Spotify Executive And Podcaster Bill Simmons Calls Prince Harry And Meghan Markle “Grifters”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stunned ears everywhere when it was announced that their landmark $20 million deal with Spotify was over. Where will we turn to now to learn about Paris Hilton or other famous people’s fake voices? Lord knows we just don’t have enough podcasts in the world today, so the end of Archetypes has disappointed some people. One of those people is Spotify executive Bill Simmons who has quietly expressed his displeasure with the royal couple. Just kidding! He took to his podcast to call them “fucking grifters.”
Back in 2020, Harry and Meghan announced that they would be starting Archetypes to allow Meghan to “investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back.” It wasn’t just an excuse for Meghan to meet Mariah Carey or Serena Williams for an hour. It took her two years, but she finally pumped out the first episode in 2022 and released ten more episodes over the next year or so. Sadly, sitting in a booth and conducting interviews was getting in the way of their busy schedule of questionable car chases, so Archetypes is no more. Not everyone has the stamina to furrow their brow and blankly say, “Oh really?” for hours on end when entertaining the riveting ideas of a flat earther. That’s why Joe Rogan is the king of the game! Fans will be upset to hear the end of Meghan’s audio journey but not as upset as Spotify’s exec. via Deadline:
Simmons, who still runs the Ringer and is also Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at Spotify, made the comments on his eponymous podcast.
“The fucking grifters. That’s the podcast we shoulda launched with them,” he said. “I gotta 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.”
Bill Simmons absolutely HATES Prince Harry
We need to know what Harry said to Bill on that Zoom pic.twitter.com/lsxNoSPaCU
— The r/BillSimmons Podcast 🎙️ (@rBillSimmonsPod) June 16, 2023
I’m surprised Harry needed help with a podcast idea. From how often he blabs about his family, he could’ve done a 400-episode series all about that! Bill has been vocal about his distaste for Harry and Meghan since the start, so his grifter comment is just icing on his hate cake.
Simmons did not hold his tongue about the royal couple even during the time they were under contract with Spotify. Last January, he blasted Prince Harry, saying it was “embarrassing” to be affiliated with the same company.
“Shoot this guy to the sun,” Simmons groused, according to the Big Lead post. “I’m so tired of this guy. What does he bring to the table? He just whines about sh-t and keeps giving interviews. Who gives a sh-t? Who cares about your life? You weren’t even the favorite son. … You live in f-cking 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.”
Damn, Bill. Tell us how you really feel! You know your goodwill with the public is squandered when you have some people siding with a ruthless exec of a multimillion-dollar company. I woulda thought that now that Meghan has signed with WME, the couple would start pivoting away from the bad PR. Guess the royal trainwreck will be chugging along comfortably for the foreseeable future.
Pic: Albert Nieboer/DPA/Cover Images