Given recent comments made by Meghan Markle about her time spent on the game show Deal or No Deal, Howie Mandel has stepped forward to defend his former co-star.
The comedian, who hosted the NBC program from 2005 to 2009 and is 66 years old, claimed that he understands why the Suits alum, who is 41 years old, had issue with her job as a “briefcase girl” on the series. He hosted the show from 2005 to 2009.
The judge from America’s Got Talent told Us Weekly that she doesn’t believe Meghan is complaining about anything. “I believe Meghan simply said that she wants to take on more responsibilities. She didn’t find it to be satisfying in any way.”
He continued, “It doesn’t seem to me that she has any ill will against Deal or No Deal. I don’t believe that any of the ladies ever expressed dissatisfaction in any way, shape, or form. And in contrast to the majority of shows that had come before it, the women had a greater role to play. They weren’t simply pointing out presents and opening [cases], they were mic’d up most of the time, and they had their say in what happened.”
The Duchess of Sussex spoke up about her experience on the program on an episode of her Archetypes podcast earlier this month. She told guest Paris Hilton that she felt “objectified” during her time on the show. Markle said that these sentiments were ultimately the reason why she decided to quit the program.
In addition, Mandel said that he was baffled as to “why there is such a huge hubbub” as a result of Markle’s statements. Whoopi Goldberg, who co-hosts The View, even had something to say about it after the podcast was broadcast
He shared, “I get it because — and I’ve never said this before — but they had this pyramid of 26 beautiful, intelligent women standing there just staring at me like I was a piece of meat.” “I get it because they had this pyramid of 26 beautiful, intelligent women standing there just staring at me like I was a piece of meat.” “I stood in the middle of it all, wearing nothing but a suit, and I had the distinct impression that I am more than this. And all I had to do was stand there while they stared at me in silence.”
“I understand it. I felt like nothing, “he continued. “Because of this, I’ve moved on with my life and am now serving as a judge on America’s Got Talent. Simply put, I wanted more out of life than to solely host Deal or No Deal.”
During the podcast, Markle reminisced on how she was both pleased to have a job to pay her expenses while she auditioned for acting parts and conflicted about how it compared to her prior professional experience.
She explained, “I had also studied international relations in college, and there were times when I was on set at Deal or No Deal and thinking back to my time working as an intern at the United States Embassy in Argentina in Buenos Aires and being in the motorcade with the security of treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain.” “I had also studied international relations in college.” “Over here, I was appreciated for something that was the complete antithesis of that.”
According to the Duchess of Sussex, she finally decided to leave the show: “I was grateful for the work, but I didn’t appreciate how it made me feel, which was a foolish thing to do. And just so you know, I was not the only intelligent woman on that platform with other women, but the emphasis of why we were all there wasn’t on that fact.”
“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 was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.” “I didn’t like being forced to be all looks and little substance, and that’s how it seemed for me at the time — being reduced to this particular stereotype,” she said. “I didn’t enjoy being forced to be all looks and little substance.”