Athos Salomé, the 38-year-old Brazilian who is often referred to as the ‘Living Nostradamus’ on account of his predictions throughout the years, has expressed doubt over the future of Meghan and Harry’s deal with Netflix.
The ‘psychic’ – who claims to have foreseen the coronavirus pandemic, the Queen’s death in 2022 and the devastating CrowdStrike IT outage last summer – has told the Mail he has had fresh premonitions.
Salomé sees a ‘growing conflict’ between Meghan and Netflix that will eventually lead to them parting ways, ‘more logistical setbacks’ for the show and a wave of criticism that will threaten the As Ever brand’s credibility.
And the self-styled ‘seer’ may be on to something.
After all, the Duchess’s latest Netflix show which was released in March, has been panned by critics as ‘toe-curling’ and ‘an exercise in narcissism’.
Following the initial success of the documentary Harry & Meghan in 2022, the abysmal ratings on her new series were not what the streaming giant had hoped for when it signed the couple in an eye-wateringly expensive $100million deal in 2020.
So is it any wonder that there are murmurings in Hollywood Hills that all is not well between the media behemoth and the pampered couple?
The Mail can now reveal that, despite being one of Netflix’s biggest stars, the Duchess of Sussex’s condiments don’t cut the mustard at the streamer’s ‘official restaurant’.
The Duchess of Sussex preparing a meal on her Netflix show With Love, Meghan
Athos Salomé, 38, is regarded as a ‘Living Nostradamus’ and has predicted that the Duchess’s relationship with Netflix is in danger
Netflix Bites serves food inspired by the streaming giant’s shows and opened in Las Vegas In February. The venue at the MGM Grand Hotel offers dozens of breakfast, lunch, dinner and drinks based on TV hits, including a ‘WWE Smash Burger’, a ‘Selling Caesar Salad’, inspired by the popular property show Selling Sunset, and a Sex Education ‘hoagie’ sausage.
But a month on, the streamer has still yet to serve Meghan’s As Ever raspberry jam or honey. And not a single reference is made to the Duchess’s show in the restaurant’s six-page menu.
A chef at Netflix Bites confirmed to the Mail that As Ever products are not on the menu.
In contrast, it is stuffed with Bridgerton-themed items – inspired by Netflix’s alternative historical drama – including a ‘regency tea’ supposedly designed by the show’s narrator ‘Lady Whistledown’ herself, and eggs ‘royale’ on an English muffin in honour of another character, Benedict Bridgerton.
‘It is really rather odd,’ one LA insider says. ‘Netflix could have turned to its real royals for inspiration, instead of all the fake royal dishes.’
Even more disappointingly for fans of Meghan, none of the famous dishes from her lifestyle show are served at Netflix Bites, such as the impressive ‘honey lemon layer cake with raspberry’ or her ‘single skillet pasta’.
My insider says ‘patience is wearing thin’ and adds: ‘It has certainly raised eyebrows. It feels very deliberate by Netflix to exclude their biggest food influencer from their menus, while featuring a number of smaller shows.
‘The whole menu is built around Netflix’s best shows with clever puns and word plays for food and drink. Having her spread as a side for toast would be such a great way to include Meghan alongside other big shows. She could have even taught the chefs at the restaurant how to cook her single skillet pasta.’
Netflix Bites serves food inspired by the streaming giant’s shows. It includes items inspired by shows such as Bridgerton and Stranger Things
But the streamer has still yet to serve Meghan’s As Ever raspberry jam or honey. A chef at Netflix Bites confirmed to the Daily Mail that As Ever products are not on the menu
The apparent choice to avoid the food and dishes featured on her lifestyle television series seems striking given the US firm’s commercial relationship with her.
Netflix boss Ted Sarandos recently admitted the company is ‘a passive partner in Meghan’s company’.
With Love, Meghan may not have been a critics’ favourite, but her fans appear to be relishing her new products.
The Duchess’s jam – sold through her As Ever brand’s website – costs £7, or £4 extra with ‘Meghan’s special keepsake packaging’, and it sold out this week.
Similarly, her limited-edition ‘Wildflower Honey with Honeycomb’ was off the shelves within an hour even though it costs £22.
She has claimed As Ever is a ‘love language’ rather than a brand, while celebrity pals such as actress Zoe Saldana and Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner have promoted the range on Instagram.
Sarandos has spoken highly of the Duchess as an entrepreneur, saying: ‘I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture.’
The choice to avoid these dishes seems striking given the US firm’s commercial relationship with her
He pointed to the world’s obsession with her, particularly after the Harry & Meghan docuseries.
‘The shoes she was wearing sold out… The Hermes blanket that was on the chair behind her sold out everywhere in the world.’
But since Meghan’s show flopped, bosses at Netflix have been silent on their ongoing partnership.
I’m also told that there was ‘widespread dismay’ at the streaming giant when the couple failed to do any high-profile promotion for Prince Harry’s five-part documentary Polo, which critics deemed ‘boring’.
Friends of the pair are keen to point out that they have secured a second series of With Love, Meghan, set to be released this autumn.
Yet sources at the media company tell me that the ‘new season’ is nothing of the kind. The production team instead is said to have filmed enough footage for two series during the original shoot, and, as one insider told me, ‘it would be silly’ not to air the show as they have already paid for it.
Despite talks of more documentaries and even a Meghan-produced movie based on the romance novel Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune, nothing has materialised.
Whether Netflix renews its deal with the couple remains to be seen but, following its latest apparent snub, the premonitions of the ‘Living Nostradamus’ may yet prove eerily accurate.
