Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s £18m Spotify deal is a ‘disaster’ & they ‘should have quit over anti-vax’, PR expert says
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry should use Spotify's anti-vax controversy to get out of their "disaster" deal, a PR expert has said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released just over 35 minutes of content for the streaming giant so far, despite signing a reported £18million deal more than a year ago.
And last week, Spotify came under further fire for hosting anti-jab content by US comedian Joe Rogan - piling pressure on Harry and Meghan to quit.
In a statement released over the weekend, the couple insisted they were committed to continuing the partnership with the tech giant "to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis".
But public relations expert Anthony Burr believes the mega bucks deal is now a "disaster" and the Sussexes should look at the situation "very carefully" to protect their brand's image.
Mr Burr told the Sun Online: "It’s a bit of a disaster right now. You’ve got this coming out when people are looking.
"If it’s not working or they don’t like the deal with Spotify, this is the time they can step out and say 'right, I don’t like the content you’re producing'.
"Using the anti-vax stuff as an excuse would be the way out if they want out.”
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Meghan and Harry said over the weekend they had spoken with Spotify to raise their concerns.
They said in a statement they have long worked to "address the real-time global misinformation crisis," adding: "Last April, our co-founders began expressing concerns to our partners at Spotify about the all too real consequences of Covid misinformation on its platform.
"We have continued to express our concerns to Spotify to ensure changes to its platform are made to help address this public health crisis.
"We look to Spotify to meet this moment and are committed to continuing our work together as it does."
Spotify previously said it bans “false or dangerous deceptive content about Covid-19, which may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health.”
And on Sunday, the company announced plans to add a content advisory to any podcast episode that includes discussion about Covid.
It’s been a nightmare for Spotify and they will be having some very difficult conversations.
Anthony Burr
At the same time, the company has been waiting more than a year for Harry and Meghan to produce any material for them - and it was revealed bosses are now stepping in to help them deliver the goods.
Anthony Burr now believes the couple will have to think carefully about their next steps, having already "blundered into" a number of deals.
"This is the time [Harry and Meghan] should make a stand and say this isn’t working," the expert said.
"If you really believe in something, especially when you go public about your beliefs then you have to stand up and be counted."
He added: "They are really trying hard to build this brand of theirs and they’ve got to look at it very carefully,.
"Eyes are always going to be on the amount of content and the type of content they produce for these tech giants.
"In terms of compelling content, you need professionals, you need a team around you who know what they are doing - it’s not easy.
"It’s been a nightmare for Spotify and they will be having some very difficult conversations."
Joe Rogan is accused of spreading life-threatening lies about Covid and vaccines.
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The 54-year-old has since vowed to 'do his best' to try and balance out his controversial opinions.
Vaccines are safe. The Government began recommending a booster as Omicron surged - leading Brits out of the crisis without a further lockdown.
