Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to be facing a “watershed year” after being mentioned in a Golden Globes speech, according to a PR expert. While the couple did not attend the star studded event, their presence was certainly felt as host Jo Koy mocked them in his address.
“It turns out Prince Harry and Meghan Markle still get paid millions of dollars for doing absolutely nothing—and that’s just by Netflix”, he said.
But despite being mocked on a stage, a PR expert said it shows they are “still relevant” – despite having their reputations dented following a year of setbacks.
Prince Harry’s memoir Spare faced harsh backlash, with the book containing some damaging claims about his ailing relationship with his brother Prince William.
The couple were dropped from their million-dollar deal with Spotify, with the executive calling them “grifters”.
Most recently, they have faced criticism for Omid Scobie’s book Endgame that appeared to “mistakenly” contain the alleged names of royals involved in a race row. The first time it was mentioned was in Harry and Meghan’s bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview.
Some have claimed the couple were involved in sharing this information with the biographer, despite the couple remaining silent and distancing themselves from the book.
Mark Borkowski, a PR consultant and author, told Newsweek: “It shows they’re 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.
“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.”
But Mr Borkowski warned the couple do face challenges in the new year as they bounce back from a series of setbacks.
“It’s a watershed year for them in many ways,” he said. “They’ve got to start thinking about generating positivity and they’ve got to think about what their strategy is for the future.
“What they have been doing to date isn’t working for them. One thing they need to do is be seen to be a good box office bet in whatever they do. At the moment that doesn’t seem to be the case, there’s too many failures associated with their names so they’ve got to change that.”
The couple have not commented on the release of Omid Scobie’s book just before Christmas, or the contents of it.
