‘Not a fan’: Great British Bake Off Star slams Meghan Markle
A major British star has revealed she “won’t be watching” Meghan Markle’s much-maligned Netflix series after the Duchess of Sussex announced a new podcast deal.
Entertainment
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Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith has revealed she will not be watching Meghan Markle’s new Netflix show as she is “not a Meghan Markle fan”.
During an appearance on Good Morning Britain the 85-year-old was asked if she had seen Meghan’s new lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, which shows her cooking and entertaining guests.
“I’ve only read about it (the show), but I honestly wouldn’t watch it,” she said.
why, she added: “Well, I’m not a Meghan Markle fan. I don’t know (why), all that sort of touchy-feely mindfulness, endless worrying about what creams you put on your hands.
“I just think there’s more to life than how you look and how your friends think of you.”
She added: “I’ve probably alienated half my fans.”
With Love, Meghan hit Netflix last week and was savaged by critics.
Hours after it premiered, Meghan officially launched her As Ever brand.
The former Suits star has also announced a second series of the show as well as the launch of a new podcast called Confessions Of A Female Founder.
MEGHAN ANNOUNCES NEW PODCAST VENTURE
It comes as Meghan revealed she is getting back into the podcast game.
The Duchess of Sussex announced she is launching a new podcast after her failed US$20 million (A$32m) Spotify run.
“I’m so excited to share with you something else I’ve been working on: ‘Confessions of a Female Founder,’ my new podcast with @lemonadamedia!” she wrote on Instagram.
“I’ve been having candid conversations with amazing women who have turned dreams into realities, and scaled small ideas into massively successful businesses,” the mother of two added.
“They’re opening up, sharing their tips, tricks (and tumbles), and letting me pick their brains as I build out my own business, As ever. It has been absolutely eye-opening, inspiring … and fun! (Because what’s the point if we can’t have some fun on this wild adventure?)”
Markle concluded her post by sharing that the first episode is set to be released on April 8.
The As Ever founder’s new show comes nearly two years after she and her husband, Prince Harry, parted ways with Spotify after agreeing to a $20 million deal in 2021.
At the time, the couple’s podcast, “Archetypes,” wasn’t picked up for a second season despite launching at the top of the charts in 2022.
Before the show was scrapped, Markle had only released 12 episodes, including notable guests such as Mindy Kaling, Margaret Cho, Serena Williams, Paris Hilton and Jenny Slate.
An insider told the New York Post that Markle, 43, and the Duke of Sussex, 40, didn’t produce enough content to receive their full multimillion-dollar payout.
Additionally, rumours that the “With Love, Meghan” star caused a rocky work environment also surfaced.
In January, UK royal correspondent Neil Sean claimed to Fox News that disgruntled employees secretly nicknamed the former actress after Joan Crawford’s diva-like character Eva Phillips in the 1955 movie “Queen Bee.”
Sean alleged that Markle’s podcast employees “decided to christen” her with the name Eva “as a warning signal to let people know that she was either arriving or on the warpath.”
However, in a joint statement, Spotify and Archewell Audio said they had “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together.”
In February 2024, Page Six reported that the “Suits” alum landed a new podcast deal with Lemonada Media.
At the time, Markle said in a statement that she was “proud” to “continue [her] love of podcasting.”
“Being able to support a female founded company with a roster of thought provoking and highly entertaining podcasts is a fantastic way to kick off 2024,” she added.
COMEDIANS TARGET MEGHAN MARKLE
Meanwhile, Katherine Ryan believes that Meghan Markle appeared “manicured and very forced” in her latest Netflix series, With Love, Meghan.
The Canadian comedian, 41, who was previously an ardent supporter of the exiled royal, has appeared to change her tune after watching the Suits alum’s new eight-part cooking show.
“I liked Meghan Markle. I was rooting for Meghan Markle … though she is very Hollywood – even for me – and I don’t like that in people,” the Glitter Room star said on her Telling Everybody Everything podcast of the Duchess of Sussex.
“I see now, and maybe it’s just the projects she’s choosing, it does feel like she has lied about whether she knew who Prince Harry was, and these details about her childhood change and don’t add up.”
Ryan, who released a series of stand-up specials on the streamer throughout her career, noted that there are some discrepancies in Markle’s stories about her childhood.
“She said on her new Netflix show that they ate TV dinners growing up,” she said, referring to the claim Markle made, which was later slammed by her estranged brother as “malarkey.”
“But then in an old interview, she was like, ‘We would eat farm fresh.’ Her whole act just seems very manicured and very forced,” Ryan added.
The In Trouble comedian added that while she doesn’t see Markle as a “bad person,” she does think the former actor “likes cosying up to celebrities and she wants the hundred million dollar deal and she likes the fact that she’s married to a prince.”
“Of course. But I would rather someone lean into that and be like, oh my God, I used to be on Suits and now I’m married to a prince,” she said.
“I would rather that than this act of: Oh, I’m just so humble.”
Despite being released last week, Markle’s series has already been greenlit for Season 2 by Netflix.
“People are hate-watching it though,” Ryan said in response to its streaming success. “Who knows what Netflix are doing? They are smart — whether they love something or hate something, whatever keeps them watching more episodes.”
“If this was Netflix’s intention, to be like, let’s throw Meghan under the bus where even people who really liked her are turning … not against her, but … she just doesn’t seem to be the kind of gal I would want to be friends with. It’s too manicured, it’s too beige.”
Ryan’s barbs come after fellow Netflix comedian John Mulaney ridiculed With Love, Meghan in front of company executives at the streaming giant’s season launch.
Mulaney kicked off his act by talking about his own new show which debuted the week after the Duchess’.
“This will be the one place where you (might) see Arnold Schwarzenegger sitting next to Nikki Glaser sitting next to a family therapist with music by Mannequin Pussy,” he began.
“This is a really fun experiment. Not since Harry and Meghan has Netflix given more money to someone without a specific plan.”
This story originally appeared in The New York Post.
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