Howie Mandel Reacts to Meghan Markle Saying She Felt 'Objectified' on 'Deal or No Deal'

By Stephanie Downs

Howie Mandel has an interesting take on Meghan Markle's Deal or No Deal comments after she said that she felt "objectified" as a "briefcase girl" on the game show. Her comments prompted a significant amount of backlash, with people such as Whoopi Goldberg even criticizing her for her take. According to Us Weekly, Mandel, who hosted Deal or No Deal, said that he could understand where Markle was coming from. Furthermore, he expressed his confusion as to why her comments prompted so much backlash in the first place. 

Mandel said that he could understand Markle's point of view especially after being the host of Deal or No Deal. He explained, "I get it because — 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." Mandel continued to open up to Us Weekly, "I was in the center, just dressed up in a suit and I felt like I am more than this. And they would just look at me and I had to do nothing."

In addition to describing his own experience on the show, Mandel also commented on the backlash that Markle received for sharing her story. While others have said that she was overly critical of her former employer, the America's Got Talent judge said that he believes that the duchess was simply describing how she felt during her tenure as a "briefcase girl." He said, "I don't think she's maligning Deal or No Deal. I don't think there weren't ever [any] complaints from any of the women. And unlike most shows up until that point, the ladies had more to do. They weren't just pointing out gifts and opening [cases], a lot of times they were mic'd and they had their input."

Mandel also stated explicitly that he doesn't think that Markle was "complaining." Instead, he feels as though she was discussing how the job wasn't "fulfilling" for her personally, adding, "So I don't know why there is a big hoopla, except I have to say that me standing there with 26 women staring at me made me feel like a bimbo."

The "hoopla" began when Markle opened up about her Deal or No Deal experience during an episode of her Archetypes podcast. Even though she said that she was "thankful" for the job, she didn't appreciate how it made her "feel, which was not smart." Markle acknowledged that she was surrounded by "smart women" who were in the same position as her, but that she didn't feel as though their intelligence was appreciated. She explained, "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. I didn't like being 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."

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