A stylist on Deal or No Deal has released a long statement, describing how she’d had a “rough week” following comments made by Meghan Markle about her time on the show. The Duchess of Sussex appeared on 34 episodes of the gameshow as a briefcase model between 2006 and 2007.
However, on an episode of her Spotify podcast series ‘Archetypes’, which featured Paris Hilton as a guest, Meghan 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.”
The Duchess also said: “I didn’t like being forced to be all looks and little substance, and that’s how it felt for me at the time. Dina Cerchione, who worked as a costume designer for Deal or No Deal said in an Instagram post on Friday she had “a rough week watching a show I love SO much be criticized”.
Ms. Cerchione said: “I had the privilege to design the looks for Deal or No Deal, for all of the women and, of course, Howie Mandel.”
Ms. Cerchione added she had “thought a lot about this,” and “wouldn’t change a thing”. She also said: “There was a mission at work to do the best we could, take care of our full team and treat everyone with the respect they earned and deserved.”
Being reduced to this specific archetype: the word ‘bimbo’.”