Ari Emanuel has represented everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Larry David. He also used to be one of Meghan Markle’s agents. Now, as she moves back to the UK and we wait to see how her work on various projects evolves, her former agent got snarky about her.
Emanuel and Markle parted ways last year. In an interview with The Times that happened after the release of his memoir Roll the Calls (which was ghostwritten by the same person who worked on Prince Harry’s book, Spare), Emanuel was asked about how her career has been going. Here’s what he had to say:
Here’s the great thing: I don’t have to think about that anymore.
Markle signed with WME in April of 2023, and Emanuel was on her team with two others, per People. While WME still represents her and Archewell Productions, Emanuel apparently left the account a few months into it.
It’s no secret that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s work in Hollywood has been met with trials and tribulations. Despite landing a massive deal at Netflix, many of their projects have faced criticism. Now, it’s unclear where exactly this partnership will go and what will happen to the things the royal couple was working on.
We know that Markle is working on an adaptation of Carley Fortune’s novel, Meet Me at the Lake, for the streamer. However, earlier this year, it was alleged that Netflix might want to be done working with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and it dropped Markle’s brand, As Ever.
Most recently, Cookie Queens, which is a documentary produced by Markle and Prince Harry, flopped at the box office. After that happened, royal commentator Kinsey Schofield told Page Six that the royal couple should “disappear professionally for a little while” and then find “one genuinely compelling project” to work on.
Notably, as these projects have been released, they are often met with extreme reactions and criticism. For example, when With Love, Meghan came out, Chef Jameson Stocks said the series was “painful to watch.”
Adding to that, Markle and Prince Harry are constantly making headlines as rumors about their work and their relationship with the royal family continue to come out. Basically, there is always a lot going on with the couple, and the chatter about them is constant. According to Ari Emanuel, he’s happy he no longer has to think about Markle.
This comment comes after Martha Stewart didn’t hold back about the Suits actress and how it’s “hard” to move from being a “princess” to a “homemaking guru on a television show.” And overall, both recent comments about the Duchess of Sussex play into the ongoing discourse about what she might do next when it comes to her work in Hollywood.
So, as this all continues to evolve, and we learn more about Markle’s plans and the opinions people have about them, we’ll keep you updated.
