’What has happened?’: Harry and Meghan abandoned by Hollywood elite as careers flounder

COMMENT

In April this year, Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex appeared together in public, a sentence I don’t type all that often these days.

Days before Harry would jet off for his father’s coronation, there was the couple, indulging in some American-as-apple-pie good times, taking in a basketball game and somehow resisting the lure of stadium fried chicken.

But there was one detail that was largely overlooked at the time and which had nothing to do with her choice of outfit (a pink Staud brand shorts suit, the label owned by the wife of her new super agent) or their curious reluctance to lock lips for the kiss cam. (These two normally can’t keep their hands off one another).
 

It was who they had chosen to share their $22,000 box with – their staffers.

And weeks before that, the duchess was snapped leaving a Los Angeles hotspot, vegan Mexican restaurant Gracias Madre, after a lunch with staffers.

But here’s the thing – after having had the most star-studded royal wedding in history, with their US careers now on the rocks, what has happened to all of their A-list mates?

In fact, just who exactly is on Team Sussex? Who is left in Hollywood who wants to be publicly aligned with the lightning rod duo?

With Harry and Meghan in the midst of one of their most professionally bruising chapters since they decided to have a crack at this career whatsit, what is marked is the growing chorus of anti-Sussex voices – and the silence coming from the big names formerly associated with them.

(Turns out the Sussexes are as adept at coming up with and executing great content as Prince Andrew was at choosing his friends. Will they be Duke and Duchess of One Hit Wonders?)

If there had ever been a time that one might hope to hear from a few famous Sussex allies it is in the last week, which has seen the rip cord pulled on their Spotify deal, the Wall Street Journal label them as “flops” and Netflix reportedly “unlikely to renew” their contract.
 

Ego-bruisingly, the Journal reported that Meghan had written Taylor Swift a “personal letter” inviting her to appear on her podcast series Archetypes, but that the superstar had then turned her down “through a representative”.

Then, super agent Jeremy Zimmer, the chief executive officer of United Talent Agency, described the duchess during an interview as “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”.(Who can say if sour grapes played a part in Zimmer’s comments, given that Meghan and only Meghan recently signed with rival WME’s Ari Emanuel).

If ever there was a moment for strings to be pulled, friendships to prove themselves and alliances to be put on proud show, it has been now. 

And yet, there has not been a single famous or prominent industry voice speaking up to defend the duo. Not one.

Has pal Gayle King, who has talked about the pair on breakfast TV when it suits her, publicly pushed back against Spotify’s Bill Simmons’ characterisation of them as “f**king grifters”? 

Have Oprah Winfrey or James Corden or podcaster Dax Shepherd, who have all scored headline-making interviews with the duke and duchess, popped up in defence of them?

Exactly.
 

After the Sussexes’ Oprah interview in 2021, Beyoncé posted a public message of support for the duchess on her website. 

Then, in the couple’s Harry & Meghan Netflix series, the duchess is shown receiving a text message from the superstar, a gesture that was only made public courtesy of their cameras. Does the Lemonade star still see the duchess as “inspiring” and “courageous”?

Meanwhile, even if La-La Land is not vocally and outwardly supporting Harry and Meghan, what about privately? Have they made personal inroads and built friendships with California’s elite?

Their most notable A-list outing came in May when they were papped out to dinner at an exclusive Japanese restaurant, reportedly dining with Cameron Diaz and her husband Benji Madden, Gwyneth Paltrow and her husband, producer Brad Falchuk, and Bumble CEO Whitney Wolf Herd and her bloke.

Hard to get more top drawer than that in West Coast circles, but was this a one off?

Maybe behind the scenes the four couples are all absolute besties, their WhatsApp group chat non-stop Rumi quotes and homemade bee pollen smoothie recipes, but they have not been seen previously or subsequently together, nor are there any indications of some bigger private connection.
 

In February, the duke and duchess were photographed at chat show host Ellen DeGeneres’ vow renewal with wife Portia de Rossi – an event that carried with it more than a whiff of the PR stunt, given that claims of a toxic work environment led to the downfall of DeGeneres’ eponymous show.

There for the ceremony were Kris Jenner, Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom.

It was a rare starry moment for Harry and Meghan.

In the lengthy interview that the Duchess of Sussex gave to New York magazine’s The Cut last year, it was also revealed that the duo has become close to 80s makeup entrepreneur Victoria Jackson. But we’re not exactly talking about a household name here.

So too have they previously been photographed out to dinner with Katharine McPhee and David Foster – hardly la creme de la creme of the entertainment world.

In March, Page Six made the point that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “driving four hours to hang out in Hollywood”.

Then there is what has happened to their well-known, longtime friendships.

Meghan would appear to have publicly cut ties with her former bestie Jessica Mulrony after Mulroney was accused of “textbook white privilege” by black blogger Sasha Exeter.

Meanwhile, the Telegraph’s Camilla Tominey recently painted a grim picture of Harry’s relationship with his British mates. She has reported that many found themselves “ghosted” after the duke’s wedding and that “patience appears to be wearing thin even among his most stalwart supporters”.
 

As one insider told Tominey: “Nobody really speaks to him any more and even the people who have remained by his side have lately begun to fall away because he is so consistently negative. He’s often complaining and rarely asks after others”.

When was the last time either of them was seen with any of their old compadres?

Take Priyanka Chopra. She and Meghan were reported to have become close years ago after meeting at a women in TV event, with the actor a guest at their wedding. The following year, she defended the duchess in an interview with the Times, saying: “if there’s anyone who can handle [the press intrusion], it’s her” and “what you see now is authentically her. She’s always been the girl wanting to move the needle”.

Yet Chopra and Meghan have not been seen together for years.

Or there are royal soapie supporting cast members George and Amal Clooney. They were both at the wedding, while in 2019, Amal also attended Meghan’s controversial six-figure baby shower. That same year, George spoke out on a series of occasions defending the duchess, describing her treatment by the press as “a little unjust” and “unkind” and saying she had been “pursued and vilified”.
 

Have the Clooneys been seen with the Sussexes since then? Indeed not. Nor have the Sussexes appeared at any of the star-studded events held by the couple’s Clooney Foundation for Justice.

In May this year, there were the ultra-glam Clooneys, capped teeth on wide show, as they grinned for the cameras at an awards night for the Prince’s Trust, the groundbreaking charity started by King Charles back in the 1970s.

Earlier this year, a cache of letters from Diana, Princess of Wales to couple Susie and Tarek Kassem went on sale and they spell out how much she appreciated their friendship and support at a time when she was on the outs with the royal family.

So who can or who will do the same for Harry and Meghan now? 

Having become estranged from both their fathers and all their siblings, with “nobody really speaking to Harry any more” and with powerful voices who have previously spoken up for the couple having gone silent, who do they have left?

Though now I think about it, making friends in your 30s and 40s and rebuilding your life would actually make a great podcast.

Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.