Podcast mogul Bill Simmons didn't mince words when addressing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's termination of their partnership with Spotify, labeling the pair as "grifters." As the current overseer of podcast innovation and monetization at Spotify, a role he assumed after the platform's 2020 acquisition of The Ringer from him, Simmons did not shy away from expressing his disgruntlement on Friday's airing of "The Bill Simmons Podcast."
Simmons voiced regret about not being part of the discussions surrounding the Sussexes' exit, remarking, "I wish I had been part of the 'Meghan and Harry depart Spotify' talks. They are grifters, indeed. Their podcast should have been built around that."
Simmons, known for his sportscasting, hinted at an undisclosed incident involving Prince Harry during a Zoom meeting concerning potential podcast concepts. He asserted, "One of these days, I have to have a few drinks and spill the beans on the Zoom I had with Harry for his podcast idea. It's among my most fascinating tales."
His podcast guest goaded him to "go for it," suggesting a novel concept of their own, "Man, a drunken revelations podcast doesn't exist yet. Let's both get tipsy."
Simmons' tantalizing teaser of an untold story garnered excitement from social media followers, who clamored for him to share his alleged encounter with Prince Harry on Zoom.
One Twitter user showed appreciation, "Kudos, Bill... finally the truth about Harry and Meghan, the opportunists," punctuating with several prayer emojis.
Another exclaimed, "THIS IS PURE GOLD! Please, do share the tale! We've been eagerly waiting for the rest of America to see the true colors of these two opportunists!"
Following the announcement of the Sussexes' departure, Spotify and Archewell Audio jointly issued a statement, "Spotify and Archewell Audio have jointly decided to end their partnership and take pride in the series we crafted together," as obtained by Fox News Digital.
In 2020, the Sussexes had signed a deal, allegedly worth $20 million, for their production company, Archewell Audio. However, over a span of two and a half years, they only managed to produce 13 hours of content - twelve episodes of Markle's "Archetypes" podcast and a one-off holiday special.
Confirmation of the end of the Spotify partnership came from a representative of WME, Markle's newly signed talent agency, who also hinted at Markle's upcoming projects. "The 'Archetypes' team is proud of their podcast produced at Spotify. Meghan is planning to create more content for 'Archetypes' on a different platform," said the WME representative.
