Meghan Markle Accused Of Faking Interviews

More and more news keeps coming out regarding Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and their doomed Spotify podcast venture. Previously, the audio company and industry professionals ridiculed the estranged royal family members for not producing enough content to satisfy the $20 million agreement. (Hence why Spotify decided not to renew the contract.) Now there's talk that Meghan didn't even interview many of her podcast guests. Originally reported by Podnews, many sources claim her staffers conducted the actual interviews. Meghan then dubbed her voice asking the questions into the dialogue.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex launched Archewell Audio -- a reference to their son's name, Archie -- in 2022, where Meghan's podcast Archetypes lived. During its brief, unfortunate run, it only reached 12 episodes. Spotify executives, like The Ringer's Bill Simmons, expected the duo to provide much more content than what it ultimately came up with. In fact, Mr. Simmons is on record on his own podcast calling Harry and Meghan, "f*cking grifters." For context, Bill Simmons produces two to three podcast episodes weekly for The Bill Simmons Podcast, as well as one to two guest appearances on other podcasts. In other words, there's no excuse for Harry and Meghan's lack of production.

Meghan Markle's Blacklisting

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 06: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex speak onstage at the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala at New York Hilton on December 06, 2022, in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala)

It sounds like Meghan Markle is notorious for not doing her own work and then slapping her name on the final product. In 2022, writer Alison Yarrow commended a specific Archetypes producer for their excellent interviewing skills. They then edited that audio so that it sounded like Meghan interviewed Yarrow, despite it being a bald-faced lie. Harry and Meghan also failed to police any sort of COVID-19 information, another feather in the cap Spotify used to justify ending the partnership.

Meghan Markle potentially made more than the most-streamed Spotify song of all time -- The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" -- for what amounted to 12 hours of podcasting. This is a sobering fact, one that will make Spotify execs think twice before offering huge contracts to unheralded podcasting talent. As for Meghan, she hopes to find a new home for Archetypes, though that might be a daunting task as these tidbits of contention continue to surface.

[Via]