As Senior Spotify Executive Calls Harry and Meghan ‘Grifters,’ Netflix Looms as a Threat to the Sussexes’ Fortune

The sportswriter turned podcast mogul Bill Simmons’s comment that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are “f**king grifters” telegraphs that even as they have sundered ties with the royal family, the couple’s desires for Hollywood riches — in exchange for minimal exertion — appears to be a fairy tale.The “grifter” snarl, from Mr. Simmons, comes after Spotify parted ways with Meghan and Harry, pulling the plug on what was reported to be a $20 million content deal. Spotify is canceling Meghan’s “Archetypes” podcast in which she interviewed celebrities. The Wall Street Journal reports that “the couple hasn’t met the productivity benchmarks required to receive the full payout from the deal, people familiar with the matter said.” Mr. Simmons’s denunciation of the Sussexes as “grifters” is especially potent as the onetime sports blogger known as “The Boston Sports Guy” is now a senior Spotify executive. That after he in 2020 sold to Spotify his website “The Ringer,” where he is chief executive officer, for north of $200 million. Mr. Simmons exclaimed on his own podcast that the aforementioned “Grifters” is the podcast Spotify 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,” Mr. Simmons explained. “It’s one of my best stories.”The disintegration of the alliance between Spotify and the Sussexes could presage the unraveling of their far more lucrative compact with Netflix. That contract, Forbes reports, was for five years and said to be for more than $100 million, though some Hollywood insiders said they believed it was for significantly less. While a documentary about the Sussexes — in which they complained about the Royal Family — set viewing records, a forthcoming animated show attributed to Ms. Markle, “Pearl,” was dropped by Netflix. The duchess described its plot as a “journey of self-discovery.”That displeasure at the Sussexes could complicate their quest for what they have called “financial independence” from the Crown, one of their aspirations when they announced their intention to “step back” from their previous roles as working royals. That independence appeared to be premised on their contracts with Spotify, Netflix, and Prince Harry’s memoir, “Spare.” While “Spare” has been the bestseller of a prince’s dreams, Spotify’s pulling of the plug on the Sussexes after only one podcast series and a holiday special reached listeners’ ears is a major blow. When it came to the now-canceled “Archetypes” podcast, Podnews reports that “some interviews on the show were done by other staffers,” with Ms. Markle’s “questions edited-in afterwards.”In a statement, Spotify and Archewell noted that they “have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.” If, though, the Netflix deal also collapses or contracts, Meghan and Harry could be in a serious financial bind. In 2020, they took out a mortgage for nine million dollars to purchase a mansion at ultra-exclusive Montecito, California. Prince Harry told Oprah Winfrey that “I’ve got all my mom” — Princess Diana — “left me, and without that we would not be able to do this,” meaning their life at Montecito, free of the obligations, and financial benefits, that flow from being an active royal. According to the BBC, before they stepped down 95 percent of their income came from King Charles, then the Prince of Wales. Harry is also believed to have received an inheritance from his great grandmother, Queen Mary. Meghan’s net worth derives mostly from her acting career as a character in the USA Network show “Suits.”Mr. Simmons, who also conceived of the “30 for 30” posts documentary series and was the editor of Grantland, said in January that he was “so embarrassed” that he had to “share Spotify” with Prince Harry and expressed his wish to “shoot him to the sun.” He added “Who cares about your life? You weren’t even the favorite son.”

As Senior Spotify Executive Calls Harry and Meghan ‘Grifters,’ Netflix Looms as a Threat to the Sussexes’ Fortune

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