Meghan Markle has one hurdle to scale before attaining her dreams of becoming a lifestyle mogul through her brand American Riviera Orchard or Netflix deal. The Duchess of Sussex reportedly made a major flop on her latest trip to Colombia which has irked top Netflix stakeholders.
During the tour, the 43-year-old, who struck a million-dollar deal with Netflix alongside her husband Prince Harry, faced major issues with the camera audio. This mishap ultimately reduced the quality of footage the streaming giant hoped for to facilitate their next project.
Sources believe the duchess is responsible for “messing things up” due to her obsessive desire to control the narrative. The incident further worsened Netflix’s dissatisfaction with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, whose deal may not be renewed as a result. In that case, the Sussexes would only have Meghan Markle’s online brand, American Riviera Orchard, to fall back on while hoping for new deals.
The problem with that though is the Suits alum’s inability to move the brand past a handful of jams. Following the announcement of her new business venture in March, Meghan sent out jar samples to some famous friends. The products were widely mocked for being too ordinary despite their high cost. The project seems to have retreated to the sidelines since then.
A major reason behind this is Meghan Markle’s fruitless efforts to find a new CEO for American Riviera Orchard and lead it to new heights. Sources believe the Sussexes’ difficult nature contributes to their failed effort, saying,
“The brutal reality is Harry and Meghan are the toughest of taskmasters, they’re very demanding and difficult to work for and that puts a lot of people’s backs up.”
Going further, the source referenced the string of employees who have resigned from Harry and Meghan’s team since 2020. According to the source, such successive exodus is “unprecedented, even for a startup.”
Notably, at least 18 employees have quit working with the Sussex couple since leaving the UK. The latest on the list is the former chief-of-staff Josh Ketter, who resigned just days before Harry and Meghan embarked on their Colombia tour. If these numbers were anything to go by, Meghan Markle’s CEO hunt may take longer than anticipated, to the possible detriment of her brand.
