Prince Harry and Meghan MarklePhoto: Chris Jackson (Getty Images)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been under intense scrutiny lately, partly because Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are always under scrutiny. But there has also been criticism of her failed venture into the entertainment industry, which The Wall Street Journal has dubbed a downright “flop.” A recent Sun report made headlines that Netflix had given the ex-royals an ultimatum regarding their streaming deal. But to be honest, the inside source makes the situation seem pretty mundane.
Netflix plans to finally make you freeloaders spit it out
“A headline-grabbing, public split is out of the question,” this insider told The Sun, referring to the couple’s recent split from Spotify. “Netflix has been delighted to sign Harry and Meghan and is looking for great ideas for the future. But the rest of the deal depends on them producing those good ideas. The deal is under constant review, which is normal for a company of this size.”
Having to produce content to make money actually seems like a pretty normal way of doing business. But The Sun claims the couple only got half of their alleged $100 million contract and will only get the second half by producing “real interest content”. That’s the tricky part, because while the Harry & Meghan docuseries did reasonably well for the streamer, the Sussexes struggled with the follow-up (much like Spotify). According to the Wall Street Journal, several of the couple’s ideas have been shot at Netflix and their deal is unlikely to be renewed when it expires in 2025.
Of course, this is all unofficial word from anonymous insiders. The official party line states that “Harry & Meghan” was Netflix’s biggest documentary debut and “we will continue to collaborate on a number of projects,” a spokesman for the streamer told WSJ.
The talk beyond that was less friendly. Spotify exec and podcaster Bill Simmons called the duo “fucking crooks” following their retirement from the audio platform. (As an aside, Markle apparently wrote a personal letter to Taylor Swift to include her in her Archetypes podcast, but Swift declined via a rep, according to the WSJ.) “Turns out Meghan Markle wasn’t much of an audio talent, was she Definitely some of that talent,” UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer told Semafor.
Say what you will about streamers, but it’s probably setting good precedent that people who get paid to create things will create the things they’re paid to create. In fact, we strongly encourage Netflix to pay people fairly for the things they create!