In retrospect, this readjusts my perspective on a lot of the past year. Super-agent Ari Emanuel is currently promoting Roll the Calls: A Memoir, a real bridge-burning tell-all about his life, his family and all of his Hollywood years. Emanuel has been making headlines in the trade papers for what he’s said and written about some major Hollywood figures. But in his Sunday Times interview, he broke some news about the Duchess of Sussex. Back in 2023, Emanuel personally courted Meghan and got her to sign on to WME for representation. Jill Smoller – aka Serena Williams’ agent – handled Meghan’s day-to-day needs, but Emanuel was the one to sign her. Since 2023, the tabloids have periodically claimed that Meghan had been “dumped” by WME. Well, Emanuel confirmed in this Times interview that he and Meghan parted ways in 2025.
Hollywood has changed and he no longer just represents the talent through his William Morris Endeavour (WME) agency; he has also become a sports mogul, boss of a multibillion dollar empire that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and a wodge of UK assets including the Frieze art fairs and Winter Wonderland and he is closing a deal on several West End theatres. He is now the king of content, nerve centre of a sprawling sport and entertainment empire that spans from Adele to Serena Williams.
He used to represent Meghan Markle too, but they parted ways last year. Where does he think her career is heading? “Here’s the great thing: I don’t have to think about that any more.”
For what it’s worth, I remember that Smoller joined Meghan at Paris Fashion Week last year, so Meghan still had representation with J-Smol and WME as of late September/early October of 2025. Radar Online picked up Emanuel’s comments and dusted off the old trope of “Meghan is too demanding, Emanuel dumped her.” It’s possible that Emanuel dumped Meghan, but he doesn’t say that. What’s far more likely (to me) is that Meghan and Harry began winding down their California connections in advance of this ill-conceived, haphazard UK move. The downgraded Netflix contract, Meghan backing away from doing any more With Love, Meghan episodes/seasons, the changes in Archewell’s charitable arm and now this, the severance of Meghan’s WME representation. Something else I keep thinking about is how much money Meghan has left on the table over the years, and how frustrating that probably was for WME.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- The Duchess of Sussex meets volunteer first responders from Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club, during a visit to Bondi Beach, on day four of the royal trip to Australia. Volunteers from the organisation, founded in 1907, played an integral role in protecting beachgoers and saving lives during the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on December 14 Featuring: Meghan Markle Where: Bondi, Australia When: 17 Apr 2026 Credit: Jonathan Brady/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Vancouver, CANADA – Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex at Wheelchair Basketball in Vancouver Convention Centre during Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 in Canada. **SHOT ON 2/9/25** Pictured: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Susse BACKGRID USA 14 FEBRUARY 2025 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘WWE Monday Night RAW’ At Intuit Dome Featuring: Mark Shapiro, Ari Zev Emanuel, Ted Sarandos, Bela Bajaria Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 06 Jan 2025 Credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images
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- Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex at Wheelchair Basketball in Vancouver Convention Centre during Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 Featuring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Vancouver, Canada When: 09 Feb 2025 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- Whistler Welcome Celebration at the 2025 Invictus Games Featuring: Meghan Markle Where: Whistler, Canada When: 10 Feb 2025 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex is all smiles arriving at The Ludlow House in New York City attending an Netflix event Featuring: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex Where: New York, New York, United States When: 03 Mar 2025 Credit: Elder Ordonez/INSTARimages
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- Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Harry, Duke of Sussex and other celebrities attend the Project Healthy Minds 3rd Annual Gala Featuring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: New York, New York, United States When: 09 Oct 2025 Credit: Janet Mayer/INSTARimages.com
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- The Duchess of Sussex meets young advocates during a visit to Batyr, a mental health engagement programme, at Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn, Melbourne, Victoria, on day three of the royal trip to Australia Featuring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Melbourne, Australia When: 16 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duchess of Sussex during a visit to Batyr, a mental health engagement programme, at Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn, Melbourne, Victoria, on day three of the royal trip to Australia Featuring: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Melbourne, Australia When: 16 Apr 2026 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I am surprised he was so curt and dismissive.🫤
Emanuel is a Hollywood staple for over 30 years.
He’s a bulldozer who knows the inside out of the industry.
He could have phrased it way better, with some camaraderie, or even BS smoke blowing.
“Megan’s great and I can’t wait to see what she does next”!
“Hey showbiz swings like crazy and she’s been in it over 10 years. She’s fine. She’ll keep balling”
Ah well.😒
Yeah, it’s dismissive and he knows it. A pro like him doesn’t say things that way if he cares one bit about the person. My guess is what Kaiser says: her decisions are impacted way too much by H&M thinking in royal terms. In this case it meant leaving money on the table for all parties involved. In other cases I’ve suspected that meant losing staff who wanted to steer them away from that mindset (because it didn’t work in the private sector, eg Meredith Maines)
This. I like Harry and Meghan and wish them well, but many of their decisions have not been what people who offer 8 and 9 figure deals expect from business partners. Yes, having another baby and taking a six month maternity/paternity leave was the right thing for them to do, but it probably cost them reputationally in the business world.
You sign with Ari Emmanuel, he expects you to do what he says.
What’s best for their family may not be what’s best for their long term financial situation. Hope that this does all work out for H&M.
Her Grace, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has not changed talent agencies. She has, however, changed her personal agent.
While she is no longer repped by Ari Emmanuel.
She and her portfolio,, which includes Archewell Philanthropies remains with WME, the company. Her representative from WME are now WME executives Carolyn Moneta and Ikenna Ezeh. https://www.the-express.com/entertainment/celebrity-news/216368/meghan-markle-ari-emanuel-memoir
Carolyn Moneta is a Partner in Global Celebrity and Creator Brand Partnerships at WME, where she leads the “Digicomm” (digital-brand crossover) team she built to connect digitally native talent with major brands. She joined WME around 2011–2012 after starting her career as a production assistant on Weeds. Her roster has included Lilly Singh, Casey Neistat, David Dobrik, and the Dolan Twins. She was promoted to partner in 2020.
Ikenna Ezeh is a Partner in Global Brand Partnerships at WME, focused on business development across the agency’s roster. He joined WME in 2021 and was promoted to partner in December 2022.
Before WME he was SVP of Entertainment at Authentic Brands Group, VP of Branding & Strategy at Roc Nation, and earlier worked in sports sponsorships at CAA. He holds a JD from Roger Williams University School of Law.
His deal work includes Michael B. Jordan’s PepsiCo/Propel Water campaign, SZA’s Cadillac promotion, and Kid Cudi’s Louis Vuitton jewelry campaign. His client roster spans Tyler, The Creator, John Legend, Jonathan Majors, Lil Baby, and others.
Both are WME partners in brand/commercial partnerships, Moneta on the digital-creator side and Ezeh on the broader celebrity endorsement side, which is why they’re the natural execs to take over Meghan’s and Archewell’s portfolio from Ari Emanuel.
WME, Ari’s agency still earns a commission, albeit minus his fee as her personal agent, which may be making Ari a little salty.
Small correction: Not “Her Grace”, Meghan is *Her Royal Highness* The Duchess of Sussex, but thank you for the updates. Much appreciated in a sea of speculation. 🙂
Thank you for clarifying this. The truth often gets lost amongst the headlines.
Maybe he doesn’t think Megan is great. Maybe he said it that way because it’s how he feels.
Meghan is not someone who can be forced to do anything. She loves her husband and children and this is what she seems to want.
When the news broke that Meghan had signed with WME, specifically Ari Emmanuel, I didn’t particularly like it. AE may be a successful agent, but he’s not a nice person — and I sensed there’d be problems.
As much as I like and support H&M, their communications team seems to be amateurish at times, leading to an unnecessarily unfavourable public image. I don’t get why Team Sussex didn’t/wouldn’t communicate things like Meghan parting ways with WME and Ari Emmanuel more openly, pro-actively.
Two of the three Emmanuel brothers, Ari and Rahm, are highly problematic. I wonder if Meghan knew this when she signed on. And I agree with your assessment of their comms. It seems shambolic.
I am not saying this to bash her (them) at all, but there is no way she didn’t know about their background. IF she found out later, that’s def not the reason because they associate with a lot of problematic people. I don’t judge them for it, because there is no other way to network on their level. And plus one about their comms strategy.
Why are they problematic? Aside from being tough customers? If Jeremy Piven’s Ari Gold character from “Entourage” was any indication, then Ari Emmanuel is a real bulldozer of a person and not someone I’d want as a friend. But he’s a good agent and represents his people well. He didn’t get this far dropping balls.
So, we’ve been doing a Game of Thrones rewatch and just finished S5 over the weekend (as an aside, yes, it was as excruciating as we all remember). In the Hardhome episode, there’s a scene where the village elders demand to know who killed Mance Rayder. The sensible thing for Jon Snow to say would’ve been, “a sorceress was trying to burn him alive, so I put an arrow through his heart to spare him a horrific, lingering death”, but no. He just glibly replies, “I did”, infuriating the whole village and nearly getting himself killed on the spot by angry wildlings. THAT is what Harry and Meghan’s comms reminds me of. They could so easily shut down many of the rumors and lies and distortions (or at least TRY to), but instead, they let it go, and the British gutter press inevitably runs away with its pet false narratives. It would almost seem kinda disingenuous if they were to be upset over that at this point.
But she hasn’t parted with WME. She’s still repped by them. Ari E. isn’t her rep anymore, but two of their senior execs handle her work now.
Also add to the list of changes that Meghan didn’t go ahead with her podcast. I don’t know, a temporary move to the UK doesn’t necessitate parting ways with your agent. Perhaps Meghan was dumped by WME or she decided to go back to her old agent. There are a lot of decisions that Meghan and Harry have made that has people scratching their heads. But it’s their decisions to make.
When these high-powered agencies represent you, they expect you to be available. Obviously, that’s not the case with Meghan.
I believe it is most a question of choice. There is no doubt that she is kept very busy with As Ever. She loves doing humanitarian work and taking care of her family. I still hope something big is coming up from their move to the UK, but the more I look at it the more it sound like a trial to see how the life work from the UK. If it does, they will share their time between the US and the UK as they said they will before leaving.
I think Meghan signed onto WME when she did want to go back to being in front of them camera. But then filmed As Ever and got reminded how overwhelming on set days are (I think she mentioned this on Emma Grede’s podcast?). So she changed her priorities. Especially if she doesn’t need the money or can make money without being on camera. As Ever is still selling so what exactly can a Netflix show do for it or Meghan?
It’s a short and snappy comment from Emanuel and maybe there’s frustration from him, sure. But he also strikes me as the kind of guy who would say that about any former client.
@Pumpkin I like the way you think. I’ve always thought the same with Meghan – her family comes first, so she’ll change her priorities accordingly.
Where does it say that WME doesn’t represent her anymore? It’s been said for a while that Ari wasn’t in charge of repping her and that Jill Smoller & Brad Gilbert were her main WME contacts. I mean just the other day the big news was Meghan was returning to acting & the press were contacting WME
Plus WME negotiated Meghan’s One off investment & things like Cookie Queens on paramount streaming service
just because we don’t know everything doesn’t mean the move was ill conceived
So she’s likely still with WME just not Ari. It’s possible she found Jill and Brad to be a better fit.
I think it makes sense that this was part of a winding down, but then to me it also says that it wasn’t a haphazard move. You dont spend a year re-structuring your life for a “last minute” move.
As for why the relationship between Meghan and WME ended – maybe it was because she was leaving too much money on the table, maybe it was because they had different ideas of what she should be doing (if he wanted to see her back in acting and she didn’t want that), who knows. It sounds like there’s some vague disappointment there but not really bad blood.
Meghan is still listed on the Harry Walker agency website, Harry Walker is the speaker arm of WME. The article says that Ari is no longer representing her, not that she cut ties with WME
Oh thank you for pointing that out. I went back and reread and I think your interpretation of it is correct. So its just one more thing where the headline looks bad but the reality is very different.
Sometimes I think we want more for Meghan than she wants for herself. Could it possibly be as simple as her putting herself and her family first verses a full court press for enrichment on a personal level. I do believe she is financially solid and the move is something she and her husband had planned for a number of years. We just had no clue and are pissed we do not know the end game.
I agree with this. There comes a time in life when even if you were the loudest of voices, you want to put your time, energy, ambition elsewhere. I said many times, all the years where they were fighting back felt right and strong, but now at this age, with a family and young kids, you might just want to create this beautiful life, and live in it in peace. What we thought was success 10 years ago doesn’t mean the same thing as success today – anyway, not for me.
She probably didn’t want to be worked to death. Seems to me making a lot of money at the expense of her energy, children, husband, and philanthropy was not what Meghan wanted. There probably would have been no balance.
He sounds like a rejected bitter lover.
Probably pissed she left so much money on the table.
Ari? Nah. Meghan is small fish in his world. He has represented big moneymakers. Beyond their money made on Royal tell-alls via the documentary and Harry’s book, they aren’t huge moneymakers.
Interesting though, why he wanted to be have a hand in dealing with such a small fish in the first place.
I agree, Meghan is a small fish in that ocean, though she is a big deal to us! I think Ari wanted to be the hand that guided her to his version of super stardom, lots of high voltage deals for him to earn a pretty commission on. But perhaps Meghan wasn’t as available as he wanted/needed her to be (not a slam on Meghan, just her work life balance turns out to be way different that his vision), so their goals were no longer the same. She’s still with WME, which is a powerhouse, just not with Ari
You can say a lot of things about Ari but he doesn’t sugar coat. And that can come off as really abrasive. He told Weinstein he was going to break every single one of his fingers off if he ever touched him again. And fired Trump as a client and told him he didn’t vote for him. Meghan and he could have mutually decided to end their contract. For him if the client isn’t following advice to make money then he would see no reason to stay on as their agent. And for Meghan he may have come off as too harsh.
Pretty sure Meghan knew of his reputation before she signed with his agency. Also, believe she did not want to enrich herself at the expense of her family, given her husband travels extensively for his philanthropic work. Therefore, they made the choice to end the relationship, that simple.
Yea… 🤬 Ari because it’s OBVIOUS that Meghan stance regarding how she runs her plate has changed…and the chaos regarding their move seems to be everyone outside …because H&M have been moving the way they always have…how they want too
Well, this doesn’t support the “Meghan wants to cash in on her royal status” narrative, does it.
Well, it’s easy to cast aspersions from the outside looking-in, but no-one can imagine what it’s like to be Meghan Sussex, the most trolled and abused woman on the planet.
Every single choice or decision she makes is more of a balancing act than most people have to contend with.
And she has not only her career, public image and royal role to manage, she’s also a wife, mother and human.
Hollywood agents are used to representing celebrities who will often prioritise their careers and image, sometimes going to extreme lengths in doing so. I don’t think your typical A-lister has to juggle as many issues as does Meghan.
Maybe a hard-nosed Hollywood agent like Ari wasn’t the right person for her in the first place?
I feel this is not correct. Ari Emmanuel is no longer CEO of WME he has taken a back seat at the company. The article does not say WME has cut ties with Meghan, just that Ari is not her agent. Jill was the one overseeing her mainly anyway. Harry and Meghan are still listed on the Harry Walker agency website, Harry Walker is an arm of WME. As someone else said WME was involved in negotiating a buyer for Cookie Queens. It does not seem that Meghan or Archewell has cut tiers with WME, just that Ari is no longer representing her!
That makes sense. It sounds like she works well with Jill.
Thank you Julia, for letting common sense prevail and doing due diligence.
It’s amazing (and sad!) how people, even fans, just readily accept the negative narratives being spread by the very people who have a vested interest in tearing Meghan down and using every excuse to twist facts to suit the pre-determined caricature of her that they have created. They accept it, spread it, then wonder why these naratives persist.
The squad invented the Mute Challenge for a reason. Some stories do not deserve oxygen.
I have a funny feeling that this might be where her phrase “someone else’s urgency is not MY urgency” came from. Too many people trying to get her to do too many things on THEIR timeline, including providing explanations for the moves she and her husband are making.
Thank you for sharing your clear thoughts Julia. Too many of us are acting so emotionally to this move by Harry & Meghan. I trust them to take care of themselves and their interests.
My guess, based on almost nothing, is that Meghan is pretty much a unique case that she and people who work with and for her cannot seem to grapple with. My guess is business execs saw dollar signs when she left the royal family and that tell-all documentaries, interviews, books and podcasts were what they envisioned. The netflix series was probably necessary for signing the deal and securing money for their security and lifestyle, and also probably partly to do with telling their side of things and drawing lines under the whole thing. But, they did say they wanted to be looking forward not backwards. Nobody believed them, the tabloids wrote they’d be cashing in, but maybe, just maybe, none of that was true. They said their piece and moved on. So when Harry comes up with podcast ideas about modern day fatherhood or mental health, they dismiss it. What they want is fly on the wall royal gossip from someone who saw it all! As for Meghan, WLM was lovely and wholy inoffensive, and easily made and then forgotten.And the RF practially made her acting career untenable even before their marriage, muscling in on script decisions and such. Now, she has been made so devisive that taking on an acting project could seem troublesome to any show runner or film director. Is the project big enough to weather the immediate bad press, the astroturfing of reviews, the distraction of Meghan doing press junkets and the accomodation of security personnel? Even if she started with small parts that would still have to be a consideration. And she clearly has tight control over where she appears and how she is presented. Understandably. But it must be a nightmare for comms teams, agents, etc to have to work around who she is and who they are as a couple. And maybe there is an element of them considering how things would be percieved regarding Harry’s family and protocols they previously needed to abide by. That could simply be because, despite what the rota says, they may actually be drama averse and would really like a generally quiet life with the options to earn a living and maintain their lifestyle, which through dint of birth and not by choice for Harry, and the children, involves a hefty fee for security. Eh, end of rant!!
Also, I think many people—especially Hollywood artists—end their contracts with agents and cut off professional relationships. That’s part of everyday life in Hollywood: closing one chapter and forming new professional relationships. But when it comes to Meghan, it seems like this situation makes the news, even though it’s quite common in the industry.
Ari should use his no-holds-barred truth-telling to tell his brother Rahm that he has no shot in hell of winning the Democratic presidential nomination.
As for Meghan, she’s making the decisions that are best for her and her family.
Ari Emanuel does not seem like a nice person, or someone of the quality that Meghan likes to do business with. Hope she likes her new agents. I, like everyone else here, wish she and Harry would be more pro-active about their communications.
Maybe there isn’t much to communicate at this time. They already listed Harry’s events, said they were moving temporarily, told us why they switched schools for their kids and showed a proof of life reel on Instagram. Maybe that’s all folks.
So Ari hasn’t represented her since 2025 and we’re currently in the last quarter of 2026, but this is news somehow? I don’t know but seeing Jill Smoller with her at events like Balenciaga’s show and her last NYC trip was a giveaway. We haven’t seen Meghan anywhere since she moved to the UK so I don’t know why everyone keeps expecting her to give updates on her life and what she’s doing. She is not an idle woman. She’s doing something.
Who cares what I think but I think this would be a great time for Meghan to do a season two of her podcast . Archetypes . It seems she could be in a good position for that .
Meghan and Harry’s professional lives have evolved so much over the past few years. They started with all kinds of possibilities and perhaps uncertainty over what would be a good fit, and now she has the benefit of experience to be able to be knowledgeable to pick and choose what works for her. So Ari was probably a good fit in the beginning, even if it helped her decide what she didn’t want to do, and now she has representation that better fits her direction. I think it’s just as simple as that.