Sources have accused Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, of presenting fake interviews in her now-cancelled $20 million Spotify podcast, "Archetypes," as discovered by Radar Online.
Unexpected allegations have arisen following Spotify's decision to sever ties with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex last week. Insiders privy to the operations of Markle's podcast insist that the 41-year-old ex-actress did not personally conduct the Spotify series' interviews.
The Sun reported, citing podcast-focused media outlet Podnews, that interviews for the podcast were, in fact, handled by Markle's staff, with her audio added in post-production. "Multiple sources claimed some interviews on the show were done by other staffers, with [audio of Meghan's] questions edited in afterward," said the Sun.
While the former Suits star stands accused of faking several interviews for the inaugural 13-episode season, it remains uncertain which episodes were allegedly fabricated and which ones involved the Duchess's direct participation.
Allison Yarrow, a journalist who featured on the fourth episode of Archetypes, previously disclosed that her August 2022 interview did not involve Markle directly. According to Yarrow, an audio producer named Farrah Safarfi conducted the interview, with Markle's voice incorporated afterward.
Yarrow lauded Safarfi and the Spotify team in an Instagram post last August, saying, "Cheers to producer [Farrah Safarfi] (an excellent interviewer) and the folks at [Gimlet] and [Spotify] who get it done!"
Prince Harry and his spouse initially partnered with Spotify in 2020 after securing a lucrative $20 million deal with the streaming giant. Last Friday, Spotify and Archewell Audio, the production company owned by Prince Harry and Markle, released a shared statement confirming their mutual decision to terminate the collaboration.
Both Spotify and Archewell Audio expressed pride in the series they had co-created, as conveyed in their joint statement last week.
Nevertheless, Markle's talent agency, WME, recently informed the Wall Street Journal that the Duchess plans to persevere with her Archetypes podcast on a different platform. Last week, the agency stated, "The team behind Archetypes remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify. Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform."
