‘Deal or No Deal’ stylist claps back after Meghan Markle’s ‘bimbo’ comments
Meghan Markle can’t strike up a deal here.
Dina Cerchione, who served as a costume designer for “Deal or No Deal,” took to Instagram on Friday to defend her work after the Duchess of Sussex, 41, said on her “Archetypes” podcast that being a model on the game show made her feel like a “bimbo.”
The stylist, who said it had been “a rough week” after hearing Markle claim she was “objectified” while starring on the game show, wrote a lengthy post following the royal’s new podcast episode.
“I had the privilege to design the looks for Deal or No Deal, for all of the women and, of course, @howiemandel,” Cerchione wrote, adding she had “thought a lot about this,” and “wouldn’t change a thing.”
“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,” she said.
The Hollywood stylist went on to write that “the women gained such uh-mazing opportunities,” including other TV roles, “being on Oprah” and “starting businesses and more,” calling the gameshow a “launchpad” for many.
Indeed, Markle herself got her big break on the early aughts game show, in which she appeared from 2006 to 2007 before landing her starring acting role in “Suits” in 2011.
On the episode of “Archetypes,” which featured Paris Hilton as a guest, Markle acknowledged she was “thankful for the job but not for how it made [her] feel, which was not smart.”
The mom of two — who stepped out for a shopping trip over the weekend following the backlash from her remarks — went on to say she’d leave set feeling “that 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 felt for me at the time,” the duchess said. “Being reduced to this specific archetype: the word ‘bimbo'”.
Along with Cerchione, several “Deal or No Deal” models have spoken out against Markle’s claims.
“Deal or No Deal NEVER treated us like bimbos,” wrote former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star and briefcase model Claudia Jordan, who said the program helped kickstart her career.
“This isn’t a [sic] attack on Meghan cause Lord knows I’ve been defending this woman in the media for years and I still WILL but I just didn’t want any misunderstanding about the climate and environment on the Deal or No Deal set,” she added on her Instagram Story.
A second “Deal or No Deal” star, Lisa Gleave, told the Times that Markle’s comments were “insulting” and that the duchess “may have felt that way because of who she was, or who she was trying to be. But she was not treated like [a bimbo].”
Fellow model Donna Feldman agreed, telling the Post, “I disagree that I or anyone on the show was ever treated like a ‘bimbo,'” adding that “you know what you’re signing up for” and “it’s up to a woman to decide what experience will empower her or use it as an excuse to seek attention.”
