Meghan Markle interviewed Paris Hilton on the latest episode of her ‘Archetypes’ podcast, and in an attempt to relate to the Queen of Bimbos, recalled her time as a briefcase model on Deal or Not Deal and how it made her feel.
While acknowledging her stint on the show from 2006 – 2007 helped ‘pay the bills’, Meghan said she felt objectified and eventually quit to find something with more ‘substance’:
“I ended up quitting the show. I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage. I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks. And little substance.
And that’s how it felt for me at the time being reduced to this specific archetype, the word bimbo.”
The Duchess revealed that women on the show would stuff their bras and wear eyelashes and extensions to appease producers. They were also told to ‘suck in their stomachs’ during filming:
“We were even given spray-tan vouchers each week because there was a very cookie cutter idea of precisely what we should look like. It was solely about our beauty”.
Well I don’t know what she expected tbh. What else is a briefcase model going to do other than stand there and look attractive while holding a briefcase? Did she want the writers to grow her character and give her lines to say? Besides is it any more objectifying then giving some dude a BJ in his car on 90210…?
At the end of the day that’s what you sign up for as a briefcase model on Deal or No Deal. You’re hired to be a briefcase-wielding bimbo, so you can’t then complain about being treated like one. We can’t all be Rachel Riley on Countdown and get to look good and be brainy, can we?
Interestingly, over in the UK version of the show they used future contestants to open the briefcases, rather than sexy models. Fair play to Meghan for using it as a stepping stone to far bigger and better things. No word on how the podcast episode itself has been received overall – hopefully more positively than the last one.
