Prince Harry and Meghan Markle infamously left the British Royal Family to live a more private and calm life. Of course, it was only a short time before they ended up back in the spotlight, not least because of their bombshell Oprah interview in which they accused the Royal Family of many things. Then came the pair’s Netflix series and finally, Harry’s book, Spare, which was released last year.
Some reports have speculated that Harry and Meghan don’t want to live a private life, opining that they instead want back into the celebrity loop. Perhaps that’s why it wasn’t so strange when adult comedy show South Park decided to mock them in an episode last year.
Now, Harry, Meghan, and their supposed hunt for a quieter life have found themselves the butt of a joke again. Only this time, it wasn’t on an animated television show, but rather on the Golden Globes. At this year’s event, host Jo Koy decided to take a swing at the Royal Family before turning his attentions toward the Duke and Duchess, firing off a savage joke.
Since leaving the Royal Family, Harry and Meghan have repeatedly complained about the treatment they had to experience while in the UK. Their dream became –and remains – to live a more private life, something they have spoken about several times.
Harry & Meghan jokes on ‘South Park’
Despite this, others have argued that the Sussexes want to stay relevant and have succeeded in doing so through several interviews, Harry’s Spare memoir, and the release of their own Netflix show, which premiered in December 2022. Put simply, the Duke and Duchess have not quite stepped back from the spotlight as projected.
Some of their critics have decided to take things further, openly mocking Harry and Meghan. In an episode of the adult television series South Park, the two found themselves the subject of several jokes.
What did Harry and Meghan think? Well, it appeared that they weren’t laughing at all.
South Park has made fun of most celebrities over the years, from Barbra Streisand, Tom Cruise, and Rod Stewart to Donald Trump. In February last year, Harry and Meghan found themselves on the chopping block.
In the episode in question, the writers of the South Park began with a scene from the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Based on Harry and Meghan, two characters walk past a candle that looks identical to the one talked about last fall (the one that supposedly blocked Meghan from the cameras). Claims were made that the royals had placed it there intentionally, and the scene in South Park was clearly a nod to the Duchess.
Also in the episode is Harry promoting a new book titled WAAAAGH – an obvious nod to his memoir, Spare.
South Park is one of the most successful television shows of all time. Airing on Comedy Central, it first saw the light of day in 1997.
Twenty-six seasons have been broadcast since, with more than 320 episodes.
“We just want to be normal people “
The show is focused on characters Stan, Kyle, Eric, and Kenny, described as “four foul-mouthed friends who live in South Park.”
Harry and Meghan’s characters in the South Park episode later meet with what could be called a “brand manager” who labels Meghan as a “sorority girl, actress, influencer and victim.” At the same time, Harry is branded a “royal prince, millionaire, world traveller victim.”
When Harry and Meghan began their new life in North America, it wasn’t long before they sat down with iconic TV host Oprah Winfrey. The resulting interview made headlines worldwide, shocking the British monarchy to its core.
Of course, South Park produced their own version of a Harry & Meghan sit down, with the two animated characters visiting Good Morning Canada in the show.
Upon walking into the studio, Meghan holds a placard that reads: “Stop looking at us!” while Harry’s reads: “We want privacy.”
The morning show host then asks Harry if he “hates journalists.”
The Prince answered: “That’s right, we just want to be normal people – all this attention is so hard.”
The scene ends with Harry and Meghan storming off the stage.
Harry and Meghan decided to step down as senior royals in 2020. The decision was met with shock from many royal fans. In February 2021, Buckingham Palace confirmed the couple would not return to royal duties. Meanwhile, Harry gave up his honorary military titles.
The couple finally settled in California, in Montecito, close to Santa Barbara, about a 90-minute drive outside of Los Angeles. The South Park episode also included how they left the UK, though in the show, Harry and Meghan moved to the town of South Park instead.
“If we moved here, people would think we’re really serious about wanting to be normal,” Meghan’s character said.
Meghan were said to have been “annoyed” by ‘South Park’ jokes
The other characters on the hit show didn’t appreciate their arrival, though. One of the lead characters, Kyle, accused Meghan’s character of “bossing” him around.
“I’m sick of hearing about them! I can’t get away from them!” Kyle says.
The character goes on: “They have this huge jet parked in front of my house and they keep on wanting me to buy their book.”
According to a source in The Spectator, Meghan was unhappy with the portrayal.
An insider said she’s been “annoyed by South Park but refuses to watch it.” Moreover, the Duchess was said to have been “upset for days” and “underwhelmed.”
Royal expert Neil Sean stated that the Sussexes could’ve brought on a lawsuit against the adult comedy series. Ultimately, though, that didn’t happen.
Now, Harry and Meghan aren’t exactly poor, especially considering they live in a lush Montecito, California mansion. However, the break down of deals are, of course, never a good thing. Just that happened last spring when Harry and Meghan’s mega deal with Spotify ended. On top of that, Spotify executive Bill Simmons lashed out at the couple, calling them “grifters.”
At the time, Wall Street Journal reported that a source close to Spotify explained that Harry and Meghan didn’t meet the productivity benchmark required to receive all the money agreed on from the beginning. Reportedly, the deal was worth $20 million.
In total, Meghan released only 12 episodes of her podcast. Simmons, the company’s head of podcast innovation and monetization, actively spoke out against them.
Harry & Meghan were dropped from Spotify
Bill Simmons founded the Ringer podcast network, and in 2020 sold his company to Spotify for around $200 million. According to The Guardian, he was handed a leadership role at the streaming company in the deal.
Speaking on his podcast, Simmons called the Sussexes “grifters.”
“I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation. The Fucking Grifters, that’s the podcast we should have launched with them,” Simmons said on the Bill Simmons podcast.
“I have got to get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try and help him with a podcast idea. It’s one of my best stories … Fuck them. The grifters.”
It wasn’t the first time Simmons has been vocal in criticizing Harry and Meghan. In January 2022, he shared that he was annoyed about having to “share Spotify” with Harry.
“You live in fucking Montecito, and you just sell documentaries and podcasts. Nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the royal family, and you just complain about them,” Simmons said at the time.
Harry and Meghan have been joked about across many different formats since leaving the royal fold. But just days ago, they were humiliated in front of millions of viewers on live television.
On January 8, the annual Golden Globe Awards for excellence in American and international film and television was held. It was broadcast live from the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, and the biggest stars in television and film were there.
Harry & Meghan ‘humiliated’ at the Golden Globes
Harry and Meghan have been said to want to be a part of celebrity life in Hollywood. But when the invitations were sent out, there wasn’t one addressed to either of them.
“Harry and Meghan were not invited to last night’s Golden Globe awards. They can get away from that by insisting they are busy. But it is much harder to escape the effect of the heavy mocking especially of Meghan,” royal expert Angela Levin shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
In hindsight, maybe it was for the better that Harry and Meghan weren’t present at the Golden Globe Awards this year.
The evening’s host, comedian Jo Koy, didn’t hold back with jokes about Harry and Meghan. Koy took aim at the “rich, white, and dysfunctional” Royal Family during his opening monologue.
“Succession has nine nominations. Just a great series about a rich, white, dysfunctional family, all scheming — oh, wait, that’s The Crown. I’m sorry,” Koy said, praising Imelda Staunton Staunton for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown.
However, he wasn’t done with Harry.
“How great was Imelda Staunton in The Crown, wasn’t she amazing?” Jo Koy asked the crowd. “Her portrayal of the Queen was so good Prince Harry called her and asked her for money.”
“Like I said, I didn’t write all of these! That one wasn’t mine! Prince Harry and Meghan will still be paid millions of dollars for doing absolutely nothing – and that’s just by Netflix!” Koy added.
PR expert says Golden Globe jokes could be positive for Hary & Meghan
While a source told The News that Harry and Meghan “would be thankful” that they weren’t invited as they “knew they would be mocked or joked over their presence at the stars’ show,” a PR expert argues that the fact that they even were mentioned might be a good thing, no matter being made a joke of or not.
Speaking to Newsweek, Mark Borkowski, a U.K.-based PR consultant and author of Improperganda, said it shows that the Sussexes are still relevant.
“One thing is to be joked about, the worst thing is not to be joked about. One thing about Harry, he did have a sense of humor,” he said.
“I know in America and particularly in Hollywood, everything needs to be pristine and clean, and there isn’t the same level of self-deprecation as in this country, but the fact of the matter is it would be a poor award ceremony if there wasn’t a Harry and Meghan joke.”
Though Mark Borkowski says the jokes might not be bad for Harry and Meghan, royal commentator Phil Dampier told GB News that they “won’t be happy.”
“When you start to become figures of ridicule, you are in trouble. When they first went out there, they were popular,” the commentator said. “When you’ve fallen out with the woke luvvies, and they’re starting to take the mickey out of you, you know that your star has fallen.
Dampier added that everyone regards them as “figures of fun,” and that this year will be a turning point.
“I think unless they pull something out the bag, they are in for a bit of a nosedive,” Dampier added.
