Meghan confronts stereotypes that ‘hold women back’ in new Spotify podcast she’ll host
She’s not just the Duchess of Sussex anymore: Just call her Meghan, the Host of Podcasts.
The former Meghan Markle officially earned a new title Thursday when Archewell Audio finally announced “Archetypes†as the first podcast series in Meghan and Prince Harry’s multiyear partnership with Spotify. Their podcast was apparently more than a year in the making, as the Sussexes first announced their production deal in December 2020.
Their inaugural Spotify Original podcast will launch this summer and be hosted by the former “Suits†star.
In it, the ardent women’s rights activist will speak with historians and experts “to uncover the origin of these stereotypes and have uncensored conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape narratives,†according to a statement released Thursday by Archewell and Spotify.
Meghan says as much in a teaser for the series also released Thursday.
The minute-long preview opens with soundbites of men branding the opposite sex — “slut,†“skanky,†“weaker†and “less intelligent,†among others — and saying they should be “quiet and submissive,†or that they’re “a little emotionally unstable†and insisting they should smile when they’re complimented.
“This is how we talk about women: the words that raise our girls, and how the media reflects women back to us,†Meghan says in the teaser. “But where do these stereotypes come from? And how do they keep showing up and defining our lives?â€
She promises listeners to “dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back†through conversations with them, as well as with historians “to understand how we even got here in the first place.†We suspect the L.A.-bred performer is speaking from first-hand experience.
The Guardian reports that the Duchess of Sussex will receive the nominal sum of about $1.35 after a court found that a tabloid invaded her privacy.
The former “royal highnesses†founded Archewell Audio in December 2020 and teased the production shortly thereafter with an uplifting holiday special that side-stepped the controversies of the tumultuous year, including their bombshell decision to step back as full-time royals earlier in January 2020.
The duchess and duke, who is the sixth in line to the British throne, have faced quite the uphill battle since moving to California but are attempting to carve out a niche with a number of philanthropic media projects with multiyear contract deals with Spotify and Netflix.
But last month, the couple got another round of bad press for not yet releasing substantial content on either platform. In April of last year, the Sussexes announced plans for their first Netflix project: a documentary series tracking a number of athletes as they train for the 2022 Invictus Games. The games are set to take place next month, but it’s unclear when “Heart of Invictus†will be released.
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