Meghan Markle Faces Scrutiny Over Netflix Exit – Was The Split Truly Friendly?
This month opened to a new era of royal drama, and after weeks of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor fatigue, royal fans were finally ready to sink their teeth into an exciting new development. Netflix surprised everyone by up and announcing that they’ll be exiting Meghan Markle’s lifestyle brand.
The streaming giant presented the departure as a mutual decision, while Meghan dressed it up as a good thing for her brand, because, and I quote, Netflix was “holding it back.”
Shortly after this, the main drama followed when Variety released a startling exposé sharing behind-the-scenes developments that led to Netflix walking away from the lifestyle brand – a mere 11 months after launch.
Meghan Markle’s Lifestyle Brand Becomes Completely Independent Following Netflix Exit
11 months ago, Netflix happily came on the ride for the launch of As Ever. At the time, the brand’s launch was supported by a Netflix series, ‘With Love, Meghan,’ which, after two seasons and a special, won’t be returning for a third.
Netflix Did Not See A Return In Their As Ever Investment
However, the story today is that Netflix lost millions by throwing in their lot with Meghan’s brand.
“Netflix put millions behind this deal and I don’t think they saw a return whatsoever. They just cut a loss,” a company insider said. This is coming after it was revealed that Netflix is sitting on hundreds of thousands of unsold As Ever stock.
However, some believe Netflix simply didn’t see the need to stay on as a creative partner since the show had been axed. But if we’re taking into account that Netflix stayed on for less than a year, it’s very likely they did not see a return on their investment.
In comparison, it took Amazon nine years to become profitable, while Hailey Bieber’s Rhode beauty line did not return for investors for three years.
“Why ever in the world would Netflix put all this money into the deal and then say the plan was to let It go after 11 months?” a staffer reasoned. “You can try to spin it whatever way you want, but it’s just not true.”
But As Ever isn’t the only Netflix-associated thing enveloped in drama. Per Page Six, Netflix crew who worked on ‘With Love, Meghan’ claimed they did not have particularly fond memories of the experience.
“There are a lot of people who really did not enjoy working with Meghan on ‘With Love…’,” a staffer who worked on the show reportedly revealed, adding that “there is no love lost” between many at Netflix and Markle and her and Harry’s Archewell production company.
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