Eric Roberts – older brother of Julia Roberts – has spoken out in praise of his former Suits co-star Meghan, and suggested that she ‘needs’ to make a return to acting
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may have fallen on troubled times, but those close to the resilient duchess claim she has a Plan B.
The former royals turned their back on the monarchy in 2020 to forge a new life for themselves in the US with an independent income. They splashed out on a £10.5million mansion in the exclusive Los Angeles enclave of Montecito and landed a lucrative £77million deal with Netflix and a £15.5million contract with Spotify.
But six years on, it seems their luck may have run out. The couple have been on the receiving end of a brutal takedown in entertainment bible Variety, suggesting that Netflix is officially ‘done’ with the Sussexes and that the steaming giant became ‘exhausted’ by Harry and Meghan’s “perceived pattern of selling repackaged versions of the same story about their exit from royal life”.
According to the report, A-list talent and directors were hesitant to work with the pair as perceptions of the couple shifted in the industry, fuelled further by Spotify’s head of podcast innovation and monetisation, Bill Simmons, famously calling them “f***ing grifters”. United Talent Agency CEO Jeremy Zimmer also stuck the knife in at a 2023 conference, blasting: “Turns out Meghan Markle was not a great audio talent, or necessarily any kind of talent. Just because you’re famous doesn’t make you great at something.”
READ MORE: Meghan Markle ‘breaks promise to late Queen’ with upcoming Australia tripREAD MORE: Netflix boss quietly unfollows Meghan Markle amid claims of ‘difficult’ relationship
Her lifestyle series, With Love… Meghan was dropped by Netflix after two series, while the profitability of her As Ever range of flower sprinkles and fruit spreads has yet to be revealed. According to multiple sources, sales have been a major problem, with Variety reporting that the brand has around $10 million (£7.5 million) worth of unsold stock. Rubbing yet more salt into the wounds, Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos has now quietly unfollowed both Meghan and As Ever’s Instagram accounts.
And their forthcoming trip to Australia – where Meghan plans to sell pictures of herself with fans – has already come under fire. Royal author Tom Bower – who has penned a new book on the Sussexes titled Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family – dubbed their trip ‘grubby’ and a ‘cash grab’.
He told Australian news outlet The Daily Telegraph that Meghan was breaking a promise she made to the late Queen Elizabeth by going ahead with the visit. He said: “First of all Meghan is doing it for money, it’s rather grubby … she’s monetising her royalty which I think is pretty shabby because she promised the Queen she wouldn’t do that.
During their visit, the couple will undertake solo engagements, with Meghan set to be the guest of honour at a ‘girls weekend’ retreat in Sydney. The Duchess will speak over the course of the ‘weekend like no other’, including at a grand dinner, with VIP ticket holders able to then snap a picture with the Duchess.
Fans have been shocked by the prices of attending the event, with tickets starting at an eye-watering £1,439. This price covers attendees’ accommodation at a beach-side Sydney hotel and access to three days of events, including a gala dinner, yoga and meditation sessions, and a disco celebration.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry will speak at the InterEdge Summit in Melbourne, which is described as a “professional development summit designed to equip leaders, practitioners, and changemakers with the knowledge and tools to create mentally healthy, safe, and high-performing workplaces.” Tickets for the mental health summit start at £1,054, with proceeds of the ticket sales going to Lifeline. The rest of Harry and Meghan’s itinerary has not yet been confirmed, but their spokesperson said they will “take part in a number of private, business and philanthropic engagements”.
But while the current landscape may look bleak, those close to Meghan – who has reinvented herself on several occasions from Suits actress to philanthropist and founder – say she still has plenty of options.
According to her former co-star Eric Roberts – older brother of Julia Roberts – she may well be gearing up for a Hollywood comeback. “She will come back,” Eric, 69, told the Mail Online while attending a charity gala last week alongside his casting director and manager wife Eliza. “It is time. And Meghan needs to come back to work. I feel like her whole family will support it, and she is amazing,” Eliza added.
Eric played corrupt and wealthy investor Charles Forstman on Suits, during which time he got to know Prince Harry’s wife. And, according to Eliza, Meghan stepped away from her role playing paralegal Rachel Zane because the royals had concerns about her ‘sexy’ character.
“It is tricky because of the monarchy. Her role in Suits was very sexy,” she said. “Her making love with another man, that was just – they’ve never seen anything like that.
‘She worked so hard to get there. That was just too much,’ Eliza continued. ‘Women don’t give up their jobs for a marriage anymore. I understand the intention, and she thought she’d be satisfied with doing good works in the world. But she needs to be acting. She is a young woman who needs to be acting.”
Eliza went on to praise Meghan’s ‘star quality’, while Eric said he believed the actress should and will make a ‘fantastic’ comeback which will ‘blow everybody’s mind’. Last year, Meghan reportedly shot a cameo – as herself – in the upcoming movie Close Personal Friends with Brie Larson, Lily Collins, Jack Quaid, and Henry Golding.
While some might see a return to acting as a climbdown, PR expert Mayah Riaz believes it could actually work in Meghan’s favour – although it might not be the best news for her husband.
“It is a highly strategic move that could reshape her narrative almost overnight,” she says. “Stepping back into that world gives her something she has arguably been missing in recent years, which is a clear professional identity separate from the royal story. That is a far more stable and sustainable position.
“That said, this is a delicate moment. On one hand, it is a smart pivot back to something familiar and proven. On the other, there is a risk it looks like backtracking after positioning herself as having moved beyond Hollywood.
“If Meghan steps into a solo career that thrives, there is a risk Harry fades further into the background. We have already seen that defining his role outside of the royal framework has been more challenging, so this could widen that gap in public perception.”
Tellingly, she explains that Eric’s choice to speak out suggests the wheels are already very much in motion. “When industry figures start talking, it is rarely by accident,” she adds. “It often suggests conversations are already happening behind the scenes.
“There is a strong commercial angle too. A comeback done well could be hugely lucrative. Streaming platforms love a redemption or reinvention story, and Meghan already has global recognition that most actors spend decades trying to achieve. The key will be the project she chooses. Get it wrong and it risks looking like a vanity move. Get it right and it could be her biggest rebrand yet.”
Meghan, meanwhile, seems unperturbed by this latest setback. In the wake of the Variety article, she took to Instagram to promote another new product – a £200 gift box containing flowers, tea and honey. Her daughter Lilibet also appeared in the promotion.
For the time being, it seems Meghan is forging ahead with her brand. A source said of her split from Netflix: “She couldn’t do anything, make a decision or move forward without running everything through them and then waiting endlessly for the outcome of meetings. That’s just not her style; she wants to move forward.”
Interestingly, the source further claimed that Meghan wanted to launch As Ever in Australia, telling the Telegraph: “We are thinking about the next step in global expansion and Australia has been teed up as the first test market outside the US. It’s the first place we are looking at and having conversations.
“They have to earn a living. They are private citizens and have to pay the bills like anyone else.”
A Sussexes’ spokesman said in response: “This is speculation. No decisions have been made about when or where international expansion might take place. Entering new markets is a considered process, but it’s something the brand is excited to explore as it continues to grow in this next phase. Watch this space.”
