Latest news with #Lemonada
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
Meghan Markle reveals Tyler Perry is her ‘sounding board' for various business ventures after pausing As Ever rollout
Meghan Markle has released a bonus episode of her Lemonada podcast series and revealed the celebrity friend who has guided her various business ventures. Markle, 43, launched Confessions of a Female Founder in April as a weekly series in which the ex-working royal chats to high-profile businesswomen. The Duchess of Sussex spoke to the likes of Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd, Cassandra Thurswell of Kitsch and IT Cosmetics' Jamie Kern Lima for the project. Markle also used the podcast as a platform to interview the heads of companies she has a financial stake in, including Clevr Blends' Hannah Mendoza and Kadi Lee of Highbrow Hippie. Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx was the guest on the eighth and "final" episode that was released last week. In a twist, Markle made a major U-turn days later and opted to announce a surprise 'bonus' episode of the series featuring an unknown 'matriarch'. Instead of profiling another businesswoman, Markle returned to her showbiz routes by interviewing Tina Knowles – the mother of A-list popstar Beyonce- for the bonus ep. The 'bonus' episode, which dropped on Tuesday, saw Knowles speak about her own business ventures and largely skirted around discussing Beyonce. But between advertisements for LinkedIn and home meal delivery services, the Duchess of Sussex managed to squeeze in a few Beyonce mentions. 'Beyonce and I are the same age,' Markle reminded Knowles at one point. Later, the Knowles matriarch gamely revealed that Beyonce and Meghan both have their own beehives on their properties. Tina also brought up her and Meghan's mutual friend Tyler Perry, who possibly teed up the interview with Knowles in the first place. 'Tyler talks about you,' Knowles told the ex-working royal, in reference to the billionaire film producer. Mr Perry is understood to be close to the Sussexes and serves as their daughter Lilibet's godfather, although he was not invited to their 2018 wedding. The film producer is also rumoured to be the secret donor who singlehandedly gave a whopping $16 million donation to the Sussexes' Archewell charity organisation. 'He's the most extraordinary soundboard – he is that person that when I have questions about business or just feel like I'm off (my) path I need to check in with Tyler,' Markle replied. 'He's a great friend to have.' The revelation comes after Markle announced she was planning to "step back" and "assess" her fledging As Ever brand before relaunching more products.
Sky News AU
4 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Meghan Markle reportedly earned paltry $40,000 from Confessions of a Female Founder podcast
Meghan Markle reportedly earned just $40,000 from her Confessions of a Female Founder podcast amid speculation the series will not return to the airwaves. Markle, 43, launched Confessions of a Female Founder in April as a weekly series in which the ex-working royal chats to high-profile businesswomen. The Duchess of Sussex spoke to the likes of Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd, Cassandra Thurswell of Kitsch and IT Cosmetics' Jamie Kern Lima for the project. Markle also used the podcast as a platform to interview the heads of companies she has a financial stake in, including Clevr Blends' Hannah Mendoza and Kadi Lee of Highbrow Hippie. Journalist and 'To Di For' podcast host Kinsey Schofield told Sky News Australia that Markle earned about $40,000 for the Lemonada podcast. 'Meghan's made approximately $40,000 for season one of Confessions of a Female Founder,' Ms Schofield told Sky News host Caroline Di Russo. 'Not exactly Spotify money, and if she's trying to be a billionaire, I think she's going to have to hustle a little harder.' By comparison, Markle and her husband Prince Harry reportedly pocketed a multi-million dollar payment from Spotify for a doomed partnership that crumbled two years ago. Reportedly, the Spotify deal collapsed after the Sussexes missed production benchmarks and complaints from inside the streaming giant that the couple were 'f***ing grifters'. The surprising figure comes after the ex-working royal "wrapped up" the Lemonada series on Tuesday after just eight episodes. Markle interviewed Spanx founder Sara Blakely and mused about her 'guilt' over her wealth in the "last" episode. "I think so many women especially, we're taught to not even talk about money, and there's lots of guilt mentality surrounding having a lot,' Markle said. At the end of the episode, Markle appeared to call time on the series and thanked her listeners for their support. "Well, that's a wrap," Markle said. "Thanks for your support as you heard my story, little bits of it.' The announcement coincided with a gushing new feature on the Duchess of Sussex published by business outlet Fast Company. 'There's interest in doing a second season of Confessions of a Female Founder, and many female founders have approached her to be a guest on the series,' the article said. 'But Meghan is now involved in such a wide range of projects, she's sure to find some way to tell her story.' In a twist, Markle made a major U-turn on Friday and opted to announce a surprise 'bonus' episode of the series featuring an unknown 'matriarch'. Instead of profiling another businesswoman, Markle returned to her showbiz routes by interviewing Tina Knowles Lawson – the mother of popstar Beyonce.
Bloomberg
06-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Swedish Podcast Conglomerate PodX Acquires Lemonada Media for Around $30 Million
Swedish audio conglomerate PodX Group AB is acquiring the majority of Lemonada Media, the network behind podcasts like Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Wiser Than Me and Meghan Markle's Confessions of a Female Founder. The acquisition, which was announced Tuesday in a statement viewed by Bloomberg, marks the European company's first purchase of a US-based network. PodX is spending around $30 million on the deal, according to a person familiar with the terms. A Lemonada representative declined to comment on the figure.
Daily Mail
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Meghan Markle's podcast Confessions of a Female Founder proves a chart flop - and is beaten by show about sleep
The Duchess of Sussex has suffered another blow this week after her new podcast Confessions of a Female Founder fails to chart. Meghan Markle's new Lemonada podcast - a follow-up to Archetypes, which failed to land and led to Spotify not renewing the Sussexes £25millon contract in 2023 - has plummeted out of the Spotify 100 list, both in the US and UK. A show called Sleep Cove, helping listeners with guided sleep, meditation, as well as sleep hypnosis proved to be more popular among British listeners, placing 79th on Spotify's UK chart. The latest episode of the female empowerment podcast also failed to crack Apple's Top 200 chart. MailOnline has approached Meghan Markle's representatives for comment. It comes as MailOnline exclusively revealed the Suits' actress had tried to get A-listers such as Beyonce and Taylor Swift on Confessions of a Female Founder, which was said to already be in crisis talks after only three episodes. 'No one's picking up the phone', one source close to the production has claimed, adding: 'The show is not landing'. 'There's no Taylor Swift. No Beyoncé. Not even a Hailey Bieber. And when you're pitching female empowerment, that's a problem. It speaks volumes for her pulling power. She's not happy about her lack of appeal', they added. The Duchess's debut episode saw her welcome Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, with the second instalment featuring Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code. However a source close to the production of the show alleged Meghan as well as her team had 'dialled all the big names' to join her for 'honest conversations with women who've built from the ground up, faced challenges and kept going.' However these phone calls were reportedly quietly ignored, according to Radar. More recently, on the third episode of her podcast featuring her friend and hair colourist Kadi Lee, the Duchess of Sussex confessed the original name for her lifestyle brand As Ever became a 'word salad '. Last year, the actress presented her venture, selling goods such as raspberry spread, as American Rivera Orchard, but plagued with trademarking setbacks she changed the name to As Ever last February - only weeks before the launch. Netflix are also now a partner in her lifestyle brand, As Ever. Speaking about the brand's name, she said: 'I had secured As Ever as a name in 2022, and then as everything started to evolve last year, and bringing in a partner the size that it was, and it was just so interesting. 'Because you remember, I said, 'I like American Riviera as an umbrella,' and then be able to have verticals beneath it. And maybe have the 'Orchard' really small. But when that's not feasible… suddenly it became this word salad. I didn't love that so much.' 'I was like, 'OK, well let's go back to the thing that I've always loved. Let's use the name that I protected for a reason that had been sort of under wraps'. 'And then we were able to focus in the quiet and put our heads down and build on something that no one was sniffing around to even see about. 'It was just really, really helpful to have that quiet period which you would know after spending so many years working on something, building it and the pivots that you had to take with it.' Meghan's guest Lee runs the Highbrow Hippie salon in the Los Angeles area of Venice, with her clients including Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt and Sigourney Weaver. Last November, the Suits actress also divulged that hse had invested in her friends company, telling InStyle she was 'so proud to invest in her as a friend and as a female founder'.
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Meghan Markle admits to 'mistakes' as she juggles podcast, lifestyle brand, and podcast in busy year
Meghan Markle conceded she has made 'mistakes' in trying to juggle three different ventures at once. The duchess, 43, said her heavy workload has forced her to realize 'she's not going to get it right' every single day. Meghan's hectic year includes the release of her Netflix series With Love, Meghan; the launch of her company As Ever; and now her Lemonada podcast. Business chic: Meghan addressed the difficulties surrounding her new ventures while speaking at the TIME100 Summit in New York City on Wednesday Each of her endeavors has been plagued with snags, and now she has addressed the backlash she faced while speaking at the TIME100 Summit in New York City on Wednesday. Meghan arrived at the summit with her husband, Prince Harry, and looked business chic in a $5,000 Ralph Lauren suit. She wore tan, wide-leg silk pants and a matching blazer from the brand. Underneath the trendy jacket, she wore a white button down top that she tucked into the loose-fitting pants. The mother of two paired the look with a $180 Veronica Beard brown belt and $495 Stuart Weitzman suede heels. She accessorized with a $28,000 Cartier gold watch and a pair of gold hoop earrings that appear to be Balenciaga. Meghan left her long brown hair, which appeared to have a red tint, in loose waves around her face. The former royal admitted that while releasing 'three products at the same time,' she decided to 'give herself the space and grace to make mistakes' as she 'knows she's not going to get it right' every single day. 'There were three projects that we were launching really at the same time. The past year-and-a-half have been incredibly busy and ambitious,' she said. 'Then you see it all come to life and try to give yourself the space and the grace to make mistakes, to know you're not doing it right every day.' She also confessed that she had trepidations before making her new series because she feared it would turn into a 'reality show' about her life. 'I said, "How are we going to do a cooking show or a crafting show that doesn't feel like a typical stand and stir [show]," which we all remember from back in the day,' she explained. 'I didn't necessarily want to do that and I didn't want a reality show.' Meghan added that being a mom to her young kids Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, often puts things in perspective for her. 'Something that is seemingly so big somehow becomes so microscopic in importance compared to what's happening with my children,' she explained. When asked how she handles being under a 'microscope' and facing immense 'scrutiny,' the 43-year-old explained that she has made a 'very conscious effort to create boundaries for herself, her wellbeing, and mental health.' She added that it's especially important for her to be a good 'role model' so she can 'raise a very strong and confident young woman.' 'But also having son, I think that is just as paramount,' she continued. '[It's important] for young men to be raised with a confidence and sense of self that is going to empower the women around them too. 'So I try to model that behavior, but again, it starts with whatever's going on internally. 'I am able to just tune out whatever that noise is, really not give it any credence.' Her series With Love, Meghan - which saw her and several of her famous friends in the kitchen as they prepared elaborate recipes and created home decor items - premiered last month on the streaming service. But it was greeted immediately by negative reviews from critics and viewers alike. The launch of her company As Ever was also plagued by problems as some customers were left disappointed after their orders were canceled due to overselling. In addition, it was revealed earlier this week that Meghan has tried to land an A-lister like Beyonce and Taylor Swift for her new female empowerment podcast, which is reportedly already in crisis after just three episodes. 'No one's picking up the phone,' one source close to the production claimed, adding: 'The show is not landing.' 'There's no Taylor Swift. No Beyonce. Not even a Hailey Bieber. And when you're pitching female empowerment, that's a problem.' 'It speaks volumes for her pulling power. She's not happy about her lack of appeal.' Meghan interviewed Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd on the debut episode of the Duchess of Sussex 's new Lemonada podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder. Her second instalment was with Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, and today's episode was with her friend, hair colorist Kadi Lee, whose company the former Suits star has also invested in. A source close to the making of the show said she and her team 'dialed all the big names' to join her for 'honest conversations with women who've built from the ground up, faced challenges and kept going.' But these calls have been quietly ignored, RadarOnline said. So instead of household names or cultural icons, Meghan is now expected to speak to more friends, influencers and startup entrepreneurs, as she tries to get her own As Ever brand off the ground. Even so, Meghan insisted at the TIME100 Summit that she's the 'happiest she's ever been.' 'And to have a partner and husband who is so supportive and have healthy kids who are so joyful in the freeness of their life and the safety of their life we created for them,' she added. 'Of all the things that happened I never would have imagined at this point I'd be so happy and free and I really do.'
