Meghan Markle’s former agent has revealed why he stepped away from the Duchess of Sussex’s team, and his comments have prompted a swift response from someone close to her.
Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel made the remarks during an interview with US broadcaster Megyn Kelly this week. He suggested the former Suits star was now looking at doing reality programs, a claim her camp has firmly rejected.
A source close to Meghan has hit back at Emanuel’s claims about the direction of her career and clarified her television plans following his remarks that she was now “getting booked” for “reality stuff” among other jobs.
A friend of Meghan’s told news.com.au that it couldn’t be further from the truth.
“As Ari himself says, he’s not involved in the day to day business of Meghan’s career. She’s looking at a lot of exciting scripted and non-scripted opportunities, but the idea that she might do a fly-on-the-wall reality TV show is for the birds,” the insider said.
Explaining his exit, Emanuel said: “And for me, I just had a lot on my plate … And it was better to let [other agents] deal with her and execute against her needs and her desires. And I’m happy that everybody’s doing it for me.”
He went on: “I didn’t want it occupying my brain. And when I’m involved in somebody, constantly, when I wake up in the morning, clients occupy my brain, that’s what happens. And I just didn’t want to do that any more. Having nothing about her, I just needed to move on to other things I was doing.”
Kelly, who has long been one of Prince Harry and his wife’s most vocal critics, then questioned whether there had even been “a big appetite” for “[Meghan’s] services”.
Emanuel responded: “I think there’s a bunch of things that our people are doing for her now. So, that’s a good thing. I’m just not involved. I’m not involved.”
He added: “I think she’s actually getting booked and there’s reality stuff and TV stuff. They’re doing stuff. I don’t know about it.”
The exchange highlights a gap between the two accounts. Emanuel, by his own admission, is no longer involved in Meghan’s day-to-day work and says he does not know the specifics of what is being arranged for her. Her friend, meanwhile, insists the focus is on scripted and non-scripted projects, and rules out a fly-on-the-wall reality series.