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By James Crawford-Smith
Royal Reporter
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A Hollywood talent agency boss' criticism that Meghan Markle is "no great audio talent"—following the news that she parted ways with podcast partner Spotify—comes just weeks after the royal signed with a rival company.
United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer made headlines on Monday after he told news outlet Semafor that it "turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent."
The duchess' podcast production company (founded with Prince Harry), Archewell Audio, announced earlier this month that it had agreed to "part ways" with streaming giant Spotify after producing just 13 episodes of content over three years, in a multi-million-dollar contract signed with the company in 2020.
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Zimmer, who has overseen an increased focus on audio at UTA, also said of Meghan: "And, you know, just because you're famous doesn't make you great at something."
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UTA is one of Hollywood's "big three" talent agencies, and Zimmer's comments are notable as they come just weeks after Meghan was announced as the new star signing for rival firm William Morris Endeavour (WME).
"We are honored to announce that WME now represents Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex in all areas," the agency revealed on April 28.
"The agency will be focusing on building out her business ventures across multiple facets of the agency & its broader ecosystem, including film & television production, brand partnerships & more."
At WME, Meghan joins a roster of stars that include tennis legend pal Serena Williams and late-night host Stephen Colbert. In 2022, the duchess said she had ambitions to develop her skillset behind the camera, hoping to produce romantic comedies for the screen through her Archewell Productions company with Harry.
However, Zimmer's comments come at a difficult time for the California-based royals as they have faced a round of public criticism since the announcement of their Spotify separation.
In the days after the announcement was made, the streaming giant's head of podcast innovation slammed the couple, labeling them "f****** grifters" on an episode of his own show.
Bill Simmons told listeners of his eponymous podcast that he'd had personal contact with Prince Harry during their time with Spotify, and said he would reveal one of his "best stories" about the royal in future if he'd had a drink.
"I wish I had been involved in the 'Meghan and Harry leave Spotify' negotiation. The f****** Grifters,'" he said. "That's the podcast we should have launched with them...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*** them. The grifters."
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During the couple's time working with Spotify they produced one joint holiday show and Meghan's self-hosted series, Archetypes.
Released in 2022, Archetypes' stated aim was to "dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back," in weekly releases. The series ran for 12 episodes, taking a one-month hiatus following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and featured interviews with celebrity guests such as Mariah Carey and Paris Hilton.
The episodes faced some negative feedback from the British press, but each installment was widely reported on and led to two prestigious entertainment industry wins for the duchess.
In December, Archetypes won a People's Choice Award in the "Pop Podcast 2022" category, beating out previous winner Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain, and the hugely popular Call Her Daddy, hosted by Alex Cooper.
In March it was announced that Meghan had been named by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation as a recipient of a prestigious Gracie award for top entertainment podcast host.
These wins may help Meghan and Harry moving forward with securing future media deals, though the couple is still working collaboratively with streaming giant Netflix, who they signed with around the same time as Spotify in 2020.
Harry and Meghan released their first six-part docuseries with Netflix in December 2022, charting their love story and circumstances surrounding their exit from the monarchy. A second show, based on inspirational interviews with high-profile figures and titled Live to Lead, followed soon after.
So far, the couple have one further project with Netflix confirmed for release this year, with Heart of Invictus, a series following veterans competing at the Invictus Games, due to air this summer.
Newsweek approached representatives for Meghan Markle via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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