Continuing HR article, Netflix

[Twistybranch]

See all these wise posters, lots of what we have said has been ‘confirmed’ by other sources

article in the DM:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/royals/article-13874743/Harry-Meghan-Hollywood-turns-Sussexes-ALISON-BOSHOFF-venom-schadenfreude.html

https://archive.ph/xgEdv

One senior Hollywood publicist tells me: 'First of all, everyone industry-wide, EVERYONE reads The Hollywood Reporter. It's really striking that WME did not stop this running.'
She adds: 'WME normally – you would think – would have been threatening and denying access to other stars. Was this done here?

Thats exactly what we all thought! it’s strange how they are letting this stuff out.

As we have all seen in recent days, the dark art of covering up and killing stories- look at Al Fayed and what he got away with. So WME have done nothing???

Also, Harry attending an event in his own because Meghan is sick. No. This is part of separating their ‘brands’- I doubt she will attend any future events like these with Harry.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13875773/sick-meghan-markle-prince-harry-kevin-costner-charity-event.html

Seems like the wheels are falling off to me!

To me, 'Chief of Staff' sounds like a military term. Or maybe someone working for a high level politician. I've never heard of a celebrity, especially a celebrity who doesn't actually do anything, having their own personal 'Chief of Staff'.

Also, don't most PR staff work with PR firms, rather than being directly employed by just one person? So a top PR person will represent several individuals, just like an agent or stylist. They won't be 'on the staff' of the celebrity themselves. Or not?

If I were advising them I'd tell them to go away for 2 years then come back quietly with something excellent.

Taylor Sift did this after her overexposure/backlash in 2017-18. She lay low for 2 years then without fanfare released two excellent albums Folklore and Evermore, real depth of musical content, and adopted a quieter public persona for the next 2 years. Not a fan of her music but her PR team (which she changed in 2018) are impeccable.

So yeah. Disappear for two years. Use the money from your great gran to invest in something meaningful that doesn't centre the two of you. I actually don't hate the 'dangers of social media' thing, it's a good topic and an important one to campaign on especially the effect of teen girls' mental health. I'd say invest say $50k on a good piece of academic research, maybe by Jonathan Haidt or Abigail Shrier, on how to create guardrails / harm minimisation of social media for teens. The lobby it quietly behind the scenes - pick a jurisdiction that might actually enshrine those guardrails in law or even in the education curriculum. So not the US - possibly northern Europe - some country that's not an EU member (totally in hock to Google and Meta) and get them to commit to educating teens and their parents on social media harm minimisation as part of the curriculum.

Launch it quietly and respectfully with a slot at Davos. No gaudy press junkets, no shrieking about teen suicide. Quiet, statesmanlike. Follow it up meaningfully.

Yeah, that's what I'd advise. It would take $$$$$$$$$$. More meaningfully, it'd take a personality transplant for both of them, so I doubt they'd take the advice.

Also, don't most PR staff work with PR firms, rather than being directly employed by just one person? So a top PR person will represent several individuals, just like an agent or stylist. They won't be 'on the staff' of the celebrity themselves. Or not?

Both. The brightest talents are with agencies. Others do agency for a few decades then move in-house to work direct with one employer. This is a common route for senior PR women who want more time with kids as top-flight agency life destroys any free time you might otherwise have.

Occasionally, if you're someone amazing, like say Michelle Obama, you can pluck a brilliant agency person and persuade them to come work for you full time, but you need to pay big money.

If I were advising them I'd tell them to go away for 2 years then come back quietly with something excellent.
Taylor Sift did this after her overexposure/backlash in 2017-18.

But they're not Taylor Swift. They don't have 'something excellent' to offer. Taylor makes music loved by millions. By contrast, he is the son of a King he's barely speaking to, and she is his wife. They're middle aged now, and haven't been working royals for almost 5 years. Their relevance is fading by the month.

I think they had their big chance 4 years ago, and they blew it. They have no marketable talents and are clearly disliked in Hollywood. They're wealthy enough to live in quiet luxury for the rest of their lives, but I think peak celebrity is behind them. There will always be some interest in him as a prince who many people watched growing up, but that will lessen over time. She doesn't even have that. She's a cable TV actress who married well.

Yes and I'm not saying they're Taylor Swift. I'm just saying what I would advise them to do if they asked me. I genuinely think that would be their only way of attempting a way out of their current bind.

My first question to them would be "What do you want your legacy to be?" and I would insist on a proper answer, not fluff and word salad about kindness and service.

Meghan if you're reading this, I charge an hourly fee for initial strategic planning and thereafter a quarterly retainer, feel free to PM me. I absolutely will quit if you throw a cup of tea at my head tho

Whether we think she's wonderful and living her best life or a narcissist or whatever doesn't matter, from a pure economics of showbiz perspective, she's a busted flush and no studio or company is going to invest a lot of money upfront in her ever again.

Yes. And if we know it, MM and everyone around her knows it. It'll be a chill wind blowing through the Montecito mansion these days.

I agree that she seems to have lost a lot of people a lot of money, going way back to pre-RF days. The word for that is "grifter".

I wonder if either of them see the irony of leaving the protection of the RF, where there were hugely resourced at others' expense, for the dirty and unforgiving world of LA showbiz where they are entirely on their own. I actually respect the quest for independence: even if they fail, they will have done it on their own terms. But success would have been sweeter, and success was what they were after.

Then lobby it quietly behind the scenes - pick a jurisdiction that might actually enshrine those guardrails in law or even in the education curriculum. So not the US - possibly northern Europe - some country that's not an EU member (totally in hock to Google and Meta) and get them to commit to educating teens and their parents on social media harm minimisation as part of the curriculum.

If only Prince Harry had an in with a non-EU, northern European jurisdiction where he could implement this....🤔

Apologies if this has already been seen, but I’ve just read this article and it’s really interesting.
Painfully deluded describes Meghan (and her supporters!) IMO. It reads that the bullying allegations are a smoking crater to Meghan’s reputation.
No matter what supporters claim or choose not to believe. This is all hugely damaging to Meghan.

www.newsweek.com/meghan-markle-bullying-smoking-crater-hollywood-reporter-1959594

I think it would be Meghan’s worst nightmare to “lie low” - for two minutes let alone two years!

She revelled in that red-carpet moment (before she was pushed off); she looked really happy. She wants fancy events, hanging with celebs, and posing in designer clothes. Plus respect when she gives one of her speeches.

I agree that a re-set seems H&M’s best option. It’s worked for quite a few people who have made successful comebacks - but the necessary hiding away years would be a hard sell to Meghan.

I'm no PR expert, but I really think they should have made a conscious effort to separate their 'brands' 4 years ago. I bet they were advised to do just that by whoever was supposedly handling their PR. The 'couple' thing is kind of cringey. But again, it's probably way too late for that now.

I think that’s what’s happening now Iced, it definitely seems that there’s some kind of brand separation going on. (That’s nothing to do with them separating as a couple before any supporters want to criticise this opinion).

he's now the 40 year old father of 2 and this sort of staged public "fun" can look a bit strained and try hard. It shows a lack of maturity not to realise this

Yes, I was going to say something like this. By the time someone hits their forties, they should have acquired a bit of gravitas and be able to speak with some authority on subjects they're passionate about. Even if someone else writes the actual speech, they should know what message they're trying to put across, and have some solid background knowledge of the topic. One of Harry's problems is that he doesn't seem to have built up any knowledge or expertise about anything, so why should anyone listen to anything he says?

(And if they want to come across as serious grownups, FGS stop the handholding when 'on duty' in public. It's profoundly irritating to see a middle aged couple supposedly at a professional engagement behaving like a pair of teenagers.)

I think they think that the handholding is a cute trademark of theirs, it shows that they followed their hearts and married the person they are destined to be with, its true love. Probably not many of us in this world could ever imagine such a love as theirs.

It does make you think whether Harry said oh come to the UK Meghan and then we can work out a half in deal. I'm Granny's favourite so it will be fine.

💖💖💖💖 Probably not many of us in this world could ever imagine such a love as theirs. 💖💖💖💖

Probably not. Most of us probably think the initial glitter and sparkle would have worn off a bit after more than six years, and a couple who weren't dewy-eyed twenty year olds to start with.

No way: the joint brand was absolutely where their brand value lay 4 years ago.

PH still has some brand value alone, which is why the HR was careful to print nice stuff about him (smart strategy on their part). MM has zero value on her own.

That Newsweek piece is interesting because Newsweek is a highly respected publication. It's what a global CEO reads on Sunday night to get a holistic view on what the world's media have been writing about that week, because s/he is too busy to read the actual press.

(Just realised my tone's a bit aggressive, I don't mean it to be and am not having a go at you Iced! Media relations is just a subject I know a bit about and care a lot about.)

Meghan and Harry definitely need a Tree Paine to advise them (she has worked for Taylor since 2014) but Taylor also had all the receipts regarding the Kardashian take down/leaked phone call - hence Reputation! Unfortunately for Harry and Meghan their memories are not terribly reliable.

But I do think the wisest thing would be for them to just take a break for a while. However I am assuming they really need to be earning £££ - goodness knows how much their life costs to fund. They are therefore in the position where I imagine they are too scared to take a break as they have big bills to pay although they are likely ruining any chances of earning the big money by continuing down their current path.

All very interesting to watch and I guess Harry ultimately knows his father will not see him not he streets. His brother however . . .

However I am assuming they really need to be earning £££ - goodness knows how much their life costs to fund.

But how much are they currently earning?

The Spotify deal is over. Spare will have earned Harry a lot of money but that's a one off. I'm not sure how exactly their NF contract works, but I doubt they get paid if they don't produce content. I very much doubt ARO is going to happen.

I really don't see how their current lifestyle is sustainable.

No way: the joint brand was absolutely where their brand value lay 4 years ago.
PH still has some brand value alone, which is why the HR was careful to print nice stuff about him (smart strategy on their part). MM has zero value on her own.

Oh I agree. Harry is a prince and still has some novelty value in California, while she's just another minor TV actress.

But she could still have built up some sort of individual 'brand' 4 years ago, when they were still fresh and had a lot of support. During Covid she could have built up a social media persona separate from Harry and maybe moved into launching her own brand of homewear or cosmetics. Instead, 4 years on there she is hanging out of her husband at pseudo royal gigs. It doesn't really align with her strong independent woman schtick either.

I too think that at what must be their current rate of spending and on their present trajectory, they are going to hit the financial rocks at some point. Without a major and long term moneyspinner, of which there seems no tangible sign, the lifestyle they've espoused can't be viable.The security alone must be millions of dollars a year.

Do they actually need that level of security though? Or is it a status thing?

If they're genuinely worried about security, that sprawling mansion must be an expensive nightmare to secure.

Their security costs must be insane. I mean they seem to have similar levels to Taylor to use her again but they are far away from being billionaires.

Sadly for him he couldn't have picked a more high maintenence wife if he'd looked the world over. Of course she had to live in that pretentious LA neighbourhood next door to the awful Ellen D. The property itself looked beautiful, their life in reality cannot be so enviable.

How he can stand it I don't know, vastly different to living in an historic property on a royal estate with zero financial pressures.

The jurys always been out for me on that one @IcedPurple . For me one of the more understandable things about Harry is his obsession with keeping his family safe, but would he actually listen if an impartial, honest broker without skin in the game gave a realistic risk assessment of what they really need? I'm far from sure it would be judged to be as high as it is, although as you say that massive house can't be helping matters and I'm no expert.

It is an element of "rich people life" that I would absolutely hate and avoid at all costs, but I suppose Harry is used to it and maybe Meghan does think it lends status.

If he was genuinely obsessed with keeping his family safe he wouldn't have flounced off to the other side of the world with no job and no security, leaving behind his police protection and the home on one of the most secure estates in the country.

Nor would he leave his tiny children behind while he and his wife go on jollies on another continent.

Nor indeed, would he keep whining to the press about his 'security' or lack thereof. In fact, that's the last thing someone genuinely concerned about their safety would do. It's all about status and having what his brother has.