Meghan Markle admits she ‘judged’ Paris Hilton ahead of interviewing her for Archetypes podcast

Meghan Markle told listeners on the latest episode of her ‘Archetypes’ Spotify podcast that she was nervous about interviewing Paris Hilton, because she’d ‘had a judgment’ about the socialite. 

The latest episode of the Duchess of Sussex’s podcast series, entitled ‘Breaking Down The Bimbo’, saw her come face-to-face with the 41-year-old socialite as they discussed her rise to fame as a reality TV star in the early noughties. 

Before the interview began, Markle, also 41, told her audience that she was anxious ahead of the recording, saying: ‘I’ve been the most nervous about this one.’

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The Duchess of Sussex released the latest episode of her Spotify Archetypes podcast, ‘Breaking Down The Bimbo’, on Tuesday – but admitted she was nervous about interviewing Paris Hilton because she’d ‘had a judgment’ about the US socialite

Markle, 41, says she grew up thinking ‘What could possibly be wrong with her life?’ because Hilton, also 41, was ‘beautiful, rich and famous’

Hilton shot to fame in 2003, with socialite pal Nicole Richie in reality TV show The Simple Life; she says she was told to adopt a ‘bimbo’ persona for the programme

She explained: ‘Because while I’m embarrassed to admit it, I had a judgment about Paris. And I don’t like having judgment doesn’t feel good.

‘But I had to be real about that because when I grew up, she was beautiful, rich and famous. What could possibly be wrong with her life?’

Hilton responded saying she was also hesitant about an audience with the Duchess of Sussex ’cause I’m just such a shy person and we haven’t met before’. 

The frank episode saw Markle discuss the labels of ‘Bimbo’ and ‘Dumb blonde’, exploring why ‘brains and beauty in a woman have been historically pitted against each other’.

In the podcast’s intro, Markle opened up about her own experiences of being valued purely on her physical appearance, when she starred as a Deal or No Deal ‘briefcase girl’ in 2006. 

The Duchess of Sussex said she was grateful for the work as she tried to break through as an actress and ‘pay the bills’ – ‘but not how it made me feel, which was not smart’.

Meghan Markle today opened up on being a Deal or No Deal briefcase girl and revealed she quit claiming she felt ‘objectified’ and like a ‘bimbo’

Meghan appeared on Season two of NBC’s Deal or No Deal 16 years ago. She first stood beside briefcase number 11 for two episodes, then moved to number 24. The royal claimed that the briefcase girls had to go to beauty stations, including one for padding her bra

The California-based royal, who appeared on the programme in 2006, revealed that she and the other women on the show were forced to ‘line up’ for various beauty treatments including ‘padding in your bra’.

Meghan appeared on Season two of NBC’s Deal or No Deal 16 years ago. She first stood beside briefcase number 11 for two episodes, then moved to number 24. She left the show midway through the season. 

She said: ‘I ended up quitting the show. I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.

The latest episode of Meghan Markle’s ‘Archetypes’ Spotify podcast features Paris Hilton discussing ‘Breaking Down The Bimbo’

‘I didn’t like feeling 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 the word bimbo’, adding: ‘It’s a word that is used to cut down a beautiful woman to kind of say well she’s beautiful, but maybe she’s slutty or maybe she’s silly or stupid’.

Meghan said that she wants her own daughter Lilibet to be valued for her brain. She said: ‘I want our daughter to aspire to be slightly higher. Yeah, I want my Lili to want to be educated and want to be smart and to pride herself on those things’.