Meghan Markle's 'Deal or No Deal' Co-Star Shuts Down Her 'Bimbo' Claim

Claudia Jordan, a former star on The Real Housewives of Atlanta, offered her take on Deal or No Deal after Meghan Markle said she felt like a "bimbo" on the game show's set. The producers "never treated us" like bimbos, Jordan wrote. In a later message, Jordan clarified that he was only sharing her opinion and did not set out to "invalidate" Markle's feelings.

"For clarity – yes getting a modeling gig on a game show isn't necessarily about your intellect but every show the executive producers picked five models with the most outgoing and fun personalities to place mics on who they knew would engage with the contestants," Jordan wrote in a since-expired Instagram Story post, reports Deadline. "And Deal or No Deal never treated us like bimbos. We got so many opportunities because of that show."

As Jordan saw it, being on Deal or No Deal was the "kind of opportunity that is what you make it." It was up to individual models to decide if they wanted to just "show up and don't engage" to get paid, or if they wanted to use it as a launch pad for other opportunities in the industry. Jordan enjoyed her time on the show and noted it helped her pay her bills.

The former Bravo star also stressed that she did not want her response seen as an "attack" on the Duchess of Sussex. "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," Jordan wrote. She later added that she wanted to be "especially protective" of host Howie Mandel who was "nothing but kind and respectful" to the Deal or No Deal models.

Since Jordan's comments were still being characterized as a criticism of Markle, she published another comment late Tuesday. "Way too many people can't read or comprehend basic English," she wrote. "I didn't invalidate Meghan's feelings – I just clearly stated mine. Her feelings are her feelings. But I wanted to make it clear that in my opinion, it wasn't the environment there that brought that about. Relax."

During the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast, Markle spoke with Paris Hilton about the "bimbo" image. The discussion turned to her experience on Deal or No Deal in 2006. The job served as a launchpad for her Hollywood career, but Markle never saw it as more than a way to pay the bills.

"I was thankful for the job, but not for how it made me feel, which was not smart," Markle said. "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. 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."