Meghan Markle’s groundbreaking Spotify-original podcast Archetypes debuted on August 23, 2022. There she made all efforts to challenge gender stereotypes and bring down the misogynistic labels that try to hold back women from reaching their full potential. It featured the Duchess and her interviews with famous and successful women around the world. It was reported that Meghan Markle was paid more than $18 million by Spotify for this project. Moreover, it fetched in a couple of prestigious awards for the Duchess that helped the couple stay afloat. 

Although the first series of Archetype got over with only 12 episodes in November, it was way more than enough. At the beginning of 2023, the podcast suffered tons of legal issues. News AU expert Daniela Elser criticized Meghan’s podcast by saying, “After its ending, there might be a few nervous executives at Spotify.” Pointing at the lack of revenue generated by the project, he took a swipe at “the ones who paid $32 million to sign up Meghan and prince harry.“

As per New York Post, Spotify announced this Monday that the company will be laying off 2% or 200 people of their workforce from the podcasting unit. This is the second time this year that the media giant has dismissed its workforce. The company’s head of podcast business, Sahar Elhabashi, claimed that it was a ‘necessary decision’ and that employees will get ‘generous severance packages’. 

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The streaming company’s decision was allegedly due to the ‘Failure’ of Meghan Markle’s podcast. After the slow decrease in popularity, the show generated fewer profits and was often considered high-budget. 

How was Archetypes by Meghan Markle perceived by the public? 

Right from the very first episode of the podcast featuring Serena Williams, world-renowned champions and bigwigs attended the show. With the highly intellectual individuals, Meghan Markle often shared her personal stories and how they paved the way for her to work on something better, on the show. She opened up about the downside of being a royal and recalled multiple experiences that disturbed her deeply. 

Despite its jumpstart at the beginning, the popularity of the podcast slowly decreased gradually. Soon enough, the public with the anti-Sussex squad detested it for a variety of reasons. For instance, the allegations of the Duchess using racial slurs and making multiple anti-royal comments. Meghan Markle also took the hits as the host of the podcast for sharing misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. However, needless to say, it fetched all love and support from the audience who genuinely liked the show and considered it award-worthy. 

What are your opinions on the sudden layoffs done by Spotify? Are the allegations true? Leave your opinions in the comment down below.