Look folks, it’s like this: You can be stupid and you can be talentless, but if you want the Mega Bucks, you have to bring something to the party, like great contacts or hard work. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may start to figure that out, now that they have been dumped by Spotify for not meeting their contractual obligations. This is otherwise known as non-performance. Too bad, so sad.

I had never heard of Meghan Markle before she got engaged to Prince Harry. Friends told me that she was a pretty good actress in Suits, so okay. Harry was a soldier, and veteran. He may marry whoever. None of my business. I must say that liaisons between British Princes and American divorcees have not done either country any favors. Since the last affaire de coeur led to turmoil for her Nation and her, eventually, becoming Queen, I am sure that l’affaire Markle caused her late Majesty some agita. But, she didn’t last 70 years on the throne because she took to her fainting sofa. QEII stiffened her upper lip, gave the couple a home, let them live together unmarried and even ponied up for a splashy wedding for a divorced woman. I mean a white dress, train, tiara and long veil, puh-leeze.

The couple quickly paid the Queen back with Megxit. The Queen told them that you can’t be half in/half out of the Royal Family. It’s an all or nothing deal. You want the castles, clothes and cheering crowds, you must open the car park in Yorkshire. That did not appeal to our young lovers, so they left and made production deals with Harper Collins, Netflix and Spotify. They made their home in Montecito, which isn’t London. Those to whom Mega Bucks are offered, much is expected.

After a couple of years, Harry finally birthed his book Spare and Meghan dripped out 12 podcast episodes for her Archetypes. They all sounded something like being stuck in a “wellness spa with a self-absorbed Yoga instructor”. Goldurnit! I wish I had thought of that.

Meghan and Harry separated from their last PR company Sunshine Sachs and moved to a new PR company WME Agency, who will be happy to take their cut as long as the Harkles don’t cost them any business. But the word about The Prince and the Dollar Store Duchess is getting out. Page Six of the New York Post carried this juicy little grapefruit:

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were branded “lazy” and “f–king grifters” by Spotify employees Friday after the podcasting network canned their $20 million deal.
Bill Simmons, the sportscaster who is also head of Spotify’s international sports content, said on his own podcast, “’The f–king grifters.’ That’s the podcast we shoulda launched with them.”
His attack deepened the couple’s crisis as sources said they were “lazy” compared to the Obamas, who also had a Spotify contract.

That’s a surprise. The Obamas as great content creators.

The collapse of the deal piles financial pressure on the Sussexes as exorbitant bills for their Montecito, Calif. lifestyle mount. Their sprawling Tuscan-style estate, bought for $14.7 million in June 2020, has a hefty mortgage.
Annual property taxes alone cost $144,427 and there is staffing and maintenance on top. The bill for the couple’s private security detail is believed to be about $2 million a year, there are legal fees from Harry’s unending battles with the British press — and they have to keep their Archewell company afloat without Spotify’s cash.
“They’re not broke,” stressed a source.
“But they’re going to have to keep spending their money, instead of banking it.”

You gotta pay the cost to be the boss. But, they were lazy:

“Although ‘Archetypes’ did well and got a couple of awards, when you go into a deal like this, to have just one series over that course of time is not great,” a source close to the Sussexes’ deal said.
“To put that into context, the Obamas and their production company, Higher Ground, delivered multiple new series.”
Simmons told how he had been called in to help Harry — unsuccessfully — saying, “I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of this Zoom I had with Harry to try to help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories.”

He added, “I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation. That’s a podcast we should’ve launched with them.”
Another industry insider added, “Spotify wants to focus on people who drive strong audiences, like Alex Cooper, Dax Shepard and Emma Chamberlain. There are a lot of great creators who are very eager.
“Meghan and Harry are the outlier on all of this, I think they have come off as being lazy and difficult.”

Lazy AND difficult, ouch. The Harkles got dumped, because, while they had bankable names, they didn’t do the work. Prince Hazbeen and the Walmart Wallis couldn’t be bothered. Found this on the social media of a long time, hardworking and smart friend. Thanks, Nell:

The problem for some people is that all of life requires hard work. Whether you are serving burgers, creating content, or a prince of the blood. Before you go, let us check out the Trooping the Color, this morning from London. Princess Anne, also a spare, on horseback supporting her brother, King Charles III. Prince William and his uncle, Prince Edward also ride in support of their King:

It takes a lot of hard work to make something look effortless. The Harkle grifters aren’t into that kind of thing (hard work) as Spotify found out.

Featured Image: dackelprincess/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons