform, The Bill Simmons Podcast.
In the final episode, Simmons told guest sportswriter Ryen Russillo, “These damn scammers. This is the podcast we should have started with them.”
“One night I have to get drunk and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to help him with a podcast idea.” “It’s one of my best stories,” he added.
Smith, who was repeatedly unsure whether to refer to Meghan as the “princess” or the “Duchess of Sussex,” then played a clip of Simmons’ comments on Harry and Meghan and noted that his former colleague seemed pleased that they left Spotify.
Bill Simmons, who sold his podcast and sports journalism company The Ringer to Spotify for $200 million in 2020, is now Spotify’s head of podcast innovation. He is pictured at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles on March 23, 2023
The Duchess of Sussex only produced a 13-part podcast series for the company
“Damn, you thought I was mad? Bill Simmons took off!’ said Smith. “Now Bill Simmons is my contemporary, former colleague at ESPN… I like Bill.” I have great respect for Bill Simmons, there is no shade here. But Bill Simmons walked away… The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Bill Simmons, seemed very happy to be gone.’
Smith, who said Princess Diana “seemed like a very, very nice lady,” admitted he had to look up the definition of a “gribber” because he wasn’t aware of what that meant.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m proud to have a relatively extensive vocabulary,” he said. “I never knew what the hell crooks meant.” So I had to look it up.
“…A scammer is a scammer: someone who cheats people out of their money.” That’s what Bill Simmons called Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
“Seriously, he’s entitled to say that. I’m not because I don’t know anything about them. I don’t know anything about her [Spotify] act. “I’m appalled that my daughter would be able to tell me about this … and then I realized that while I wouldn’t scold them, let alone be derogatory or inflammatory to them on a personal level.”
Smith also admitted that he felt Simmons’ comments were too broad.
“I didn’t think it was necessary, but then again, he works at Spotify, not me.” “So he knows more about this particular situation than I would ever know, which means it’s from a personal source,” said he.
“I don’t know anything again,” he added. “There isn’t a person on this planet who is less interested in the royal family than I am.”
Simmons first gained notoriety with his website The Boston Sports Guy, where he began writing sports columns. Such was the success that he was acquired by ESPN in the early 2000s, eventually writing for its Page 2 section and then running its Grantland blog.
The move to drop the Duchess of Sussex’s Archetypes podcast follows discussions months ago about renewing it for a second series. The two are pictured at the Nelson Mandela Centenary Exhibition at the Southbank Center on July 17, 2018
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a $20 million deal three years ago
During his time at ESPN, he was at times America’s most-read sportswriter.
After his departure from ESPN and a brief failed venture with HBO, Simmons launched his own website, The Ringer, in 2016. The platform focused on sports and pop culture as well as podcasts.
The wrestler was then sold to Spotify in 2020 for an alleged $200 million. Simmons will remain the outlet’s CEO and retain editorial control.
He also joined Spotify as an executive, leading podcast innovation and monetization, where he has worked with the Sussexes on their somewhat lackluster podcast projects.