(Daily Mail) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been named among the biggest Tinsel Town losers of the year by industry bible, The Hollywood Reporter.
The magazine published its 2023 review celebrating those who triumphed and noting those who failed to hit the mark.
Among the 11 chosen as having struggled were the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who were mocked for their ‘whiny Netflix documentary, a whiny biography (Spare – even the title is a pouty gripe ) and inert podcast.’
Meghan’s podcast, Archetypes, was dropped by Spotify in June after just one season and the firm’s head of podcast innovation and monetization, Bill Simmons, labelled the couple ‘grifters’ after their $20million (£15.9m) , multi-year deal ended.
Their treatment by The Hollywood Reporter was far from effusive, with the publication saying the couple had ‘fled a life of ceremonial public service to cash in their celebrity status in the States’ – but failed to ignite.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, pictured in New York City on October 10, have been named among Hollywood’s biggest losers of 2023
Meghan Markle’s podcast was dropped by Spotify after only one season
‘The Harry and Meghan brand swelled into a sanctimonious bubble just begging to be popped – and South Park was the pin,’ the authors said.
In March, South Park ridiculed the couple with an episode entitled ‘World-Wide Privacy Tour’, which skewered the pair for claiming to find media intrusion too intense, and then seeking the spotlight.
The magazine concluded: ‘Still, all the scorn and mockery beats otherwise having to attend 200-plus official royal family engagements a year, which sounds hellish.’
It comes as the couple’s charitable foundation, Archewell, saw donations plunge by $11million (£8.7m) in the past year, sending it into the red while its boss and their red-hand man James Holt was handed a massive 280 per cent pay rise.
The Sussexes have released their charity’s annual report and a glitzy promotional film showing their good works in 2023 – but it has also emerged that its finances have dived.
An income tax return filed in the US revealed on Monday that in 2022 donations were down to just over $2million (£1.6m) – down from $12.9million (£10.3m) in 2021, an astonishing drop of $11million (£8.7m).
And 2021’s profit of $9million (£7.1m) has evaporated due to a lack of donations. The Archewell Foundation recorded a loss of $674,485 (£536,357) for last year because revenue was $2million but costs were $2.67million.
Last year there were only two major donors giving around $1million (£795,210) each. The year before an unidentified wealthy donor gave them $10million but there was no repeat in 2022.
It follows a tumultuous year for the couple, which saw Harry’s vitriolic memoir, Spare, top the bestseller lists but their personal popularity ratings tumble.
They were also the subject of ridicule by popular televisions shows such as South Park and Family Guy, lambasted after claims about a reportedly ‘near catastrophic’ car chase in New York and lost their lucrative podcast deal with Spotify, where one senior executive labelled them ‘******* grifters’.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released a video showing Archewell’s 2023 ‘impact’ – but their annual report also reveals that their foundation has recorded a loss
The foundation has filed its annual tax return showing donations have plunged (top set of circled figures) and a profit has turned into a loss (bottom, circled) – but they do still have cash in the bank
The foundation’s highest paid employee is Meghan and Harry’s right-hand man James Holt (right with the couple in their Netflix Invictus documentary). He was paid $227,405 a year ($180,835), including a $20,000 (£15,904) bonus
