Meghan Markle’s fresh start isn’t off to the best start.
After splashy announcements about her new podcast partnership with Lemonada Media and her forthcoming lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, neither project appears to be going anywhere fast.
On Thursday’s show, Megyn was joined by Piers Morgan, host of Piers Morgan Uncensored, to discuss why Markle and Prince Harry have struggled to find their footing since leaving the royal family and what comes next for the “grifters.”
False Start
Daily Mail columnist Richard Eden published a scathing article on Thursday about Markle’s “motives” as “her podcast relaunch struggles to get off the starting blocks.” He noted that, in the wake of Spotify executive Bill Simmons infamously calling Markle and her husband “f-cking grifters” for their alleged unwillingness to work, the pair has done little to quell the rumors.
Case in point? An “ever-growing list of eye-catching ventures and initiatives from Harry and Meghan that, “for all the carefully constructed razzmatazz of their launch,” have so far not come to fruition.
Eden highlighted the fanfare with which Markle announced her deal with Lemonada Media in February as one example. Despite claims that new podcasts from the former Suits actress would soon follow, sources told Eden the re-launch of Archetypes is pushed back to 2025.
The Podcast Delay
The delay is apparently partially due to concerns about Markle’s upcoming Netflix show that the streamer says will “celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship” and her lifestyle brand. “She’s going to be teaching us how to be a good friend,” Megyn noted. “I can’t wait to find out from Meghan Markle what that’s like.”
Morgan, for one, does not believe Markle is in any position to speak on the topic. “As one of the many friends that she cut off spectacularly the moment she got a bit of royal action… I don’t think Meghan Markle is in any position to be lecturing anybody about friendship,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine two people who have been less compassionate in the last few years to their loved ones.”
Part of the problem may also be, Morgan surmised, a lack of interest. “Nobody wants to see her next podcast because nobody listened to the first one,” he said. “When you trash your family again and again and again, eventually there is not much left to say and people don’t really want to hear it. It’s like the Spotify guy said, they are just a pair of grifters who just want loads of money and not put a shift in to do proper work.”
The Lifestyle Brand
But it’s not just the podcast. Despite the highly produced launch campaign last month, Markle’s American Riviera Orchard does not yet have any retail offerings, The brand has instead resorted to sending jars of jams to celebrities like Kris Jenner and Abigail Spencer.
Taking a page from the influencer handbook, Markle sent social media-friendly mailers of strawberry jam to a handful of acquaintances. “She has now got all of her celebrity B-list and C-list mates putting out Instagram posts about her jam,” Morgan noted. “How the mighty fall. This was a woman who had it all… and is now slogging jam from her kitchen in Montecito while her husband runs around fuming about absolutely everything and everyone because he knows, in his gut, what he lost.”
What Comes Next
Morgan believes “those chickens will come home to roost” eventually, and the process may be sped up if they lose their royal titles. “Megan Markle got lucky, found her prince, dragged him out of the bosom of his family, dragged him away from the monarchy that bestowed those titles on them, and is now ruthlessly exploiting those titles for massive personal gain,” he said. “I think it’s disgusting and hypocritical. They shouldn’t be allowed to do it.”
While King Charles is understandably preoccupied with his cancer battle, Morgan hopes he will one day give the couple a talking to and say, “I’m sorry, but you can’t keep demeaning the status of being a member of the royal family and attacking the monarchy and retain your titles.”
Once the pair is just “Harry and Meghan,” Morgan isn’t convinced the money will keep flowing. “See how you get on when you are no longer royals because the answer is not very far,” he said.
Megyn agreed. “That’s right,” she concluded. “Who wants your jam then?”
You can check out Megyn’s interview with Morgan by tuning in to episode 776 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.