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Another setback for Meghan Markle?
According to a report in the NY Post, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, signed a deal with Lemonada Media last year to launch a new podcast series after Spotify decided not to renew the steep $20 million deal for a second season of “Archetypes.” The podcast was supposed to launch last year, but the “Suits” alum was forced to put a brake on its release after Lemonada was reportedly “struggling to get off the starting blocks.”
A source has now told Hello! Magazine that Markle’s dive back into the podcast arena will have to wait. The premiere date for Markle’s series, “With Love, Meghan,” was postponed due to the Southern California fires that destroyed parts of Los Angeles and left many dead.
Insiders told The Post that similarly to the delay of her upcoming Netflix lifestyle series “With Love, Meghan,” the former working royal’s podcast’s launch has been affected by the LA wildfires. After signing with the former actress, Lemonada will now be distributing her previous Spotify podcast series to all platforms.ALSO READ: What is Deepseek, Chinese AI model that rattled Chatgpt, Nvidia and freaked out AI world: Explained in 10 points
Meghan’s new show delayed
Markle launched “Archetypes” in 2022. A former Spotify employee described working with Markle and Prince Harry, telling Vanity Fair that the couple “didn’t do what celebrities do on podcasts, which is turn on the mic and talk.”
“They wanted a big theme that would explain the world, but they had no ideas,” the employee told the outlet. However, someone who worked closely with the couple claimed certain projects had to be abandoned for practical reasons. “It feels like the only story is ‘They didn’t satisfy their contract,’” she told Vanity Fair. “It’s not like work wasn’t being done.”
Details of the new series have yet to be made available, but it is known that Markle will host the show. It appears as though Markle will need to work extra hard to make the podcast a success after her former Spotify colleagues accused her of bullying.
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One person who worked with Markle described the alleged experience with her as “really, really, really awful” and “very painful.”
According to several unnamed sources who spoke to Vanity Fair, the former actress and her husband, Prince Harry, 40, did not always foster a congenial working environment.
The experience was “really, really, really awful. Very painful,” the source alleged to the magazine. “Because she’s constantly playing checkers—I’m not even going to say chess—but she’s just very aware of where everybody is on her board.”
“And when you are not in, you are to be thrown to the wolves at any given moment,” the former staffer claimed, which amounted to “undermining.”
“It’s talking behind your back. It’s gnawing at your sense of self,” they continued. “Really, like, ‘Mean Girls’ teenager.”
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Meghan Markle and the Netflix deal
The Sussexes inked a lucrative $100 million deal with Netflix back in 2020. Since signing on the dotted line, the couple released their bombshell six-part documentary “Harry & Meghan” in 2022, followed by “Live to Lead,” “Heart of Invictus” and most recently, “Polo.”
Markle’s latest business venture, a Netflix lifestyle series titled “With Love, Meghan,” has also faced delays following the devastating wildfires that have ravaged through California. It’s not the only snag Markle’s business ventures have been faced with.
The former actress unveiled American Riviera Orchard, her lifestyle business venture in March 2024. But 10 months later, there’s still no release date or information about the products that customers can expect to be up for sale.
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The mom of two has faced a slew of ongoing trademark troubles while trying to get her company off the ground, prompting her to request a three-month extension from the US Patent and Trademark Office to secure a trademark for the brand in November.
Her extension request came just one month after the company was slapped with yet another trademark snafu when rival lifestyle brand Harry & David filed a protest against American Riviera Orchard, claiming the name is far too similar to its “Royal Riviera” product line.
And in September 2024, her trademark application was refused by the USPTO, who warned that businesses cannot trademark geographical locations.
