The first episode of Meghan Markle’s new podcast just dropped, and it’s already getting obliterated by critics.
“Confessions of a Female Founder” is meant to highlight successful businesswomen and “inspire anyone who’s interested in turning their own entrepreneurial dreams into a reality.” But multiple reviews say the first episode, which focuses on Bumble dating app founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, is plagued by multiple issues.
Herd is a longtime friend of the Duchess of Sussex. Several critics note that the conversation is surface-level and too focused on Markle. The Times of London reviewer said the episode contained nothing but “vapid lessons in self-love.”
“Predictably, she has nothing to say about real business problems such as logistics, management techniques or supply chain issues. Equally predictably, there is lots of guff about how to love yourself and spread positive energy through the world,” the reviewer added.
“I suspect that this is not the sort of thing most small business people spend much time fretting over. But then Meghan’s business isn’t really a business. It’s a bit like the corporate equivalent of Marie Antoinette’s dairy farm — a pleasant game of make-believe for an idle rich woman.”
The Times reviewer also mocked Wolfe Herd for claiming to be on a “journey of self-love and self-discovery.”
“I’m going to foundationally re-architect the way people date and the way people love,” Wolfe Herd said during the episode.
“By this point I was seized by an urge to beat my head against the wall and foundationally re-architect my skull,” the reviewer wrote of that moment.
The Telegraph reviewer had similar feedback, saying the “Confessions” included an “inane stream of mindless aphorisms” and “no confessions or secrets.”
“The frustrating thing is that Wolfe Herd, who is just 35, presumably does have wisdom to impart, having been part of the team that created Tinder before she created Bumble,” the reviewer noted. “Imagine the drive, the talent, the decisions and sheer bloody ruthlessness it must take to achieve what she has. We get none of it.”
The reviewer from Express said Markle steamrolled the whole thing. “Meghan takes control of the narrative early on in the episode. She bluntly directs the podcast by informing her friend of how she wants the conversation to be ‘relaxed and easy’ — which is normally a chat you would have with a guest behind-the-scenes instead of on-air for broadcast,” the reviewer noted.
Despite the criticism, “Confessions” debuted in the top 10 chart in all categories on Apple Podcasts on its first day of release Tuesday. It sits at number four on the Apple Podcast Top Charts list.
Markle’s previous Spotify podcast, “Archetypes,” was canceled after one season. The former working royal also got mixed reviews for her new lifestyle series on Netflix, “With Love, Meghan,” and her product line called As Ever.
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[[{“value”:”
The first episode of Meghan Markle’s new podcast just dropped, and it’s already getting obliterated by critics.
“Confessions of a Female Founder” is meant to highlight successful businesswomen and “inspire anyone who’s interested in turning their own entrepreneurial dreams into a reality.” But multiple reviews say the first episode, which focuses on Bumble dating app founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, is plagued by multiple issues.
Herd is a longtime friend of the Duchess of Sussex. Several critics note that the conversation is surface-level and too focused on Markle. The Times of London reviewer said the episode contained nothing but “vapid lessons in self-love.”
“Predictably, she has nothing to say about real business problems such as logistics, management techniques or supply chain issues. Equally predictably, there is lots of guff about how to love yourself and spread positive energy through the world,” the reviewer added.
“I suspect that this is not the sort of thing most small business people spend much time fretting over. But then Meghan’s business isn’t really a business. It’s a bit like the corporate equivalent of Marie Antoinette’s dairy farm — a pleasant game of make-believe for an idle rich woman.”
The Times reviewer also mocked Wolfe Herd for claiming to be on a “journey of self-love and self-discovery.”
“I’m going to foundationally re-architect the way people date and the way people love,” Wolfe Herd said during the episode.
“By this point I was seized by an urge to beat my head against the wall and foundationally re-architect my skull,” the reviewer wrote of that moment.
The Telegraph reviewer had similar feedback, saying the “Confessions” included an “inane stream of mindless aphorisms” and “no confessions or secrets.”
“The frustrating thing is that Wolfe Herd, who is just 35, presumably does have wisdom to impart, having been part of the team that created Tinder before she created Bumble,” the reviewer noted. “Imagine the drive, the talent, the decisions and sheer bloody ruthlessness it must take to achieve what she has. We get none of it.”
The reviewer from Express said Markle steamrolled the whole thing. “Meghan takes control of the narrative early on in the episode. She bluntly directs the podcast by informing her friend of how she wants the conversation to be ‘relaxed and easy’ — which is normally a chat you would have with a guest behind-the-scenes instead of on-air for broadcast,” the reviewer noted.
Despite the criticism, “Confessions” debuted in the top 10 chart in all categories on Apple Podcasts on its first day of release Tuesday. It sits at number four on the Apple Podcast Top Charts list.
Markle’s previous Spotify podcast, “Archetypes,” was canceled after one season. The former working royal also got mixed reviews for her new lifestyle series on Netflix, “With Love, Meghan,” and her product line called As Ever.
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