Some criticism has been directed at the Duchess of Sussex after her Spotify podcast deal fell through. Recently, a well-known Hollywood agent called Meghan "talentless".
Jeremy Zimmer, the chief executive of United Talent Agency (UTA), reportedly spoke about Meghan during a discussion on podcasts and the role of celebrities at an advertising festival in Cannes, France, according to a report by website Semafor.
"It turns out Meghan Markle wasn't a huge talent in audio production, or necessarily any kind of talent," Zimmer was quoted as saying.
"And just because you're famous doesn't mean you're good at something."
Last week, Ringer podcast network founder Bill Simmons — who sold his company to Spotify for $196 million in 2020 and won a leadership role at the company — criticized Harry and Meghan on his podcast, after the conclusion of the agreement.
He labeled them "grifters" after their multi-year $25 million deal ended after they did just 12 episodes. Grifters refer to persons who engage in dishonest or fraudulent schemes to obtain money, goods or services through fraud or manipulation; they are capable of gaining the trust of others for personal gain.
The Archetypes podcast, which was moderated by Meghan Markle, featured conversations with friends and celebrities including Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, Trevor Noah and more. It topped the podcast charts for Spotify in several countries, but only 12 episodes were made.
Sources close to Spotify have said that the royal couple did not meet the productivity standard required to receive full payment from the deal, having only completed a series of 12 episodes, the Wall Street Journal reported.
In a January 2022 episode of his podcast, Simmons said, "You live in Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you say about anything unless you talk about the royal family and just complain about it. "
The Spotify – Harry&Meghan deal was one of the biggest ever signed for a fledgling podcast, but it didn't last long.
