Meghan Markle, Harry 'Not The Hot Property They Once Were' As Spotify Deal Axed: Commentator

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are losing popularity in Hollywood, a royal commentator has claimed.

During a recent appearance on Australia's "Today," Russell Myers, a royal editor at The Mirror, weighed in on the end of Prince Harry and Markle's reported $20 million deal with Spotify and the rumors that Netflix, with whom the couple signed a multiyear production deal estimated to be worth between $100 million and $150 million, may be preparing to follow the audio streaming giant in severing links with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Myers claimed that the royal couple was not as in-demand as they were when they first moved to the U.S. in 2020, following their decision to step back from royal duties. International Business Times could not independently verify the claims.

"We're waiting to see [what will happen] because Harry and Meghan signed a $150 million deal with Netflix with big fanfare," Myers said of the future of the Sussexes' partnership with Netflix. "However, they are not the hot property they once were. I think that they will need to take a step back to work out where they fit in this sort of Hollywood role. They can't keep going and trashing the family, which they've done for the last couple of years. That simply isn't working, so they need a new tax."

The royal commentator suggested that the axing of Prince Harry and Markle's partnership with Spotify may lead other brands working or planning to work with the couple to question whether signing them is a good idea.

"What has happened with Spotify will be a big question not only for the bosses at Spotify. I think we've seen over the last few weeks they've had this sort of mea culpa coming out and saying that signing the big names such as Harry and Meghan hasn't really worked out for them. And $33 million is an awful lot of money. So I think they will be asking why they signed them in the first place," Myers claimed.

Before the announcement that Markle's "Archetypes" podcast wasn't renewed for a second season, Spotify chief executive Daniel Ek admitted in a conference call with financial analysts earlier this year that the company overpaid and overspent in investments in podcasting, the BBC reported.

"We're going to be very diligent in how we invest in future content deals. And the ones that aren't performing, obviously, we won't renew," he said. "And the ones that are performing, we will obviously look at those on a case-by-case basis on the relative value."

Meanwhile, the royal commentator also discussed The Ringer head and Spotify executive Bill Simmons calling Prince Harry and Markle "f---ing grifters" on his podcast following the couple's exit from the streaming giant.

Myers described it as "pretty punchy language" and claimed it showed how people are "falling out of love with" Prince Harry and Markle.

"It seems as though they're on this sort of snowball effect after Harry's book ['Spare'] that people are turning away from them. Maybe they'll need a bit of a step back to try and work out what their next move is," the royal editor claimed.

Crisis communications guru Mark Borkowski also recently told the BBC that while Prince Harry and Markle still have value as a media brand, it may not be what it once was following their Spotify exit.

Meanwhile, royal correspondent and commentator Kinsey Schofield recently suggested that becoming an influencer could be an option for Markle after her podcast "Archetypes" was axed.

"I think [her next step is] being an influencer. I think she's going to have to resort to creating digital content because what else is left?" Schofield claimed of Markle during an interview with GB News host Patrick Christys.

Last week, Netflix confirmed that Prince Harry's "Heart of Invictus," a docuseries about Invictus Games contestants, is still scheduled to be released sometime this summer.