Prince Harry and Meghan called ‘f***ing grifters’ by Spotify executive Bill Simmons

Bill Simmons has derided Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on his podcast Friday as “f–king grifters.” Photos / Getty Images

Spotify executive and podcaster Bill Simmons slammed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on his podcast on Friday, calling the royals “f***ing grifters”, according to Deadline.

Yesterday it was confirmed that Spotify had axed its US$20 million ($41m) podcast deal with the Sussexes and that their parting ways was a mutual decision by both parties, reports Wall Street Journal.

News of the podcast being canned comes after Spotify announced they were laying off nearly 200 staff members - amounting to 2 per cent of their workforce - who work in the podcasts sector.

The streaming giant put the cutback down to struggles in making the podcasts profitable, however it still boasts the likes of Joe Rogan and a few other notable hosts on its podcast roster.

Simmons, who still runs Spotify’s Ringer podcast and is Head of Podcast Innovation and Monetisation at the company, criticised the Montecito royals on his eponymous podcast.

“The f***ing grifters. That’s the podcast we shoulda launched with them,” he said. “I gotta 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.”

Bill Simmons did not hold his tongue about the royal couple even during the time they were under contract with Spotify. Photo / Getty Images

Among Harry and Meghan’s podcasts was Archetypes, which was hosted by the Duchess of Sussex. The podcast explored the “labels that try to hold women back” and features interviews with the likes of Trevor Noah, Mariah Carey, Mindy Kaling and Serena Williams.

It was not renewed for a second season, however WME, Markle’s talent agency, revealed that the podcast could potentially resurface on another platform, reports Wall Street Journal.

“The team behind Archetypes remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify. Meghan is continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform”, shared the agency.

When the podcast premiered, it reached the top of Spotify’s charts.

Meghan's Archetypes podcast. Photo / Spotify

Simmons wasn’t afraid to speak his mind about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex when the couple were still under contract with Spotify. Last January, he slammed Prince Harry, saying it was “embarrassing” to be affiliated with the same company.

“Shoot this guy to the sun,” said Simmons, according to the Big Lead. “I’m so tired of this guy. What does he bring to the table? He just whines about sh-t and keeps giving interviews. Who gives a s***?

“Who cares about your life? You weren’t even the favourite son. … You live in f***ing Montecito and you just sell documentaries and podcasts and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the royal family and you just complain about them.”