As we discussed, Jemima Goldsmith (formerly Jemima Khan) has withdrawn her support from the upcoming season of The Crown, the John Major years in the 1990s. Jemima was friends with Princess Diana and she was sort of used as a writer/source for Peter Morgan, who briefly dumped Gillian Anderson for Jemima, then dumped Jemima and went back to Gillian. It’s all a melodramatic mess, but trust Dan Wootton to latch onto Jemima’s withdrawal of support to… attack Prince Harry. You know why. Prince Harry = Netflix = The Crown = How Dare Meghan Exist! This Wootton piece was especially bonkers because he also tries to bring Spencer (the film starring Kristen Stewart) into it when Netflix truly is not involved in that movie at all. Some lowlights from Wootton’s latest diatribe:
After Jemima Goldsmith withdrew her support, Harry must leave Netflix too: [Jemima’s support of The Crown] was going to prove especially important given that the hugely influential company had signed Diana’s youngest son Prince Harry and his ambitious Hollywood wife Meghan on a mega deal worth tens of millions of dollars. But yesterday that cover combusted in a shocking and dramatic fallout between Khan and The Crown that must now result in Harry quitting the broadcaster too if he has a single shred of respect left for his mother’s legacy.
Why Jemima quit: Quitting when she realised The Crown was going to chew up the legacy of Diana and spit her out for the purposes of entertainment shows true morality. It’s called putting the ones you love ahead of your pocketbook.
Harry the moral arbiter? Prince Harry has set himself up as a moral arbiter on many issues, many of which the bloke knows nothing about, like his pledge last week to reach Net Zero by 2030 despite being one of the world’s biggest private jet addicts. So why is it when it comes to the revolting treatment of his beloved mother by Netflix, he is prepared to turn a blind eye?
Why didn’t Harry sign onto a different streaming service? What’s most pathetic in this whole sorry saga is that virtually any US broadcaster would have signed Harry and Meghan for big bucks. Including other major players like Apple and Amazon who don’t have a plethora of shows about the private life of his own mother. As of this morning in the UK, the company continues to offer up a slew of sensationalist crap about Di, from the tawdry Diana: The Musical to salacious documentaries like Princess Diana’s Wicked Stepmother.
Wootton thinks Harry is stupid: Is Harry really that stupid – or did he realise that a broadcaster so obsessed with gaining subscriptions from fans of the Royal Family was going to pay him the most dosh? And how much money do the Sussexes really need, anyway? They’re already working for Spotify and a bank. Wake up, Harry, Netflix is using you. It doesn’t give a damn about your charity projects….It’s signed you as part of a package to make popular shows that dish dirt on your own family on a regular basis – especially your mother, the most bankable Netflix historical figure of them all. And staying as a star employee of this broadcaster strips away any remaining moral credibility you had left.
Harry’s tacit stamp of approval: Netflix is well aware that it’s deal with Prince Harry provides a tacit royal stamp of approval of The Crown. I guess that sums up the selfishness and hypocrisy of Prince Harry since he’s become guided by Meghan.
Again, all of these people (including Wootton) loved The Crown when it was about the young, beautiful, sympathetic queen making tough decisions. They loved it when Seasons 2 and 3 showed the depth of Prince Charles’ misery in his childhood and early 20s. They loved it when it was sympathetic towards the right royals. I would even argue that Season 4 largely pulled its punches about Princess Diana and the depths of her misery and self-harm. It’s so notable to me that even though Charles was thoroughly panicked about Season 4, Harry and William were BOTH unconcerned – I suspect both of them thought it was a good representation of what their mother really went through. Basically, Wootton is showing his hand in a lot of different ways – this is a preview of Charles’ failing campaign to delegitimize a fancy Netflix soap opera AND it’s a repeat of all of the dumb arguments they’re still making about the Sussexes’ Netflix deal. And honestly, Jemima is probably just mad that Peter Morgan dumped her and went back to Gillian!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Netflix.
Its funny because the only ones the Crown makes look bad are Charles and Camilla, especially Charles. Wootton knows Harry is already on the outs with Charles so he can’t use that as a stick. Every time the Crown airs those Diana episodes, sympathy for her increases. Why would Harry be mad about that?
The Crown might not be factually correct, but I think it does a good job. It’s intending to show Diana going through hell, but it’s also given the backstory as to why this happened. It’s shown Charles dysfunctional upbringing, his difficult family dynamics, and the fact that he was also pressured into this marriage, when he probably should have been with Camilla all along.
Life isn’t black and white. There aren’t simply good guys and bad guys. There are people who do messed up things because they’re messed up. Usually due to the messed up people who came before them.
I’m not sure how fair it really is to portray these events for public entertainment, with the subjects children still alive, still dealing with the aftermath, and without their consent, but that is the nature of being a royal. You have a lot of privilege, but public interest goes along with that.
Charles was not pressured into this marriage. Philip said to either marry her or let her find someone else. Absolutely nobody pressured him to marry this particular 19 year old with family trauma and an idealized view of marriage. He could have found anyone else with suitable pedigree who would have been happy with an arrangement.
I really take issue with the revisionist history that Charles and Camilla just belonged together after all. They didn’t want to marry each other and Camilla didn’t want to divorce Andrew Parker Bowles until he made her, because of the publicity. This is part of the PR campaign Charles has been waging since Diana died to paint her as weak, manipulative, etc. If he hadn’t done that, I might feel worse about this show dredging it up, but that’s life.
Lots of people do messed up things because they’re messed up from other people messing up, yes, but to go off of your final statement, most of those people don’t live off public dime and control national media. And I don’t mind the show bringing it up since these people have learned nothing from Diana and in any case only strengthens Harry’s case why he left.
@maria
Charles picked Diana because he and Camilla thought she was young, naive and malleable enough to put up with all of his cheating shenanigans. They got a rude awakening when Diana fought back.
@Snuffles – Of course. But that doesn’t mean he was forced to marry her.
Charles had a LOT of girlfriends/mistresses. It was never like Camilla was his one and only true love.
@Maria- of course Charles was pressured into this marriage. His only role in this world was to marry and produce heirs. And the monarchy absolutely had criteria the bride to be had to meet. He may have had some wiggle room with Diana specifically, but he had to marry SOMEONE that came from a very short list of options.
That’s enormous pressure. From his parents, from the institution, from the country, and from the commonwealth and the world.
Pressured into marriage? Sure. Pressured into marriage with Diana who everyone could see had tons of trauma from her parents breaking up and believed in the idea of a fairy tale marriage? No. As I said, he could have found plenty of suitable candidates who would have agreed to an arrangement. Her grandmother helped speed-track that because she wanted one of her granddaughters to marry him. But no, he wasn’t forced to marry Diana herself. This is a narrative that people use to excuse his behavior.
His only role in this world is absolutely not only to produce heirs. It is a big one but he has many responsibilities within the institution.
You know who had more pressure? The 19 year old who was expected by the Heir to the Throne and his family to be an incubator, and was expected by her own family to also like it. At least Charles had some of his family on his side and they were no small players. Meanwhile her own brother wouldn’t let her live in Althorp because of publicity.
So when Jemima was riding her ex’s d%%ck everything was ok? An ex employer’s mouth piece has no right to demand I give up my income and take food from my babies’ mouths just because they are upset that despite pushing me out and giving me a bad reference, I got a job paying megabucks. Oh and I am entitled to use my previous job titles in my CV if I wish.
Dan, give it up. Harry’s not listening.
+1 — you just know Wootton is crying into his pillow each night over the prince who got away.
Yep. Someone get Danny boy a copy of He’s Just Not That Into You.
Brilliant.
They are All hypocrites. They can kick rocks!
All I really got from this is that they don’t have any positive news to report from the BRF this week. Because they’re just going over the same specious complaints they always have
What i got from this is that they are very upset harry is able to earn his own money and therefore doesn’t need the royals. When dan wrote: “how much money do the sussexes need anyway” he let it slip what this is really about.
Exactly right. I caught that, too. Harry and Meghan were supposed to fail miserably in America and crawl back to the RF. They are furious -all of them- that it didn’t happen that way. Harry and Meghan “need” as much money as Netflix, Spotify, and the others want to pay them. Wootton should really be concerned with how much of the taxpayers’ money the RF “needs.” That’s where the waste is.
@magick wanda:at the end of the day its about control. If meghan and harry failed outside of the RF they would have to come crawling back to the royal fold. And then they would have been able to completely control them because the couple would have been dependent on them financially. No that harry and meghan have gained financial independence they can do whatever they want.
I agree with Chloe, money for these billionaires is a matter of control.
But, really, what sticks out to me is that the pro-monarchy press does not have a single positive story line right now to gee up support for the Royal Family. No working royal is actively doing much to endear themselves to the public, are they? The COP stuff was a bust, the Queen is ill, William and Kate are, you know, themselves, there’s those weird stories about the Wessexes pushing their daughter into the limelight, and so on. Instead, they only have negative stories about M&H through which the BRF are supposed to look good by contrast. They’re not growing their base of support that way.
Until these arrogant gossip columnists stop making money off of Prince Harry’s Mother and his Wife they have no standing to offer an opinion. They truly are so far up their own a**es it is toxic hypocrisy.
I was going to say this, too! Wootton is in a glass house, to be sure.
They’re pissed that more people will watch and believe Netflix’s version of events than whatever BS the BM keeps churning out. They wish they had that reach.
The way you can just see through these people’s hysterics. Remain salty, fam!
Welp ,since Diana’s interview was on the BBC, why isn’t there concern about Burger king’s deals with that network? Oh right we’re following the money i.e. Harry and Meghan’ s finances. The Crown only became a problem after HM’s deal – any stick to beat the “runaway goose that laid the golden egg.”
The bbc is also currently airing a docu series on Diana so if harry is a hypocrite than William would be a bigger one.
‘Netflix is well aware that its deal with Prince Harry provides a tacit royal stamp of approval of The Crown’. Yeah, and Squid Game, and Dave Chapelle, and every other tv programme or film on the platform. Bad Harry!
LOLOL. Okay Dan.
and yeah, the Crown was welcomed and adored by royalists when it made the Queen seem more sympathetic, when it showed Charles’ childhood misery – now that it shows the misery of someone else, someone who was always a problem for the monarchy, its not okay? Now its bad?
Again I say….LOLOL.
@Becks1, very good point!
Harry and Meghan called check mate on the BRF. For Harry’s entire life he was reminded of his unimportance and told to grin and bear the insults, lies, and smears. And when he got up and left, the BRF and press cannot accept that he won. He’s outta there. He’s in beautiful CA with his wife and kids and millions while Wil and Kate are stuck in their sham marriage doing their BS “work”. AND it’s only a matter of time until the press turn on Wil and Kate.
I stopped reading at “ambitious Hollywood wife.”
Imagine “ambitious” being used as a pejorative. So pathetic.
Using the word “ambitious” as a negative is so telling of European cultures. The aristocracy wants peasants to stay peasants and know their place. I have so many European friends where I live in NYC who complain that if they want to be upwardly mobile in Europe they are chastised so they come to NYC/America and are amazed how they are encouraged to pursue their dreams/goals and it’s not something to be ashamed of.
The energy that these “reporters” have for Harry and Meghan is bizarre. Especially when the hypocrisy is so blatant. The RF doesn’t have say or do anything but Harry does? The palaces have released statements about other shows and articles. If they were mad, they would say so.
It’s sad that this person doesn’t seem to have anyone in his life who could help him before he really snaps.
I despise him, but he’s mentally distressed, and someone should have intervened a long time ago.
He has caused the Sussexes serious harm, and will continue to do so, but he really needs to be stopped now. I can’t even begin to imagine how the cash generated through clicks justifies keeping a person who is as sick as he appears to be on staff.
Was Dan dropped on his head as a baby? Cause he and the rest like him attacked Harry mother then went after his wife and still till this day continues to call Meghan a liar but a show that shows no, Meghan was absolutely correct about these people and pays the security for them that his father cut they should say bye bye bye to that company? Oh go do yourself one you unhinged turd.
I would not be surprised if he has some serious emotional problems we do not know…his imagination and thirst are out if the charts disgusting.
He’s such a disgusting parasite. A truly loathsome human being. How dare he lecture Harry about how own mother. This man contributes nothing of value to society or the discourse. Every word I read from him feels like swimming through a sewer. He and Angela Levin (let’s throw Piers in too) share the top spot for most odious and unhinged royal commentators — and it’s quite a competition. Jemima is acting from a wounded ego and nothing else. He knows that but he needs to spew bile for a paycheck while lecturing others about morality. Repugnant!
Dan Wooton tries to use Harry’s mother against him the way Piers Morgan tries to use Meghan’s father against her.
Dan and Piers should get together, Parent-Trap style.
Dan is ‘interviewing’ Thomas Markle this week so hes in cahoots with using her father against her like Piers.
The press have caused more damage to the royals than the crown could ever hope to & they will provide the source material for a lot of the new season! Harry should give up Netflix deal when William stops working with the BBC (who made Diana paranoid as he said) on earthshot and the royal family stops playing the invisible contract with the press & instead enters into a professional arms length relationship with the media. Aka never as the latter will never happen.
A Daily Mail writer questioning Harry’s ‘moral credibility’ is asinine.
Harry can drop his Netflix deal after William stops making Earthshot documentaries to air on the BBC after he accused them of making Diana paranoid (through Bashir).
They were praying for poverty and despair for them, so Harry would come crawling back to be let in The Gilded Cage, for crumbs and live under servitude to his brother, but they never counted on a wife who knows hard work, and a determined Harry who wants to be set free, I love their hustle!
Yup. They even commissioned cartoonist to show Harry and Meghan broke and destitute. I’ve seen several of them circulating on Twitter. They were SO convinced Harry would flop and come running back.
This man is veering into the “possibly dangerous” lane of obsession.
I don’t even get mad at these articles anymore. Dan has a written a version of this article like 10 times already. Clearly he’s run out of stories to get clicks from so he’s back to the Sussexes and Netflix his go to. He’s also out of exclusives lol.
Harry and Meghan aren’t listening. He’s yelling into the hateful void. Let him continue to seethe.
They won’t be happy until H&M are living in a trailer park, working at Burger King (the restaurant, not TOB).
This is just about not wanting any success for the Sussexes. And using any excuse to browbeat them.
It’s personal in a way that’s really bizarre. All these people hate a person (Meghan) they have never met and never spoken to. It’s completely unhinged.
I thought don woonton was in love with william.
It was harry all along that he was lusted,
And will never be because of that black girl.
“Take me harry!! That girl will never be good enough for you!!! Waaaaaa” cried Don.
Wooten is a numbskull and his writing is so hyperbolic and overwrought. Yeah we get it, you hate “ ambitious, Hollywood “ Meghan and how she’s led Harry astray. If the Crown moved itself to another streaming service, they’d still find a way to criticize Harry, because it’s always about the money. “ Don’t they have enough” he screeches. Maybe, but they will keep doing what they want to do. Also prove that Harry is one of the worlds biggest users of private jets. I’ll wait. This guy is such a loser and the quality of his writing is like some fevered high schooler’s burn book. A mess.
Lol they’re acting like Harry agreed to play himself on the show.
I don’t get this obsession with Harry giving up the Netflix deal? What’s the true intention of these pleas from the press?
So that he’ll give up every single source of income and become destitute and return dependent on his abusers with his tail between his legs. And if he leaves Meghan and their children, so much the better. That’s what they want and they’re trying to whittle away at the Sussexes’ income streams, if not Netflix then something else. If he capitulates to even a single one of their demands, the floodgates will open and they’ll attempt to strip him of every bit of financial freedom Harry and Meghan have.
Huh, why is Wootton escalating? He’s literally calling Harry stupid, venal and immoral and blaming Meghan for making him that way. It’s been 8 months since the Oprah interview, over a year since the Netflix deal and season 5 of The Crown won’t be out until November of next year. So why all this vitriol now? What’s going on behind the scenes?
Ah yes, the transitive property of insanity.
While reading this I had a mental image of Wooten as Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet, sitting at his desk taking hits of of some meth-like substance out of a compressed air canister while gleefully scribbling this unhinged insanity and congratulating himself.
They are filming The Crown now. I mean the whole article is asinine but no one knows how Diana will be portrayed until they edit the show.
Every time I read something so fking stupid from one of these prats I just go, I wonder what James Blunt would tweet in response and I have to laugh.
At this stage laughter should be the only response to these morons as they just come across as the most asinine people ever.
Just leave it already. Concentrate on your mediocre ‘royals’ who still live in the UK.