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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s embarrassing Netflix deadline looms

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's embarrassing Netflix deadline looms

When the current history of Hollywood gets written, April 19, 2022 will go down as the day that everything changed.

It should have been a routine earnings call during which Netflix co-CEO Reed Hastings took tech and business reporters through the company’s latest figures. Instead, Hastings revealed that the company had lost hundreds of thousands of subscribers for the first drop in numbers in 10 years.

The revelations immediately set off something of an earthquake from Wall Street to Los Angeles, with $75 billion in value being wiped off the company’s value in 24 hours.

Why this matters are the consequences this precipitous, stunning reversal in fortune could have for two people about 450km south of Netflix’s headquarters, in the wealthy enclave of Montecito.

In the course of that one earnings one call, not only did the streaming giant’s once-unassailable hold on the entertainment industry come unstuck, but so too did the supposedly cashed-up future of Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, start to look much less certain.

Monday marks 712 days since the world learned on September 2 2020 that the newly self-emancipated Sussexes had signed a reported $US140 million ($A197 million) deal with Netflix via no lesser news outlet than the New York Times with the story trumpeting the duo’s “new Hollywood careers”.

But today, those “new Hollywood careers” have yet to actually take off while once mighty Netflix has lost more than $US200 billion ($A280 billion) in value (yes, billion with a ‘b’) this year.

Nearly two years on from all the self-contributory ballyhoo of September 2, 2020, the landscape for both the titled duo and the streamer has significantly shifted beneath them all.

Will – or even can – the Sussex/Netflix marriage survive?

Not only have the fortunes of Netflix lurched wildly since 2020 but so have Harry and Meghan’s.

At the time the deal was announced, it seemed like the most obvious and logical pairing: Two of the most famous people in the world would worthily churn out documentaries or some such; inreturn; Netflix got to tout the fact that they had a real life Duke and Duchess on their books. Harry and Meghan would get squillions; the company would reap the rewards of the PR coup of the decade.

However, the royal duo are not exactly the sizzlingly-hot property they were back then now are they?

More than 30 months have passed since Harry and Meghan absconded from a life of stifling royal duty for the greener pastures of California and that lucrative embrace of corporate America.

In that time they have managed to ink a series of headline-making deals, including also with Spotify, the coaching company BetterUp and with Ethic, a fintech asset manager, along with launching their charitable foundation and undertaking a seemingly never ending parade of photo opportunities. .

On paper it sounds like it’s been a whirligig of achievement and just the sort of industrious self-starting that America was founded on. Except … what have they actually achieved?

Yes, they have made a series of donations to causes ranging from the World Food Kitchen to helping fix a women’s shelter’s roof after a storm which reflects their generosity and hunger to help others. Kudos. But writing a check here and there is hardly the sort of work that will ever see them make the long list for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sadly, for two people who seem to truly care, there is not one issue, not one cause they have really moved the needle on since they embarked on this new life of theirs.

More importantly for their Netflix and Spotify paymasters, they have failed to genuinely set themselves up as leading voices of the day. They might do their darnedest to sell themselves as inspiring leaders but the proof is in the flaccid pudding that was the lackluster turnout to Harry’s recent UN speech from him.

The international community was hardly turning up in droves to hear him speak while Washington has largely ignored them.

Meghan’s cold-calling of senators about paid parental leave last year went down about as well as a gluten and dairy-free scone at a Buckingham Palace garden party and the Duchess has yet to emerge as any sort of powerplayer ahead of the midterm elections later this year.

In late June, the former actress took part in a conversation with feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem for fashion after the horrendous quashing of abortion protection, saying: “Well, Gloria, maybe it seems as though you and I will be taking a trip to DC together soon.”

Nearly two months on, the Duchess has yet to turn up inside the Beltway.

The bottom line is this: Harry and Meghan have proven totally unsuccessful at making themselves matter in the corridors of power in Washington, New York, Silicon Valley or Los Angeles.

The magic dust of their royalty has largely dulled in the last two years and the novelty factor has worn off. So too has their deal-making momentum seemed to have waned with them not having announced any other venture since July 2021 last year when it was revealed Harry was busy working on a memoir.

Things might look different today if in the last 712 days the Sussexes had been churning out series after doco after one-off specials for Netflix, but as we all know, that is not the case. The company has only ever publicly announced two Sussex projects: Harry’s documentary about the sporting event for wounded armed services personnel Heart of Invictus (an amazing initiative he started years ago as a working member of the royal family) and an animated children’s series from Meghan called Pearl.

In early May it was announced that Netflix was axing the Duchess’ show as part of a much bigger cost-cutting move, with numerous high-profile projects canned as the streamer dramatically tighten their belts.

Then later the same month came news that the company was about to get, as Page Six put it, their “pound of flesh” from the duo with the revelation that Harry and Meghan were already filming something called an “at home” docu series which has a hint of the ignominious about it. (More recent reporting has suggested that Netflix wants it to air before the year is out.)

Potentially hundreds of millions of dollars are riding on this docu series for the self-supporting, private jet-flying, polo-loving Sussexes.

If it turns out that the Duke and Duchess are TV gold, if they are about to demonstrate that they are binge-worthy stars who can pull in streaming viewers globally, then their US careers are set. Get another polo pony! Hell, buy seven.

But, if they fail to live up to the hype and the rhetoric? The huge sums being touted and all those lovely millions supposedly coming their way could dry up faster than a Californian lake.

(And it’s not as if their docuseries is likely to feature much royal access given that Harry and Meghan were embarrassingly sidelined by The Firm when they were in London for the Platinum Jubilee.)

Netflix is ​​clearly a very patient company when it comes to their superstar recruits. Take Barack and Michelle Obama who signed to Netflix and Spotify after they left the White House.

However, this week, Harry and Meghan will break the Obamas’ track record of the 716 days which elapsed between their Netflix deal being announced and their first marquee project starring one of them, coming, being released. (And in the interim they had released two children’s shows and produced two documentaries, one of which won an Oscar.)

Harry and Meghan might have titles and the Buckingham Palace Wi-Fi password but that is not enough of a distinction for big companies to merrily tip millions into their bank accounts for the chance to work with them. They have to actually do something to provide themselves.

They can’t just hope they can coast along on the whiff of a mothballed HRH here forever more.

Since that earnings call in April, Netflix has laid off hundreds of staff and made the drastic decision to finally introduce advertising to the platform. Can the company still afford to carry big name stars who don’t deliver on their books?

Just how much patience and faith will this newly humbled Netflix have for their yet-to-perform big-name hires?

To some degree, the same goes for Spotify too here.

In April, Meghan’s first outing for the audio giant called Archetypes was announced, promising a “groundbreaking” series would launch during the northern summer. With only weeks to go before autumn begins, again, the clock is ticking.

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

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Anne Heche’s mum survives four of her five kids

Anne Heche's mum survives four of her five kids

Anne Heche’s mother Nancy Heche has now outlived four of her five children, as well as her husband, who died of AIDS.

Anne’s deeply religious mother, Nancy, 85, and her late husband Donald Heche shared five children, with all but one of them dying tragic deaths at an early age.

The baby of the family, Anne – who grew up to become a Hollywood star – was declared legally dead on Friday after spending days in a coma following a car crash one week earlier. She was 53.

The eldest, Susan, also wrote a memoir about growing up with a closed gay father, “Anonymity,” published in 1994 under her married name, Susan Bergman. She died of brain cancer in 2006. The second daughter, Cynthia, died in infancy, from a heart defect.

The only son, Nathan, a target for much of his father’s non-sexual abuse, died three months after his father did, in a car accident that some surmised might have been suicide, the New York Times reports.

Abigail, now a jewelry designer living in Michigan, was the other child.

Anne’s troubled relationship with her family first became public knowledge following the release of her 2001 memoir call me crazyin which the US actress revealed she was estranged from her mother over her lesbian romance with Ellen Degeneres and childhood trauma.

The Chicago-based Nancy Heche famously lectured against the “evils” of homosexuality after her secretly gay husband, Donald, died of AIDS in 1983.

Nancy, a Christian psychologist who uses the Bible in her counseling practice, disapproved when Anne told her in 1997 that she’d fallen in love with DeGeneres.

“I am plummeted into disbelief and outrage,” she wrote.

“I am dumbfounded, in a state of shock. Doesn’t Anne know what homosexuality has done to our family?”

“How will we ever be able to close the gap, the avowed heterosexual mother and the avowed homosexual daughter?” she added.

After the publication of Anne’s memoir, Nancy wrote that she found “no place among the lies and blasphemies in the pages of this book”. the Six Days Seven Nights star said her mother did not believe Anne’s claims that her father molested her from the time she was a toddler until she was 12, the NY Post reports.

In 1998, Anne Told The Tampa Bay Times that her mother believed that her lesbian relationship with DeGeneres was a “sin”.

Nancy told the Christian Broadcasting Network that she felt her daughter’s relationship with a woman was “a betrayal of an unspoken vow”.

“We will never have anything to do with homosexuals,” she added.

In a separate interview, Nancy told AL.com in a 2009 that she didn’t handle her daughter coming out in 1997 well.

She said: “I’m sorry I didn’t know how to deal with it well. God was giving me an opportunity. We had good moments of trying to connect. All of us were learning how to handle it. We loved each other; how do you live out that when you disagree?”

In a 2011 interview with The Daily Telegraph Anne she had started to rebuild her relationship with her sister following a 20-year feud.

the I Know What You Did Last Summer star said of Abigail: “She came out to visit last week, and we’re having a wonderful time in our friendship as we’ve gotten closer. We’ve both put our stuff behind us.”

In that interview, Anne said that she was still estranged from her mother. She also recalled a time when she had phoned her mother de ella to confront her about allegedly turning a blind eye to the abuse she suffered at the hands of her father de ella. According to Anne, she hung up after Nancy said: “Jesus loves you, Anne.”

Anne added: “Forgiveness is a funny word for me. I’m OK with my mother living her life the way she wants to live it, and I’m OK with her not participating in my life the way I want to live it.

In 2015, Nancy conceded: “(Anne has) stopped talking to me. She made the decision to cut off communication.”

Anne went on to have two children of her own. She shared Homer, now 20, with her

ex-husband Coleman “Coley” Laffoon, and Atlas, 13, with her ex-partner and Men in Trees co-star James Tupper.

The fathers of her children, and her eldest son, paid tribute to Anne following her tragic death.

“In the wake of Anne’s passing, I just want to say a few things. One, I loved her and I miss her, and I’m always going to,” Laffoon said in a selfie video on Instagram.

“Two, Homer is OK. He’s grieving, of course, and it’s rough, it’s really rough, as probably anybody can imagine. But he’s surrounded by his family and he’s strong and he’s going to be OK. ”

In a recent statement to E! News, Homer said: “My brother Atlas and I lost our Mom. After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness. Hopefully my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom. He added, “Over those six days, thousands of friends, family, and fans made their hearts known to me. I am grateful for their love, as I am for the support of my Dad, Coley, and my stepmom Alexi who continue to be my rock during this time. Rest In Peace Mom, I love you, Homer.”

Tupper also posted a tribute to Anne on Instagram, which simply read: “Love you forever” along with a photo of his ex and the mother of his child.

Tupper initially posted a message to Anne following the car crash that ultimately led to her death, sharing a photo of her with their son and the caption, “Thoughts and prayers for this lovely woman, actress, and mother tonight, Anne Heche. We love you.”

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Business

Entire Starbucks team walks out during shift after manager fires union leader

Entire Starbucks team walks out during shift after manager fires union leader

An entire store of Starbucks workers have walked out of their cafe mid-shift, in support of a colleague they claim was “unjustly” terminated.

In a TikTok video which has been viewed more than 18.6 million times, a team of nine workers can be seen leaving the store in Buffalo, New York.

The protest occurred after barista Sam Amato – who is also a union leader – was reportedly fired on the week of his 13th anniversary with the company.

After the employees leave, a woman who appears to be the store manager can be seen talking on the phone. The on-screen caption in the video reads: “* manager realizes she she’s messed up *”.

In a previous video Mr Amato claimed he was pulled aside by two store managers and was told he was being let go because he “modified operations and closed the lobby” without getting his “store manager’s permission”.

“It is a BS reason. It’s because I’m a union leader,” claimed Sam.

“They failed to provide any details or give me any information. They wrote things that were not true.

“After 13 years they refused to give me any details why I was fired.”

In the comments, the majority of TikTok users supported the worker’s efforts.

“Starbucks really is hell bent on ruining their reputation aren’t they,” read one comment.

“Good on you guys. Stand together. Keep this energy going,” read another.

“Starbucks, I’m a loyal customer but trust me when I tell you. That can change real quick friend!” shared another.

Under United States labor laws, workers in all 50 states bar Montana are subject to at-will employment. This means employees can be fired without prior warning and without the need for the employer to establish a cause. However, employers can still be challenged on the grounds of wrongful termination – like discrimination.

While some states have exceptions – for example, workers in the public sector, or those under union agreements – the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New York, and Rhode Island have no exceptions in regards as to why an employee may be terminated.

Since late 2021, Starbucks employees across the US’ 9000+ corporate-owned stores have attempted to unionize with Workers United. As of June 14, 143 stores have unionized, while 120 other outposts were petitioning for union elections, Guardian reports.

Workers United stated that the coffee giant has been systematically cutting employee hours in an effort to convince longtime employees to retire, before replacing them with workers who won’t unionise, the New York Times reports.

“Starbucks is also using policies that have not previously been enforced, and policies that would not have resulted in termination, as a pretext for firing union leaders,” the union said in a statement.

With around 33,833 stories in 80 countries, Starbucks is the world’s largest coffeehouse chain and is estimated to be worth A$140 billion.

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Sports

Qatar makes late schedule change to FIFA Football World Cup

Qatar makes late schedule change to FIFA Football World Cup

The World Cup’s start will be brought forward by a day to allow hosts Qatar to play the opening game, sources told AFP on Wednesday, just over three months before the competition gets underway.

Qatar will now play Ecuador on November 20, 24 hours earlier than planned, in a move that FIFA’s ruling council was expected to confirm soon, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

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The change will see the tournament, which was switched to November-December to avoid the Gulf country’s searing summer heat, keep to its tradition of the hosts playing the opening match.

Senegal and the Netherlands had been scheduled to play the first game on November 21, followed by England against Iran and then the official opening match, Qatar’s World Cup debut, that evening.

“There were discussions and agreement between the two respective teams and there was a request from CONMEBOL — the South American confederation,” one World Cup source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity as no official decision has been announced.

“We wanted to follow the tradition that either the reigning champions or the host country be involved in the opening match,” the source added.

FIFA and the Qatari organizing committee declined to comment on the change to the mega event that ends on December 18.

But another tournament source said action would be taken to help fans with tickets for the November 21 game.

“Any disruption will be dealt with so the impact is minimal,” the source told AFP.

Under the change, Netherlands v Senegal in Group A would be moved from 1pm local time on November 21 to a 7pm start. “It is a better slot for both teams for television and other areas,” said the World Cup source.

England’s Group B match against Iran is not changed.

Companies with major deals linked to the World Cup expressed confidence that the unusual schedule change could be handled smoothly.

“It is something we will deal with,” said Jaime Byrom, chairman of Match Hospitality, which has a deal with FIFA to organize hospitality packages for World Cup matches and has locked in 450,000 tickets for the tournament.

“It is really not — compared to the other challenges that we could have faced or have faced in the past — a particularly large problem,” Byrom told AFP.

“We have to focus on those customers who are most affected and I guess in this case we will be looking at our Ecuadorean customers who are traveling from overseas, and making sure that they are on time for the match.”

Some pundits ridiculed the schedule change, asking why the move hadn’t already been considered.

New York Times reporter Tariq Panja tweeted: “Qatar and FIFA has had 12 years to plan for the 2022 World Cup now with just over 100 days and — with tickets sold, travel booked — they now want to start the tournament a day earlier so Qatar could play the first game (which could always have been the case). But here we are.

“What I suspect has happened here is that because it’s ‘only’ Ecuador and not a big European country, it has probably been easier to switch the game. What has never been made clear is why Qatar had not been placed in the opening game as per the original schedule.”

Journalist Grant Wahl wrote: “This late change to accommodate Qatar (and cause problems for Ecuador, including its fans) is of a piece with what I saw during the bid process for World Cup ’26 cities: FIFA does so much by the seat of its pants these days.”

The opening match is scheduled to be held at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt stadium, one of seven new venues purpose-built for the tournament since Qatar was controversially awarded the World Cup in 2010.

The wealthy Gulf state is preparing a spectacular opening ceremony in the stadium, whose structure was inspired by traditional Arab tents.

Moving forward the opening match will also mean changing the 100-day countdown that had been scheduled to start on Saturday, with special events across the tiny nation of 2.8 million people.

After a row over the bidding process, Qatar has faced criticism over labor rights and its treatment of the LGBTQ community. But FIFA president Gianni Infantino has said the tiny, gas-rich state will host the “best ever” World Cup.

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Entertainment

Pete Davidson in ‘trauma therapy’ following Kanye West’s attacks on social media

Pete Davidson in 'trauma therapy' following Kanye West's attacks on social media

Pete Davidson has been in “trauma therapy” largely due to Kanye West’s attacks on social media, several according to reports.

Beginning in April, The King of Staten Island star, 28, has been seeking help following his feud with the rapper for dating his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, several sources told Page Six.

“The attention and negativity coming from Kanye and his antics is a trigger for [Pete]and he’s had to seek out help,” an insider told Peoplewho first reported the story, on Monday.

The source stressed that, despite calling it quits last week, Davidson “has no regrets for dating Kim and wants it to be made very clear that she’s been nothing but supportive of him throughout their relationship.”

Reps for Davidson and West did not reply for comment.

On Friday, an insider confirmed to Page Six that Davidson and Kardashian, 41, had called quits after nine months of dating.

“Kim and Pete have decided to just be friends,” the source shared. “They have a lot of love and respect for each other, but found that the long distance and their demanding schedules made it really difficult to maintain a relationship.”

Another source also told us that their age difference contributed to the decision.

the Gold Digger rapper, 45, has continuously criticized the SNL alum — who he dubbed Skete — ever since he was first linked to Kardashian in October 2021.

Earlier this year, West released a video for Eazy that had him literally kidnapping and burying a cartoon version of Davidson. He also rapped about “beating Pete Davidson’s ass.”

West also attacked Davidson in a second video for the same tune, this time while the actor wore a “Skete” hoodie.

In March, the two men got into a heated text exchange.

“I it’s Skete. Can you please take a second and calm down. It’s 8am and it don’t gotta be like this,” the comedian texted West, according to screenshots shared by SNL guest writer Dave Sirus.

“Kim is literally the best mother I’ve ever met. What she does for those kids is amazing and you are so f**king lucky that she’s your kids mum,” he continued. “I’ve decided im not gonna let you treat us this way anymore and I’m done being quiet. Grow the f**k up.”

Davidson went on to ask West if they wanted to meet up and talk.

“I’m in LA for the day if you wanna stop being a little internet b**ch boy and talk,” he wrote.

“You don’t scare me bro. Your actions are so p***y and embarrassing. It’s so sad to watch you ruin ur legacy on the daily.”

Despite Davidson’s attempts, the Yeezy designer didn’t stop his attacks.

On Monday, West shared a doctored New York Times front page on Instagram that declared, “SKETE DAVIDSON DEAD AT AGE 28.”

Hours later, he took it down after Kardashian was revealed to be “livid” about the post.

“Kim is livid and incredibly upset … Kanye is back to his old ways and Kim will not tolerate his bullying behavior towards the people she loves and cares about,” a source close to the Skims founder told Page Six.

A second source explained that the reality star will “always protect Pete,” no matter their dating status.

Kardashian and West officially divorced in June 2022 after a judge dubbed the makeup mogul legally single. The two were married since 2014 and share four children together.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.

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Kanye West, Kim Kardashian: Insta post mocks Pete Davidson saying ‘Skete is dead at 28’

Kanye West, Kim Kardashian: Insta post mocks Pete Davidson saying 'Skete is dead at 28'

Kim Kardashian is reportedly furious with Kanye West over a poor taste post on Instagram targeting Pete Davidson who the reality TV star had recently broken up with.

The rapper, 45, shared a screenshot of a fake newspaper front page with the headline “Skete Davidson dead at age 28” on Instagram on Monday, reported the US Sun.

West has now deleted the post, apparently following Kardashian’s intervention.

The photo was a mock-up of the New York Times and was dated Monday, August 8 2022.

West has been using the nickname “Skete” for Davidson, 28, for months.

West’s latest post comes just days after it was revealed that Davidson and Kardashian have split following nine months of dating.

The Kardashians star and former SNL funnyman have broken up, and decided to just be friends, E! News reported late last week.

A source said: “They have a lot of love and respect for each other but found that the long distance and their demanding schedules made it really difficult to maintain a relationship.”

An insider later claimed Kardashian broke up with Davidson because she was “totally exhausted” by his “immaturity” and their 13-year age gap.

The split occurred sometime last week, according to the site.

Kim ‘incredibly upset’ with West

But despite the break up Kardashian has come into bat for Davidson saying the Insta meme posted by West was “appalling”.

“Kim won’t stand for this. She is demanding that Kanye take the post down, but he won’t,” a source told the Daily Mail.

“She has been vigorously defending Pete. Ella she’ll never get back together with Kanye over the way he’s treated the people she loves and respects.

“She won’t stand for this type of behavior from him.”

the new york post had further details from Kardashian sources.

“Kim is livid and incredibly upset … Kanye is back to his old ways and Kim will not tolerate his bullying behavior towards the people she loves and cares about,” a source close to the SKIMS founder told the Post’s Page Six column.

The musician – who has four children with Kardashian. – repeatedly targeted Davidson on social media after he began dating Kardashian in October.

He called Davidson a “d**khead”, threatened to “beat his a**” and accused the actor of trying to “destroy” his family in various rants.

Davidson has been spending part of the summer in Australia working on his new movie, David Michôd’s comedy Wizards!

The split comes amid rumors that Kardashian and West have reconciled.

They have four kids together – North, nine, Saint, six, Chicago, four, and Psalm, three.

The SKIMS founder filed for divorce from the rapper in February 2021 after nearly seven years of marriage.

However, Kardashian has seemingly dropped several hints recently that the two may be back on.

Earlier this month, she wore white bikini bottoms, and a matching white top that says “The Incredibles.”

Fans pointed out that West once talked about his love for the Disney movie, The Incrediblesduring an interview on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Kardashian has also taken to wearing clothes from West’s label Yeezy again.

Just last week, she posed with her daughters North and Chicago while all three of them wore Yeezy sunglasses.

They rocked black leather outfits and matching silver oversized shades in the series of selfies and photos.

One wrote: “YEEZY SHADES I’M TELLING YOU THEY’RE BACK.”

Another added, “They were cute together though for real,” and a third posted: “Kimye is alive.”

This story appeared in the US Sun and is reproduced with permission.

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