Spotify exec Bill Simmons seen for the first time after he called Harry and Meghan ‘f***ing grifters’

Top Spotify executive Bill Simmons has been spotted for the first time since he labeled Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘f***ing grifters’ after the Sussexes parted ways with the music streaming giant.

Simmons, 53, Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetization at Spotify, was spotted strolling through a parking lot in downtown Los Angeles on his way to work while talking on the phone with earbuds in.

The streaming exec declined to comment on his recent condemnation of the ex-Royals berating the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after they produced just one 13-episode series of a podcast for the company, despite signing a $100 deal. 20 million three years ago.

Spotify and the Sussexes’ production company, Archewell Audio, released a joint statement Thursday evening saying they have “mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we have created together.”

“The f***ing grifters,” Simmons said as he posted the pair on an episode of his own platform The Bill Simmons Podcast on Friday.

On the recent episode, Simmons told guest sportswriter Ryen Russillo, “The f***ing grifters. That’s the podcast we should have launched with them.’

“I have to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories,” he added.

Simmons was talking to Russillo on his sports-based podcast about basketball and possible NBA deals when the conversation was diverted to Meghan and Harry.

Faced with his comments as he walked to work in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, Simmons declined to comment on his outburst.

“What happened on that podcast, Bill?” Simmons was asked. ‘I have a business meeting. I can’t talk right now, I’m sorry,” he said as he entered the elevator.

Simmons first gained fame with his website The Boston Sports Guy in which he began writing sports columns. It became so successful that he was picked up by ESPN in the early 2000s, eventually writing for the Page 2 section and then head of the Grantland blog.

During his tenure at ESPN, he was at one point America’s most widely read sportswriter.

After leaving ESPN and a brief failed venture with HBO, Simmons launched his own website The Ringer in 2016. The outlet focused on sports and pop culture, as well as podcasts.

The Ringer was then sold to Spotify in 2020 for a reported $200 million. Simmons still remains CEO of the outlet and maintains editorial control.

He also joined Spotify as an executive, leading podcast innovation and monetization, working with the Sussexes on their somewhat lackluster podcast ventures.

But this isn’t the first time he’s been critical of the couple. Last January, on another episode of his podcast, he berated Harry, saying it was “embarrassing” to be affiliated with the same company.

“Shoot this man at the sun,” he said. “I am so tired of this man. What does he bring to the table?

“He just whines about s*** and keeps giving interviews. Who gives if***? Who cares about your life? You weren’t even the favorite son.

“You live in f****** Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say unless you talk about the royal family and you just complain about it.”

The move to scrap the Duchess of Sussex’s Archetypes podcast, which explores the ‘labels that try to stop women’, follows discussions months ago about renewing the podcast for a second series.

Insiders close to the audio giant claim the royal couple failed to meet the productivity benchmark required to receive the full payout, the Wall Street Journal reported.

However, Markle still plans to create more podcasts and find a new home for her series, which previously featured her friend and tennis star Serena Williams, pop sensation. Mary Carey and South African comedian Trevor Noah.

The show’s cancellation comes after sources close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed the couple would stop making feature-length Netflix documentaries, publishing memoirs and attending interviews about the royal family, saying they’d have “nothing left to do”. have to say’.

The talent agency that recently signed Meghan, WME, told the Wall Street Journal, “The team behind Archetypes continues to be proud of the podcast they created at Spotify.

“Meghan will continue to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.”

The podcast reached the top of Spotify’s charts the week it premiered.

Meghan concluded her 13th and final Archetypes episode with a defiant poetry about survival, but made no mention of a possible second series.

Closing the show, which featured men for the first time, she quoted the Greek post-war poet Dinos Christianopoulos saying, “What didn’t you do to bury me?” But you forgot I was a seed.’

Discussions to publish more content from Archwell — the production company owned by the royal couple — are underway, the Wall Street Journal reported.

There are also suggestions that Meghan could soon be looking to bring back her wellness and lifestyle blog The Tig, in an effort to rival Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop website, which is reportedly worth $250 million.

Since officially leaving the royal family and moving to California in 2020, the Duke and Duchess have taken a number of different avenues to generate income.

This includes Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare, which he made as part of a $20 million deal with Penguin Books.

The pair also teamed up with Netflix to produce the Harry And Meghan docu-series, with the streaming giant reportedly paying the pair $100 million for the six-episode series.