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Rolling Stone Magazine suggested that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are going through a period of failure after losing lucrative deals.

Adding salt to their wounds, the US outlet says that the Sussexes are in their “flop era”. Ouch.

Following their severance from the Royal Family and subsequent move across the pond in 2020, the couple signed a number of lucrative deals with global streaming giants and launched their own multi-media organisation Archewell. The bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 was a promising start.

The Independent notes that it was estimated that the Sussexes’ deals with Netflix, Apple and Spotify had secured them over £100 million to maintain their new celebrity lifestyles.

But their plans haven’t really worked out well and they’re feeling it, for sure.

Earlier last month, Meghan’s deal with Spotify ended after just one series of her podcast, Archetypes. Media reports soon circulated that Spotify was unhappy with her lack of output and engagement for the £15 million deal, which only saw 12 episodes released.

“Part of the issue the Sussexes are currently facing is that they have made their brand about their beef with the Royal Family. Now, their feud has reached a stalemate it feels like there isn’t much more to say,” Rolling Stone reports.

“The Sussexes are in a difficult position: appetite is waning for content about their rift with the royal institution, because digesting it in so many different formats now feels like overkill.

“But there isn’t much enthusiasm for their other projects, like the Archetypes podcast, which aren’t about that.”

Indeed, their docuseries Harry & Meghan, which detailed their romance and departure from the Royal Family, remained at the top of Netflix’s “most-watched” list for weeks, while Prince Harry’s memoir Spare broke world records for becoming the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time.

But their other projects have been less well-received.

Besides Spotify’s lack of interest, it was confirmed last May that Netflix had cancelled the development of Pearl, an animated series created by Archewell Productions that had planned to focus on influential women from history.

Deals are plummeting, and so is public opinion, with more and more hate thrown at the ex-royals.

Jeremy Zimmer, chief executive of the United Talent Agency, reportedly told an advertising festival in Cannes: “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.”

That must have stung more than when Spotify’s senior podcasting executive Bill Simmons tore into the royal couple on his own podcast, calling them “f***ing grifters”.

Meghan is on the defence though. Entertainment Daily reported that a source said that the Duchess of Sussex is reportedly set to fight back against the humiliating slew of attacks she’s received recently.

“This latest slew of attacks they’ve had to withstand in the wake of not being deemed relevant or hard working…it all just stings and it’s genuinely humiliating to be dealing with it all in public,” the source told Closer.

The source then continued. “But the thinking on Meghan’s part is that they owe it to themselves to fight back and make a success of things, however much that costs and however challenging it may be in some cases. She’s told her team that her plan simply can’t fail,” they said.

The source then went on:

“One option that has been put to Meghan and Harry is that they sit back for a year or so and invest their money to retain their financial security. But this isn’t in Meghan’s vocabulary and, instead, she feels the best revenge is to come out on top and prove the haters wrong in a spectacular style. She feels she’s been backed into a corner  – her next move will be explosive to say the least,” they said.

Deary me. Someone switch to the chess channel ASAP, please.

[source:independent&entertainmentdaily]