Meghan Markle Felt Reduced to a 'Bimbo' on 'Deal or No Deal'
Celebrity

Meghan Markle Felt Reduced to a 'Bimbo' on 'Deal or No Deal'

Meghan Markle is explaining why she quit one of her first jobs in Hollywood.

On the latest episode of her Archetypespodcast, the Duchess of Sussex sat down with guests Paris Hilton and Iliza Schlesinger to discuss the widespread use of misogynistic labels like "dumb blonde," as well as her own firsthand experience with feeling "reduced" to one particular stereotype while working as a "briefcase model" on Deal or No Deal.

“I ended up quitting the show. I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage,” Markle explained of the gig, which only lasted one season from 2006 to 2007.

“I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance," as she continued. "And that’s how it felt for me at the time being reduced to this specific archetype: the word ‘bimbo.'”

After all, Markle was a recent graduate of Northwestern University's theater program back then, meaning she didn't really have a lot of immediate job options as an upstart actress in Los Angeles. And while she went on to say that her stint on the NBC game show was great in the sense that she had "a job that could pay my bills" while she was auditioning for other roles, the fact that it consisted of "holding said briefcase on stage alongside 25 other women doing the same" was something that never sat quite right with her.

"'Deal or No Deal' wasn’t about acting," she continued, recalling how she used to be on-set and think about how she studied international relations and was an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she was "in the motorcade with the secretary of Treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain."

"I was thankful for the job but not for how it made me feel, which was not smart. And by the way, I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me. But that wasn’t the focus of why we were there," she said, before referring to one instance of a female producer who told her to "suck it in."

"I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach knowing that I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage," Markle added. "I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance, and that’s how it felt for me at the time."

As for why she dredged up this moment from her past, Markle said she was recently reminded of that part of her life while watching TV, which made her think about how she hopes her 1-year-old daughter, Lilibet, will "want to be educated and want to be smart and to pride herself on those things" as she grows up.

Listen to Markle talk about her Deal or No Deal experience below.

Photo via Shutterstock / FiledIMAGE