As the Netflix and Meghan Markle drama unfolds, the streaming giant boss Ted Sarandos has unfollowed both Meghan and her lifestyle company, As Ever, on Instagram, and so has his creative chief Bela Bajaria, according to reports. Ted Sarandos was formerly very close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and even allowed their family to stay with them in Santa Barbara when they purchased their home.
A source in the Daily Mail says: “Ted let them stay over at his while their place was being renovated. They were very close.” He was part of the team which agreed to sign them to that $100 (£75m) million deal in September 2020, after their ‘Freedom flight’ to the US following Megxit.
The editor at large of the outlet details the fallout with the head of consumer products for Netflix. She writes: “…She didn’t care to take the advice offered by the Netflix head of consumer products, Josh Simon. After he left Netflix last year to take a new role elsewhere, the writing was on the wall.”
A source says: “The issue was sales in the end. The product was not taken up in the way that people had hoped. The jam thing became totemic. There was just all this jam. We had thought there would be more to it.
“The failure was more to do with the product and the business model, which didn’t work, than a people thing about Meghan being difficult. Although I hear there was an element of both.”
Variety Magazine says that two sources insist Sarandos recently said he would not take a call with the Duchess unless a lawyer was present on the line. A Netflix spokesperson said it was “absolutely inaccurate” that Sarandos made the comment.
Variety published a series of allegations against Markle and Harry after Page Six reported that Netflix had cut ties with the royals, even after extending their partnership last August.
Additionally, Netflix was reportedly “blindsided” when Markle and Harry opened up about leaving royal life during their ‘Harry & Meghan’ docuseries with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
While with Netflix, Markle and Harry released several series, including their 2023 documentary, ‘Harry & Meghan,’ Harry’s documentary about the elite sport of Polo, and most recently Meghan’s lifestyle show ‘With Love, Meghan’.
A Netflix spokesperson said, “As it was always intended, Meghan will continue growing the brand and take it into its next chapter independently, and we look forward to celebrating how she continues to bring joy to households around the world.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
