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American entertainment industry executive Jeremy Zimmer sparked controversy online after he called former actress Meghan Markle "talentless" for ending her multi-million deal with Spotify. As per media outlet Variety, the 65-year-old personality was on a media spree last week when he was asked about Markle and Prince Harry ending their $20 million multi-year deal signed with the streaming platform.
While speaking to the news outlet Semafor in South of France at the marketing event, Zimmer, the CEO of United Talent Agency said:
“Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent. And, you know, just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something.”
The agreement resulted in the production of a single series, Archetypes, which was not extended. The decision to end the agreement was announced on June 15.
Jeremy Zimmer's comments come after the New York Post published a report revealing that his agency, UTA, had tried to sign Meghan Markle and Prince Harry when they first moved to Los Angeles, California, but no meetings were arranged. In April 2023, Markle signed with UTA's rival, WME.
Zimmer calling Meghan Markle "talentless" did not sit right with several internet users, as one of them commented:
Twitter reactions on Jeremy Zimmer's remarks on Meghan Markle
Jeremy Zimmer's comments raised several eyebrows. As per Variety, an anonymous A-list talent manager was mind-blown by the CEO's comments.
“As an agent, you never publicly discuss your own talent or anyone else’s.”
Another agent from UTA's rival company said:
“A shocking display of bad taste. Who wants to sign with someone who trashes people like that in public?”
After Jeremy Zimmer's comments about calling Meghan Markle talentless went viral, Twitterati was furious. Several users slammed the CEO of UTA for proliferating racism and hailed Markle's decision of signing with WME instead.
Aside from calling him "racist," people also labeled him "horrible" and "gross" for slamming Markle's talent.
Jeremy Zimmer's comments come after podcaster Bill Simmons also slammed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for ending their Spotify deal, and called them "grifters."
"I wish I'd been involved in the Meghan and Harry leave Spotify negotiation. The f***ing grifters. That's the podcast that we should've launched with them."
On her podcast Archetypes, Meghan Markle interviewed people like Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton, Serena Williams, etc.
As of this writing, Jeremy Zimmer has not responded to the backlash received on his comments.
