A senior Spotify executive has blasted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as “f****** grifters” just hours after their multi-million-pound podcast deal was axed.
The damning putdown – using an American term for people “who engage in petty or smallscale swindling”– came from Bill Simmons, the platform’s head of podcast innovation and monetisation.
Speaking on his own podcast on Friday night, the 53-year-old ranted: “The f****** grifters. That’s the podcast we should have launched with them.”
“I’ve 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.”
Simmons’ remarks came less than 24 hours after Spotify said it was ending the Sussexes’ reported $21.8 million AUD deal with the company.
The couple produced less than 13 hours of content during the three-year partnership: 12 episodes of Meghan’s Archetypes show, and a 30-minute Christmas special featuring both the Duke and Duchess.
In a joint statement, the streaming service and Archewell Audio, Harry and Meghan’s production company, said they had “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together”.
Simmons, who sold his podcast and sports journalism company The Ringer to Spotify for $225 million (£155 million) in 2020 and is now one of the most respected figures at the streaming firm, had previously been scathing about Harry and Meghan’s podcast deal.
He blasted Prince Harry saying it was “embarrassing” to be affiliated with the Duke, adding: “Shoot this guy to the sun. I’m so tired of this guy… Who cares about your life?”
“You weren’t even the favourite son. You live in f****** Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the Royal Family – and you just complain about them.”
Spotify insiders told The Wall Street Journal the Royal couple “did not meet the productivity benchmark” required for the full contract to be honoured.
A Hollywood insider at Disney told The Mail on Sunday: “This is a disastrous look for Meghan and Harry. They can talk about parting by mutual consent but having a senior Spotify executive openly criticise them like this is unheard of in Hollywood where most people smile and then knife you silently in the back.”
“This guy is openly attacking them and that is extremely rare. This does not bode well for their future prospects.
“Hollywood is a small town and Bill is highly respected as someone who built his own company. For him to criticise them like this isn’t good. It will make people think twice about working with them.”
Sources close to WME, the Duchess’s recently-hired talent agency, said they are talking to other platforms about hosting podcasts for the couple.
“There are plenty of offers on the table,” the source claimed.
Simmons is a well-respected but often controversial commentator.
Before launching his own company, he was suspended by sports media empire ESPN and on Twitter for his critical comments.
Martin Scorsese also used the title The Grifters for his 1990 film about con artists, starring John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening.
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