United Talent Agency (UTA) CEO Jeremy Zimmer expressed candid criticism of Meghan Markle's podcast hosting abilities, following the end of her reported $20 million Spotify agreement. Zimmer's critique comes amid talks about the changing landscape of podcasting at the 2023 Cannes Lions advertising festival.
Co-founder of UTA since 1991, Zimmer has garnered rich expertise in audio content production and has represented several A-list celebrities like Mariah Carey, Kevin Hart, and Bryan Cranston in his career.
"Meghan Markle has proven not to be an outstanding audio talent or, arguably, a talent in any capacity," Zimmer shared with Semafor. Zimmer further clarified that her fame does not inherently translate to skill in podcasting.
This criticism follows the news that the Sussexes and Spotify have "mutually agreed to part ways." Their company, Archewell Audio, reportedly struggled to garner a significant audience or develop a suitable format during their time with the streaming platform. The duo managed to launch just a single podcast series called "Archetypes" and a holiday special since their contract began in 2020.
The publication highlighted a lack of commitment from the couple to their podcast endeavors, with several proposed ideas that failed to take off. Notably, among the failed initiatives was Prince Harry's proposal to interview global leaders about childhood trauma, a concept that never materialized.
In fact, the only product to reach the public was the "Archetypes" series, launched and hosted by Meghan Markle. The series featured female guests including Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, and Constance Wu, focusing on the stereotypes that hinder women. Its final episode deviated slightly, hosting comedians Trevor Noah and Judd Apatow.
The Sussexes' podcasting attempts also attracted criticism from Bill Simmons, founder of "Ringer" and head of podcast innovation and monetisation at Spotify, who referred to the couple as "grifters."
Amidst talks of Archewell Audio's potential move to a different streaming platform like Amazon Audible, WME, the talent agency that Markle joined earlier this year, seemed to suggest this transition. The agency indicated that the Duchess of Sussex is developing more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform and remains proud of the podcast created at Spotify.
While their podcasting venture seems to have hit a rough patch, the Sussexes have found some success in their partnership with Netflix. Since 2020, they have released two docuseries, "Live to Lead" and "Harry & Meghan," with another docuseries "Heart of Invictus" slated for release this summer.
