Sophia Michaels
Meghan Markle appeared downcast in her first public sighting since Spotify ended her and Prince Harry’s $20 million podcast deal.
The “Suits” alum, 41, was photographed looking glum while walking to a salon appointment in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Friday.
She seemed to be engaged in an intense conversation at the time, according to the Daily Mail.
At one point, Markle took her headphones out and walked beside a member of her security detail. She also frequently glanced at her phone.
The Duchess of Sussex, whose hair was styled in a fresh blowout, went makeup-free for the outing and opted for a black long-sleeved top that was tucked into dark wash jeans.
She then threw a blue-and-white striped sweater over the shirt. The entire look was accessorized with black ballet flats, a black Fendi handbag and several gold bracelets.
Markle and Harry, 38, released a joint statement with Spotify last week, announcing that their podcast,“Archetypes,” had not been renewed for a second season.
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Their company Archewell Audio said the couple ”mutually agreed to part ways” with the streaming giant, however, insiders claimed the royals were axed because they didn’t produce enough content.
The duke and duchess signed their roughly $20 million deal in 2020, yet only 12 episodes of “Archetypes” were produced since then.
A day after it was announced that the partnership was terminated, Spotify’s head of global sports strategy, Bill Simmons, slammed Harry and Markle as “lazy” and “f–king grifters.”
“I wish I had been involved in the ‘Megan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation,” he said during Friday’s episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
“That’s a podcast we should’ve launched with them. 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.”
Another industry insider previously told Page Six that Spotify was shifting its podcasting priorities.
“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,” the source explained.
“Meghan and Harry are the outlier on all of this, I think they have come off as being lazy and difficult.”
Royal experts also called the podcast cancellation a “shocking failure” that could spell the collapse of the couple’s empire.
Prince Harry biographer Angela Levin said in the wake of the news, “People are fed up with them now.”
