The Duchess of Sussex has been largely absent from the public eye since the release of the second series of With Love, Meghan, which came and went without anyone – save sarcastic journalists – bothering to pay it much attention. However, Meghan Markle is nothing if not indomitable. And so, shortly after she and her husband were honoured as the Humanitarians of the Year in New York last week, Meghan has argued that her new, reduced deal with Netflix is not a reflection of her waning commercial appeal, but instead represented a sign of strength. Really?
Meghan argued that her new, reduced deal with Netflix is not a reflection of her waning appeal, but a sign of strength
Demonstrating that the award she should have won in New York last week was for Brass Neck of the Year, La Markle commented that: ‘My husband and I were in an overall deal with Netflix then, not dissimilar to Higher Ground and the Obamas’ deal, once that had come to its term, the extension of it – which was such an incredible sign of the strength of our partnership – was now being in a first-look deal.’
Such is the robustness of this deal – which, in practice, means that Netflix are only given first refusal on any of the projects that the pair come up with, rather than being obliged to commission any of them – that Meghan went on to say in the interview at Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Washington DC that: ‘[It] is also exciting because it gives us flexibility to go to our partners first, then at the same time, shop content that might not be the right fit for Netflix but has a home somewhere else.’
For ordinary mortals, this is the equivalent of saying that you have not been fired from your job, but instead being given an A1, absolutely peerless opportunity to pursue other and even more lucrative opportunities: a degree of optimistic chutzpah that makes the song ‘Tomorrow’ look like a downbeat, miserabilist dirge.
Still, nobody has ever come to expect introspection or self-awareness from Meghan, or her husband. It recently came to light that, after she attended the Balenciaga fashion show in Paris, her spokesman claimed that her presence there was vital because the two ‘have worked closely together collaborating on design for key moments on the world stage’. ‘This evening,’ her spokesman said, ‘reflects the culmination of many years of artistry and friendship, reflected in her support for his new creative chapter at Balenciaga’.
Is this not just a very grandiose way of saying that she texted Balenciaga’s designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, whom she had met years before, and asked if she could attend his show? If so, it’s oddly reminiscent of the central character from Amandaland and her penchant for ‘collabs’.
It was the late Queen – in words supposedly suggested by the Princess of Wales – who damningly rubbished Meghan’s various claims of ill treatment with the simple words: ‘Recollections may vary’. And so it has proved ever since, repeatedly. Simply to denigrate the duchess as a fantasist is inaccurate – she almost certainly believes what she’s saying, whether it has any basis in the truth – but the suspicion remains that, as Brand Sussex becomes increasingly tarnished, the peddling to stay afloat has become ever more frantic.
Hence the flogging of the As Ever brand – ‘it’s amazing to sit and watch a show for 30 minutes, but how can I give you a recipe in two minutes? And where can I share that with you? And how that continues to grow As Ever’ – and the promise, or threat, that there will be a ‘holiday special’ episode of With Love, Meghan next month, as well as further ‘bespoke retail collaborations’ down the path.
Admirers of the duchess and her attempts to remain relevant will rejoice at this. The rest of us might note that the public profile she so zealously guards is beginning to show signs of fraying, and may wonder if – when – the whole circus will finally draw to a not-so-strong close, after all.
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