Meghan Markle Told Paris Hilton The Relatable Reason She Quit Deal Or No Deal
Despite the lengthy wait for it to materialize, the Duchess of Sussex's podcast, "Archetypes," has proven to be a massive hit. In fact, Meghan Markle even gave Joe Rogan a run for his money when she knocked him off the top of the streaming charts, as reported by The Wrap. Thus far, she's had lively chats with the likes of Serena Williams, Mariah Carey, and Constance Wu (via Deadline).
"Archetypes" is produced by Archewell Audio, an arm of Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry's, Archewell foundation, which also includes a nonprofit and a production company in partnership with Spotify's Gimlet Media. It took almost two years for "Archetypes" to finally come out, but the wait was worth it.
On the latest episode, the former actor sat down with Paris Hilton to discuss the idea of being a bimbo. As a result, Meghan delved into her past as a "briefcase girl" on game show "Deal or No Deal," including why she ultimately stepped away from the position.
The Duchess of Sussex wanted to be appreciated for more than her looks
While chatting with socialite Paris Hilton during the appropriately named "Breaking down 'The Bimbo'" podcast episode, Meghan Markle recalled how sexist bullying led her to quit her lucrative position on "Deal or No Deal." The Duchess of Sussex was flipping through the channels recently when she stumbled upon an episode and instantly began reminiscing about her time as a "briefcase girl," back in 2006.
The burgeoning star took the job so she could earn some cash while getting her acting career off the ground. Sadly, appearing on "Deal or No Deal" was markedly different from "working as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Argentina in Buenos Aires," since, while there, Meghan was "being valued specifically for my brain" as opposed to the game show, where "it was solely about beauty."
As Meghan recalled, "When I look back at that time, I'll never forget this one detail — because moments before we'd get on stage, there was a woman who ran the show and she'd be there backstage, and I can still hear her. She couldn't properly pronounce my last name at the time and I knew who she was talking to because she'd go, 'Markle, suck it in! Markle, suck it in!'" She soon quit.
Thankfully, Meghan went on to bigger and better things. However, she gave up her acting career upon marrying Prince Harry — a move that royal expert Sally Bedell Smith told Vanity Fair the duchess deeply regrets.
Meghan Markle's podcast has unsurprisingly courted controversy
"Archetypes" has been demonstrably popular with listeners, but, as with everything else she does, the Duchess of Sussex's intentions with the podcast are being heavily questioned. Some even believed that Meghan Markle had taken a dig at the royal family in her podcast after she discussed the idea of being true to herself in an episode entitled "The Demystification of Dragon Lady," with Margaret Cho and Lisa Ling.
The former "Suits" star asserted, "Be yourself. Your full complete whole layered, sometimes weird, sometimes awesome, but always best and true self. Just be you. You're so much greater than any archetype." Unsurprisingly, this was taken as a sly insult, especially since Meghan memorably told The Cut that she upset The Firm's dynamic "just by existing."
Elsewhere, a royal expert claimed Meghan's podcast has a hidden motive, too. Duncan Larcombe described it as "the opening salvo in Meghan's 12-week war" during an interview with the Daily Beast, reasoning, "It has the potential to be even more damaging than the Oprah interview because it is Meghan, in her own words, on her own show, doing exactly what she wants."
However, as one source explained to The Telegraph, she can't win either way. Referring to both Meghan and fellow royal defector Prince Harry, they contended, "It doesn't matter what they say or write, the chatter will be there regardless. Even if they didn't mention the royal family at all, people would still say it's a snub."