A well-placed royal source has revealed that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are trying to shake off the harsh label as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex try to rebuild their popularity in Britain and the US.
The Duke of Sussex was emotional as he accepted the Pat Tillman Service Award at the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday. Prince Harry was accompanied by his wife Meghan Markle to the event after he was selected to receive the award. After the award was announced, Pat Tillman’s mother revealed she was “shocked” that a “controversial” individual would receive it. The ESPY Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and was hosted by tennis legend Serena Williams. Previous Tillman Award winners Marine Staff Sergeant Kirsty Ennis, Army Staff Sergeant Elizabeth Marks and US Air Force First Sergeant Israel Del Toro Jr. presented Harry with the award. He was visibly emotional as the Duke of Sussex received the prestigious honor for his work in founding the Invictus Games. Harry was reportedly left “stunned” and “deeply saddened” after being heavily criticized for the ESPN tribute. ESPN defended its decision to give the Duke the award, saying his involvement in the Invictus Games was “a cause worth celebrating.”
In July last year, Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetization, Bill Simmons, targeted Harry and Meghan as “fraudsters” after The streaming giant has torn up its content partnership with the couple..
Royal commentator Lee Cohen believes the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are still being mocked amid speculation Netflix could follow suit and cancel Harry and Meghan’s contract.
“Everything started to change through a number of factors and then we had Hollywood executives calling them… ‘damn’ frauds,” he told The Sun on Wednesday.
Spotify has spent an estimated $35 million on the Sussexes, more than four times the company’s total revenue from Meghan’s new podcast network. Photo by Chris Jackson – Pool/Getty Images
“Now this has been broadcast everywhere, and social media has created hashtags calling them ‘Harry and Meghan are frauds’ – what a terrible label.”
Simmons reportedly called the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “con artists” for their lazy behaviour after Harry and Meghan produced just 13 hours of usable content in about two years.
Spotify insiders have claimed the royal couple failed to meet the productivity standards needed to receive the full amount of the estimated $35 million deal.
“Fucking scammers,” one Spotify executive said at the time. “This is the podcast we should have launched with them.”
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A Spotify employee has called the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “f**king crooks.” Photo: Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress via Getty Images
Mr Simmons revealed that one of his “best stories” was when he video-called Prince Harry to try to help him with a podcast idea.
“It was time to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom call I had with Harry to try to help him come up with an idea for a podcast,” Mr Simmons said. “It’s one of my best stories.”
The collapse of the Spotify deal was a low point for the Sussexes and came just months after Harry and Meghan were mercilessly mocked in a viral episode of South Park that mocked their pleas for “privacy” while simultaneously attracting media attention.
South Park poked fun at the couple in an episode titled “The Worldwide Privacy Tour.” Photo: Comedy Central
Mr Cohen said the “scammers” comment opened the door to the Sussex scandal after years of Harry and Meghan cashing in on their royal titles through interviews, books and a reality TV series.
“The Grifters is at the complete opposite end of the political spectrum to the Royal Family. It’s incredible,” he said.
But the “con artists” comment will stay with them forever and they are now the butt of Hollywood jokes by comedians and in cartoons.
“Everyone has their number (now), which is that they are complainers, whiners and hypocrites.”
