13 February 2024 , 20:28
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Meghan Markle has proudly announced her new podcast after she and her husband were brutally axed from Spotify last year, but how did her £18m podcast empire crumble?
When the Duke and Duchess departed from the Royal family in 2020, just before they moved across the pond to California, they signed a lucrative $25million (£19million) deal with streaming platform Spotify. As a part of their deal, Meghan launched her own podcast series, Archetypes.
The 12-episode series, which was where she "explored and subverted the labels that try to hold women back", saw Meghan chat with different celebrity pals, including tennis icon Serena Williams, legendary singer Mariah Carey, and socialite Paris Hilton.
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Meghan Markle is making a return to podcasting in 2024 (Archetypes)But last summer, Meghan's podcast empire came crumbling down when it was announced: "Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together."
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After the axe was announced, the couple was then brutally described as "f***ing grifters" by top Spotify executive Bill Simmons, who works as head of podcast innovation and monetisation at the streaming service.
When the couple departed, Mr Simmons hit out at the Sussexes in an episode of his own podcast, saying: "The f***ing grifters. That's the podcast we should have launched with them."
He added: "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. It’s one of my best stories … F**k them."
Archetypes debuted on Spotify in 2022 (Spotify)Meanwhile, CEO of UTA Jeremy Zimmer said: "Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent. And, you know, just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something."
Following Meghan's podcast being axed, it was alleged that the Duchess didn't do a lot of work on her podcast. At the time, multiple sources claimed that part of the work done on the podcast was done by other staffers and that her voice and questions were sometimes edited into the audio after the episodes or interviews had been recorded.
Author Allison Yarrow appeared on an episode of the podcast, which was titled To ‘B’ or not to ‘B’, but thanked an employee at a production company for being "an excellent interviewer" ahead of the episode going out.
In the episode in which Allison appeared, Meghan and her guests spoke about how when people say a woman is "difficult" they mean it as a "code word for the B-word".
But Allison's commentary might have been recorded separately from the rest of Meghan's podcast, MailOnline previously alleged. The paper claimed that Allison's commentary was edited and interwoven between comments from the Duchess of Sussex, with them also sharing an unearthed snap that "proves" Meghan didn't interview the author.
Allison appeared on an episode of ArchetypesIn the snap, which was posted last August, Allison can be seen sitting in front of a sign for audio production house Gimlet Media.
"Cheers to producer @farrahsafari (an excellent interviewer) and the folks at @Gimlet @spotify who get it done!"
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This comes after Meghan's exciting audio announcement today. The Duchess of Sussex said in a statement released today: "I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting. Being able to support a female founded company with a roster of thought-provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024."
She went on: "Our plan to re-release Archetypes so that more people can now have access to it, as well as launching a dynamic new podcast are well in the works. I’m so eager to be able to share it soon, and am overjoyed to be joining the Lemonada family."