Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's standing in Hollywood dwindled in the run-up to their UK return, as executives thought they were “no longer the cool kids”.
Tinseltown PR expert Brandon Shaw reckons the celebrity couple’s staggering paydays with Netflix and Spotify have not delivered the type of success executives needed to become long-term A-listers. He thinks a key factor in that failure stems partly from the fact no one can see past their status as Royals.
Return to the UK
The Sussexes are reportedly moving to the UK full time before the end of the month, just six years on from Megxit. Brandon said: “They have been on a journey but nothing has been successful away from the currency of speaking about or attacking the Royals.
“There are so many people who have bad or mediocre or half baked ideas, but can sell television and content executives. They have this background that is incredibly interesting and compelling. No one is taking that away from them, not even now.
“That doesn't get an executive who buys television or film content to say, well, they've got this background, so this half baked idea will work anyway. They have not overcome that hump. That's a really interesting thing to me.”
Hollywood confusion
Shaw reveals that Hollywood executives remain confused by what The Sussexes bring to the table and whether they are easy to collaborate with on projects and promotion.
“The honest and sincere and authentic answer is I think nobody knows (what they are really like). And that's the problem. Because in Hollywood, a lot of stupid people make content and are successful.
“But even stupid people have a very clear and compelling narrative and story. And I talk about this and think about this all the time. You can be talentless and not the most intellectual person. But if you have a very clear POV narrative of here's who I am and here's what I'm about, then you can probably sell television shows because people will say, maybe this is a good idea, maybe it's a bad idea, but they know exactly where they want to take it.
“The Sussexes don't have that perception in Hollywood today as they leave, because they never really defined that narrative. And it is less defined today than ever.”
Spotify deal fallout
Shaw admits that Spotify boss Bill Simmons labelling The Sussexes as “f***ing grifters” following the end of a podcast deal did seismic damage to their brand in 2023.
Shaw reacted: “This is the most insular industry on the planet. And so when someone makes a comment like that, when someone does something like that, they've opened the floodgates and said, ‘these are no longer the cool kids at the table’
“And that's something people don't really understand about how Hollywood works. And it goes both ways. When a Hollywood executive, particularly at a senior level of a major media company, says that they're putting all their weight and effort behind someone, people don't ask what their track record of successes or what the company's vision of success is for that creative talent.
“They just say the Hollywood executive backed it, which means they're going to have the money, the manpower, and the resources, which means let's all get behind them from a consumer perspective.
“Simmons’s said the inverse of that. He was saying I control money, manpower, resources, and these people don't have my blessings, they should not have yours either.”
