Archewell Audios and Spotify parted ways, leaving Meghan Markle‘s podcast career very short-lived. In 2020, Spotify made a deal with Archewell Audios for $20 million and planned a series of podcasts with many seasons. But in 2023, the deal was withdrawn as Spotify washed its hand off of the Sussexes. It was later revealed that the royals had no idea or plans for the content.
Candace Owens – Spotify cancels Harry’s wife’s podcast Archetypes .
She should get the Flop Award 🏆 pic.twitter.com/OddwY8MBSz
— HarrysGreySuit (@hrrysgreysuit) June 9, 2023
Spotify staffer has revealed that the content idea for the podcast came from a fellow staffer however, it was not an easy one. The idea of Archetype and women who embody it, their showcasing, and then breaking of stereotypes, it turned out to be all too much for the Duchess.
The podcast was designed with the idea that there would be celebrity women talking about the archetype of their character and how it symbolizes them. However, the idea was neither clearly understood nor executed well.
With Meghan being the host, it was expected that she would utilize her celebrity status and her brief stint as a royal and would bring many guests onto the pod. However, she was turned down by all the major celebrities like Beyonce and Taylor Swift. Meghan being turned down by Megan Thee Stallion was also making rounds; however, Thee Stallion’s team weren’t even aware of any such invitation.
From essentially calling the Sussexes “dumb and unintelligent”, Spotify staff also claimed that Meghan Markle was a bully and she had everyone on her checker board.
One of the staffers said that nobody believed the stories of Meghan Markle bullying the palace staff, but after working with her, we can attest to the claims that Meghan Markle is indeed a mean girl and knows where she has placed which staffer. Talking behind backs and the mean girl comments were daily occurrences.
Other staffer added that Meghan lives with a victim mentality all the while she bullies people around her to do her bidding. They quipped that it was a regular Tuesday for them. It was also suggested that had Meghan acknowledged what she lacked and made a play on it, she would have come across more genuine.
Head of podcast innovation and monetization, Bill Summons went as far as to call them grifters. He went ahead and added, “I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation. ‘The F—— Grifters.’ That’s the podcast we should have launched with them. Summons was very disheartened by the Sussexes and their execution of his “one of the best ideas ever”.
Reportedly, Sussexes decided to do the podcast because “that’s what celebrities do”; however, neither of them had the creativity to come up with an original thought. Where podcast “Archetypes” with Meghan Markle could not stand on its leg, the one planned with Prince Harry could not even begin to crawl and was cancelled even before the recording started.
EXCLUSIVE: Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex is staying in the podcast business.
The Duchess, otherwise known as Meghan Markle, has signed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media, the company behind Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus https://t.co/xP3yBpRjRy pic.twitter.com/KB8oQMVWJ9
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) February 13, 2024
Meghan Markle later signed a much smaller deal with Lemondada Media to save face for the distribution of Archetype.
