Meghan Markle Already Teased Netflix Projects On Variety's Red Carpet, Royal Commentator Claims
Meghan Markle had already hinted about her upcoming projects when she graced Variety's red carpet gala, according to a royal commentator.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria recently gave an update about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's upcoming projects with the streaming giant. Bajaria announced that Prince Harry and Markle have a "bunch of development," including a movie, a TV show and a couple of unscripted shows, Deadline reported.
Kinsey Schofield, royal commentator and host of the royal podcast "To Di For Daily," weighed in on the report about Prince Harry and Markle's upcoming projects. During her appearance on TalkTV, the host asked Schofield if the report was good news for Archewell.
"I do believe that Meghan had teased this when she was on the red carpet for Variety," she said. "However, because it took Harry and Meghan two years to execute their only commercially successful venture with Netflix so far, which was their docuseries' Harry & Meghan' and they got one year left on their Netflix contract, I think, analytically, people just thought, 'Is it realistic for them to create more content?'"'
“People thought, is it realistic for them to create more content?”
— Talk (@TalkTV) February 1, 2024
Kinsey Schofield says it has come as a surprise that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning new Netflix films and TV series.@kinseyschofield pic.twitter.com/jwKMTbAxR9
In November, Markle attended Variety magazine's Power of Women gala in Los Angeles. Body language expert Judi James, author of "Bodytalk: The Skills of Positive Image," said the royal launched herself as an A-list actress rather than a royal at the event.
Schofield acknowledged the report about the Netflix executive announcing that the Sussexes have upcoming projects with the streaming giant. The "R is for Revenge Dress" author believes that "Meet Me at the Lake" will be among their projects because Netflix got the rights for Archewell to produce it. She added that it seemed very similar to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's love story because the couple in the book spent a day in Toronto, where Prince Harry and Markle spent the first months of their royal romance away from the prying eyes of the press.
Additionally, in the book, the male character reportedly lost his mom, much like Prince Harry, who also lost his mother, Princess Diana. There are also reportedly mental health issues like anxiety and PTSD in the book.
"Almost like morbidly compare to Harry and Meghan's life that the marketing there is no brainer," she continued.
Schofield said that one of the unscripted projects could be a documentary about Africa. However, she expressed concern about it due to the recent scandal involving Prince Harry's non-governmental organization.
"You have to ask yourself if that is in jeopardy today after the African Parks scandal. How can Harry go and promote this glossy documentary about Africa when he is part of a leadership team that is currently being criticized over alleged abuse?" Schofield added.
Mail on Sunday recently published an investigation claiming that the guards employed by African Parks abused the Baka people in the Republic of the Congo. The members of the indigenous group, once known as pygmies living in Odzala-Kokoua National Park, claimed the guards prohibited them from entering the forest where they have "foraged, fished, hunted and found medicines for millennia" by violent means.
Survival International, a London-based human rights organization that campaigns to protect and defend the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples, had reached out to Prince Harry in May 2023, when he was the president of African Parks, to inform him of the complaints. They also reportedly sent him a video of a man named Eyaya, who spoke about the issue.
"The eco-guards are stopping us from going into the forest. I'd like whoever is sending all these people here to hear what it's like. I want the person who is in charge of the eco-guards and gives them their orders to hear this. Now there is only torture in the forest," the man said, per The Times.
Many had urged Prince Harry to step down from his position in African Parks. Meanwhile, African Parks issued a statement to address the matter, emphasizing that it "has a zero-tolerance policy for any form of abuse and is committed to upholding the rights of local and indigenous people."
"Allegations of misconduct are thoroughly investigated and acted on, and all of our parks are managed with a central philosophy of awareness, sensitivity and commitment to upholding the rights of local people," part of their statement read.
