Meghan reveals she was 'treated like a bimbo' on Deal or No Deal and said she wants Lilibet to 'aspire higher'

18 October 2022, 13:01 | Updated: 4 November 2022, 10:09

Meghan Markle has revealed she felt objectified during her days as a briefcase girl on Deal or No Deal and said she wants her daughter Lilibet to "aspire higher".

In the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast, she discussed the terms "bimbo" and "dumb blonde" with TV star Paris Hilton.

"I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on this idea because when I hear the word bimbo, I have a very negative connotation to it," she said in the sixth episode.

"I don't see that as an aspirational thing for a woman, I want our daughters to aspire to be slightly higher.

"I want my Lili to want to be educated and want to be smart and to pride herself on those things."

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The Duchess of Sussex opened up about her brief time on Deal or No Deal, saying she quit because she felt objectified.

"Before the tapings of the show, all the girls, we would line up and there were different stations for having your lashes put on, or your extensions put in, or the padding in your bra," said the 41-year-old.

"It was solely about beauty and not necessarily about brains."

She said there was a woman who would tell her to suck her stomach in as she went on stage.

"I ended up quitting the show," she said.

"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 and 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."

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Meghan is said to have been inspired by her podcast to launch a fund to "empower young adults" with a million-dollar scheme to support women in need.

In the previous episode, she spoke about how she and other women are called "crazy and hysterical" to "minimise" their problems.

"Raise your hand if you've ever been called crazy or hysterical, or what about nuts? Insane, out of your mind, completely irrational, OK? You get the point," she said.

"Now, if we were all in the same room and could see each other, I think it would be pretty easy to see just how many of us have our hands up. By the way, me too."

Her guests on episode five included Indian actress Deepika Padukone, American comedian Jenny Slate and American actress Constance Wu.

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"Calling someone crazy or hysterical completely dismisses their experience and minimises what they're feeling," said the Duchess.

"It keeps going to the point where anyone who's been labelled it enough times can be gaslit into thinking that they're actually unwell or sometimes worse, to the point where real issues of all kinds get ignored. Well, that's not happening today.

"I feel pretty strongly about this word, this label 'crazy', the way that it's thrown around so casually and the damage - it's rotten (for) society and women, frankly everywhere.

"From relationships to families being shattered, the reputations destroyed and careers ruined. The stigma surrounding the word, it also has this silencing effect.

"This effect - women experiencing real mental health issues, they get scared, they stay quiet, they internalise, and they repress for far too long."

As well as a podcast, Meghan has also been working with Netflix alongside Prince Harry to produce a tell-all documentary about their love story.

But it was reported on Tuesday that the release of the high-anticipated show had been delayed following backlash over Netflix's The Crown.

The streaming company has been accused of "inventing" scenes in the popular series, including those showing a younger then-Prince Charles trying to oust the Queen.

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Because of the row, Netflix bosses reportedly decided to delay the Sussexes' documentary for fear of further backlash.

A source told American news outlet Deadline that Netflix executives were "rattled".

"They blinked first and decided to postpone the documentary," the source said.