Ulrika Jonsson is not impressed at Meghan Markle’s thoughts on the early stages of her career (Picture: Getty)
Ulrika Jonsson has called out Meghan Markle after the Duchess opened up on her time as a ‘briefcase girl’ on Deal or No Deal.
Meghan, 41, revealed in the latest episode of her podcast, Archetypes, that she quit the hit game show after feeling ‘objectified’ after holding briefcase number 24 during her time on the US version of Deal or No Deal.
Years before her breakthrough as an actress on popular TV drama Suits or meeting Prince Harry, she explained she was told to ‘suck it in’ by a woman who helped run the US version of the hit game show back in 2006.
In her latest Spotify episode – titled Breaking Down ‘The Bimbo’ with Paris Hilton – The Duchess of Sussex said she later left the show, saying she felt uncomfortable that her role on the show was ‘solely about beauty,’ and wants to teach her daughter Lilibet to value her brains.
Explaining that she was ‘grateful’ for her job, which naturally had some benefits and she was to pay her bills and get health insurance, the direction wasn’t exactly what she wanted in terms of her career.
‘There were times when I was on set thinking back to my time working as an intern at the US Embassy in Argentina and being in the motorcade with the Secretary of Treasury and being valued specifically for my brain.
Meghan started out as a briefcase girl on Deal or No Deal (Picture: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via)
‘Here I was being valued for something quite the opposite,’ Meghan explained.
Patricia, a co-star of Meghan’s on the same show, has since said that she felt differently.
Writing in her column for The Sun, Ulrika, 55, argued that Meghan’s ‘ambition burnt a hole in her principles’ saying starting out in such a role ‘isn’t selling yourself short.’
‘She didn’t [object] because she had ambition burning a hole in her principles and she was quite willing to use that role as a stepping stone to bigger and better things,’ the television personality wrote.
Ulrika continued: ‘She may not want to admit it, but Meghan clearly saw it as one and was willing to sacrifice her overwhelming cerebral capabilities to be seen on screen and take her chances.’
Meghan’s stint on the show was before her breakthrough in Suits (Picture: Usa Network/Netflix/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
The Duchess explained that while she was ‘grateful’ for the opportunity at the time, she wanted something different in terms of her life path (Picture: Shutterstock)
‘If she’s so smart, clever, wise and savvy, why did she not object at the time to her own perception of what she would be representing and what she would be viewed as?’ penned the mum-of-four.
The columnist referred to her own career path and break in TV as an assistant and later as a weather presenter, saying it didn’t diminish her worth or hard work:
Ulrika says similar opportunities gave her a career break but they didn’t diminish her self-worth (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
‘I was no meteorologist. I was merely a messenger. Did I have a deep and profound interest in the weather? No, not really. But I understood that this fantastic opportunity might eventually lead to greater things — if I put the work in,’ she said.
‘Now she [Meghan] is being patronising about her experience in a way that basically boils down to her biting the hand that once fed her.
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‘Plenty of successful women started either as an unrecognised grafter or as a bit of decoration to the side of the screen.’
This isn’t the first time the presenter has had more than a few choice words to say about fellow women in the public eye.
She recently slammed Molly-Mae Hague for being ‘melodramatic’ after the Love Island star admitted crying ‘five times a day’ during her pregnancy.
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She had more than a few choice words to say on the matter.