Meghan's friends claim she was 'used' by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's series The Gentlemen

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Howe, M. (2026, October 18). Meghan's friends claim she was 'used' by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's series The Gentlemen. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/meghan-markle-netflix-the-gentleman-acting-duchess-sussex-b1301336.html

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-10-18 · by Megan Howe

Quick Summary

Meghan Markle’s friends claim she was used to help promote the second season of Guy Ritchie's Netflix series The Gentlemen, despite initial discussions not materializing into a casting agreement due to public scrutiny. Sources close to Meghan and Prince Harry suggest that interest in her joining the show was primarily for publicity purposes, given the lower ratings for season two compared to the first. This alleged use has left a bad taste among those close to the Sussexes, who feel it was a marketing tactic to boost viewership figures and media coverage for the show’s second season.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Meghan Markle was reportedly "used" by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's crime drama series The Gentlemen, after discussions for her to join the cast fell through. Friends of Meghan claim that she was leveraged to boost interest in season two, which they felt wasn't as strong as the first and had already secured a third season. This alleged marketing tactic involved leaking that negotiations were advanced without substantial progress, aiming to generate buzz and increase viewership figures for the series. The speculation about her potential role resurfaced over the summer when Deadline reported on it, but no concrete deal was reached amid public scrutiny regarding her return to acting. Meghan's involvement in such marketing ploys left a "sour taste" among those close to her, according to sources.

Written for “Meghan Used By NetflixCr Claims” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Meghan Used By NetflixCr Claims

Entertainment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Prince Harry and wife Meghan make first joint appearance since UK return different event · 95%

The Straits Times

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 16 📰 publisher trust 60

“Article A describes Prince Harry and Meghan's joint appearance in Nottingham, while Article B discusses their return to the UK and related activities, but does not focus on a single specific joint public appearance.”

Meghan Markle ‘used’ by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie’s ‘The Gentlemen’ after rumors swirled about possible role same event · 95%

New York Post

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 67

“Both articles discuss Meghan's friends claiming she was used by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's series, indicating they are reporting on the same incident.”

How is Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new U.K. life really going? Royal experts weigh in different event · 80%

Toronto Star

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 4 of 82 📰 publisher trust 63

“While both articles mention the visit of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Nottingham in October 2026, they focus on different aspects — Article A discusses their joint appearance and return to the UK, while Article B mentions it as part of a broader discussion about Meghan's business ventures.”

Harry and Meghan are set to cash in on their royal connections like never before. They seem to think we're all stupid - but their 'cunning' plan will never work: AMANDA PLATELL different event · 75%

Daily Mail

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 14% hedged 4 of 28 📰 publisher trust 64

“While both articles mention Harry and Meghan's recent visit to Nottingham, they focus on different aspects of their activities and do not describe the exact same incident or time.”

Prince Harry and Meghan to make first joint appearances since returning to UK different event · 30%

The Independent

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 22 📰 publisher trust 59

“Article A describes Prince Harry and Meghan's joint appearances at charities in Nottingham, while Article B discusses broader activities and ventures pursued by Meghan after moving to California.”

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle accused of staging 'royal theatre' as King Charles faces new dilemma: expert different event · 30%

Fox News

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 11% hedged 6 of 56 📰 publisher trust 67

“The articles discuss different aspects of Harry and Meghan's activities without clearly referring to the same specific incident or time.”

Meghan Markle makes first official joint appearance with Prince Harry since UK move: ‘It’s great to be back’ different event · 30%

New York Post

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 15 📰 publisher trust 67

“Article A describes Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's first official joint appearance in Nottingham on a specific date, while Article B discusses their general activities and recent return to the UK without specifying this particular event.”

UK: Harry and Meghan make high-profile comeback six years after royal exit different event · 30%

Euronews

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 8 📰 publisher trust 60

“The articles cover different aspects of Harry and Meghan's return to UK activities; Article A describes a specific visit to Nottingham, while Article B discusses their broader return to public engagements in the context of recent business ventures.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make 1st joint appearance after U.K. return different event · 30%

Global News

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 22 📰 publisher trust 63

“Article A describes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first joint appearance after returning to England, while Article B discusses their business ventures and a vague reference to recent public engagements without specifying the same event.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

67/100

Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Entertainment

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 5792 article(s) · 46 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 46 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Megan Howe

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 86 articles by Megan Howe →

Topics

America California Netflix Nottingham Spotify

Subjects

Meghan PERSON · 4× Netflix ORG · 3× America GPE · 1× California GPE · 1× Guy Ritchie’s PERSON · 1× Harry PERSON · 1× Nottingham GPE · 1× Spotify ORG · 1× Sussex PERSON · 1× The Telegraph ORG · 1×

Narrative

Since establishing a permanent family home in California, Meghan has pursued a string of business and philanthropic ventures, including launching her lifestyle brand As Ever, hosting a Spotify podcast and publishing a children’s book, The Bench.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18

2026-10-18 · Evening Standard

Meghan's friends claim she was 'used' by Netflix to promote Guy Ritchie's series The Gentlemen · assertive framing

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

The 45-year-old lived in America for the past six years after she and Harry dramatically stepped back from their roles as senior working royals in January 2020. asserted

she → live → January

Meghan → establish → book

In recent weeks, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have made a surprising return to the UK with their two children, carrying out their first public engagement in Nottingham last week since arriving back in the UK. asserted

Duke → make → UK

Their return follows speculation in August that Meghan could be preparing to revive her acting career, with reports suggesting she was in “advanced talks” to join the cast of Guy Ritchie’s Netflix crime drama The Gentlemen for its third season. However, those discussions are understood to have fallen through amid intense public scrutiny surrounding the possibility of the Duchess returning to the screen. uncertain

Duchess → follow → screen

A source close to the couple told The Telegraph: “Some people in her camp feel she was used to help promote season two, because they knew it wasn’t as good as the first season and had already commissioned a third.” asserted

it → tell → third

They continued: “It’s the oldest marketing trick in the book: get a big name to read a script, then leak that you’re ‘in conversation’ with them when, in reality, nothing is particularly far along. asserted

nothing → continue → reality

Read More “The whole thing left a bit of a sour taste in the Sussex camp’s mouth. asserted

thing → read → mouth

Needless to say, Netflix got what it wanted: huge viewing figures for season two and a lot of publicity.” asserted

it → say → publicity

The couple have already faced issues with security following their return to the UK, after Meghan’s personal phone number was leaked in a parent’s WhatsApp group. asserted

number → face → group

The couple carried out their first official public outing since returning to the UK on Thursday. asserted

couple → carry → Thursday

Well-wishers, predominantly under the age of 30, cheered, presented flowers, and requested selfies. asserted

wishers → cheer → selfies

One woman shouted, "We love you, Duchess Meghan," and others gave her big hugs upon arrival. asserted

others → shout → arrival

Netflix has been contacted by The Standard for comment. asserted

Netflix → contact → comment

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