Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ‘devastated’ by Emmy snub

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might have delivered a hit for Netflix, but that’s little comfort for the couple after they were snubbed by Emmy voters this week.

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After viewers devoured 81.55 million hours of their six-part docuseries, Harry & Meghan seemed like a sure bet to receive a nod in the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series category. But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex failed to garner a nom when the buzzy awards show announced contenders this week.

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“It is undoubtedly a rather large and terribly disappointing blow for the couple, particularly in light of the criticism they have faced in recent weeks over their media deals,” Mark Boardman, entertainment expert and founder of MarkMeets, told Newsweek.

Boardman went on to tell the publication that the pair will now have to “redefine who they are.”

“With Meghan having a career ahead of her in TV and film, Harry must become a royal again to reengage his waning loyal fan base and work with new people to help generate positive media attention,” Boardman said. “This will help them enhance their standing with Netflix and achieve success through their partnership.”

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The Netflix series was part of a production deal that could be worth as much as $100 million.

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward told the U.K. Mirror that the couple were “devastated” after not hearing their names among the nominees.

“But of course (the couple) will not show it,” Seward added.

It wasn’t all bad news. The Hollywood Critics Association nominated the series in its Best Streaming Nonfiction Series category.

Although the show racked up a lot of viewing hours, it received mixed reaction after its debut last December.

“I found it a little bit boring,” Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel said on TikTok.

“It felt like this entire documentary was about how famous we are … it was relentless,” Frankel continued. “If you are being trolled by the media, the Royal Family gave you the advice to say nothing because that’s the advice that most very famous people are given. If you add gasoline to a fire, the fire blows up even bigger. It feels like they — and Meghan in particular — just keep wanting to tell us more.”

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“They come off like such whiny bitches,” shock jock Howard Stern added. “I feel bad for Prince Harry losing his mother and all that. So you got my empathy there. But Jesus Christ, when those two start whining about ‘Wah wah wah, and they don’t like me’ — and (Meghan) wants to be beloved in this country, but man, oh man. … It’s like The Kardashians — except boring.”

The snub came after the Sussexes $20 million podcasting deal with Spotify was scrapped last month.

“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together,” Spotify said in a statement.

After the deal ended, Bill Simmons, Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetization, slammed Meghan and Harry, calling the pair “f—ing grifters.”

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United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer piled on, branding Meghan as untalented.

“Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent,” Zimmer told Semafor at the 2023 Cannes Lions advertising festival last month. “And, you know, just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something.”

Shortly after the dissolution of their Spotify deal, Page Six reported that the couple was “under pressure to come up with good content ideas” to deliver on their $100 million Netflix partnership.

But a Netflix source told Page Six they remain “very valued” partners with the company and it is “business as usual” going forward.

Rolling Stone declared the pair were now entering their “flop era” — a moniker that seemed to stick early in various online stories surrounding their woes.

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“The Sussexes are in a difficult position: appetite is waning for content about their rift with the royal institution, because digesting it in so many different formats now feels like overkill. But there isn’t much enthusiasm for their other projects, like the Archetypes podcast, which aren’t about that,” Rolling Stone wrote.

Now, the two may be looking to branch out into different projects away from one another in a bid to cast themselves in a different light going forward.

“Meghan feels she’ll have better success if she takes the time to work on projects alone without Harry — even though he always gives her his full support,” a source told the U.K.’s Bella magazine [per the Mirror].

The move is aimed at turning Meghan into “a power player in Hollywood.”

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Despite not being able to make any inroads with Emmy voters, Harry and Meghan will try and “make it a positive, however irritated they might be,” Seward told the Mirror.

“They are having a run of bad luck in their working life. But ironically as long as they concentrate on delivering personal stuff instead of more serious work, people will be interested,” she said. “They have built a gilded cage of expectation around themselves from which it will be hard to escape.”

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Twitter: @markhdaniell

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