Meghan Markle wears shirt with 'Women, Life, Freedom' written in Farsi

2022-10-19

Meghan Markle wears t-shirt with ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ written in Farsi as she makes surprise appearance at Spotify HQ in LA to praise ‘courage’ of Iranian protestors fighting hijab rules

Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at a private event at the Spotify headquarters in Los Angeles Tuesday
At the event Markle wore a shirt with a the words ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ written in Farsi across the front
Attendees of the event said Markle spoke support of the female-driven protests taking place in Iran and across the world
Markle also brought two executive members of her organization Archewell, Ashley Hansen and Mandana Dayani, both of whom are Iranian women

Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at an event at Spotify’s headquarters on Tuesday and spoke in support of the protests in Iran while wearing a shirt emblazoned with a message written in Farsi.

Markle, 41, took the stage at an event for Women@Spotify – a female-run resource group at the streaming company – wearing a shirt with Farsi words meaning ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ written across the front.

She also brought along two executive members of her organization Archewell – executive vice president of global communications Ashley Hansen, and president Mandana Dayani, both of whom are Iranian women.

The words of support from the Duchess of Sussex comes as women across Iran have been protesting gendered oppression following the death of Mahsa Amini.

The 22-year-old died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating the Muslim nation’s strict morality laws which requires women to cover their hair.

Meghan Markle (center) with Archewell executive vice president of global communications Ashley Hansen (left), and president Mandana Dayani (right), both of whom are Iranian

Meghan Markle with Archewell president president Mandana Dayan at the Spotify event Tuesday

Iranian women have been protesting since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after being arrested for allegedly violating the Muslim nation’s strict morality laws which requires women to cover their hair

Meghan was invited to appear at the private Spotify event Tuesday, according to Hello!, and spoke of the ‘courage’ for the Iranian protesters.

Dayani elaborated on Markle’s comments, and said it was a ‘proud day’ at Archewell for her and Hansen while sharing a photo of the three of them together at the event.

‘Meghan spoke about the revolution being led by women and young girls in Iran,’ Dayani wrote in an Instagram post.

‘The courage and bravery they show every day, and their leadership and advocacy of basic human rights: women, life, freedom.

‘As an Iranian woman who fled her home country in pursuit of these very freedoms, I could not have been more grateful for how she chooses, again and again, to advocate for women around the world,’ she added.

Author of the Megan Markle biography Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie, tweeted out the photo of the three of them and praised Megan for her message.

‘Meghan stands in solidarity with women and girls in Iran,’ Scobie wrote.

A woman in Iran protests the nation’s systemic oppression of women on Saturday, October 1

A fire rages on Monday, October 10, amidst the women’s protests which are raging across Iran

Women across the world have joined in on the Iranian women’s protests. Above, a group of demonstrators march through Los Angeles

Markle’s support for Iranian women was only the most recent of many times she has expressed support for women’s issues.

Earlier this summer she spoke out against the overturning of Roe V. Wade.

‘Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large,’ she said in a June interview with Vogue, ‘They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us.

‘My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too,’ she added.

In previous years she has continually spoken about the importance of girls’ and women’s education across the globe, and women’s rights to vote.

And in a 2017 issue of Time magazine, she published an impassioned piece about fighting the stigma of menstruation in the developing world.

Meghan Markle’s former Deal or No Deal co-star fires back at her claims that she was ‘reduced to a bimbo’ and ‘objectified’ on the show – insisting briefcase girls were chosen based on their ‘outgoing personalities’

Meghan Markle’s former Deal or No Deal costar has fired back at her claims that she was ‘reduced to a bimbo’ on the game show and was only valued for her ‘beauty,’ not her ‘brains.’

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Claudia Jordan – who appeared alongside Meghan, 41, on the NBC game show in the mid-2000s – posted a furious rant about the Duchess on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, hitting out at claims that she made about the show during the latest episode of her podcast, Archetypes.

Meghan, who appeared on the second season of the NBC series for 34 episodes between 2006 and 2007, said she quit because she felt she was being ‘objectified,’ revealing that she was forced to get regular spray tans and wear a padded bra.

She claimed her time in the show made her feel ‘not smart’ because it was all about ‘looks’ – but according to Claudia, that was not the case, at least not for all of the models involved.

Meghan Markle’s former Deal or No Deal co-star Claudia Jordan (right) has fired back at her claims that she was ‘reduced to a bimbo’ on the game show

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Claudia, 49 – who appeared alongside Meghan, 41, on the show in the mid-2000s – posted a furious rant about the Duchess on her Instagram on Tuesday

Meghan, who appeared on the second season of the NBC series for 34 episodes between 2006 and 2007, said on her podcast that felt she was being ‘objectified’ on the show

However, Claudia insisted that producers worked to highlight the models with the ‘most outgoing and fun personalities’, adding that she never felt like a ‘bimbo’ while on the show

Claudia, 49, who starred in Deal or No Deal for four seasons from 2005 to 2009, slammed Meghan for her comments, explaining that the show ‘never treated them like bimbos’ and that it helped provide ‘so many opportunities’ for them.

‘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,’ she wrote in a post shared to her Instagram Stories.

‘And Deal or No Deal never treated us like bimbos. We got so many opportunities because of that show.’

The reality star added that it’s the ‘kind of opportunity’ that ‘is what you make it.’ She added, ‘If you just show up and don’t engage – then you’ll just get your check and not get much out of it.

‘But if you show up and seize your moments, there’s no limits to what you can do with the opportunity.’

Claudia explained that she ‘enjoyed’ working on Deal or No Deal, and claimed it helped launch a major career for her.

‘It was a step on the ladder I’ve been ascending on for 25 years that paid all my bills, put me in front of 13 million people a night, and led to me getting on Celebrity Apprentice, Celebrity Apprentice All Stars, a breast cancer awareness campaign, guest hosting Extra, getting into People magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful issue, and so much more,’ she continued.

Although Claudia insisted that she wasn’t trying to ‘attack’ Meghan, the Real Housewives star noted that Deal or No Deal gave people opportunities if they ‘seized their moments’

The Bravo-lebrity continued by listing all of the opportunities that she gained after appearing on the show, including appearances on Celebrity Apprentice and a guest hosting gig on Extra

Claudia said she wasn’t ‘attacking’ Meghan, but added that she felt a need to protect people who worked on Deal or No Deal, and make clear what the environment was really like

‘It also led to me co-hosting the 2009 Miss Universe pageant with @BillyBush in front of half a billion people. Not to shabby for a ‘bimbo.”

While the 49-year-old wanted her followers to know that she was not ‘attacking’ Meghan, she said it was important for her to defend the show, and all of the people who worked so hard to make it a success.

‘Lord knows I’ve been defending this woman in the media for years,’ she explained. ‘And I still will, but I just didn’t want any misunderstanding about the climate and environment on the Deal or no Deal set.

‘And I’m especially protective of [host] Howie Mandel, who was nothing but kind and respectful to all 26 of us.’

In the newest episode of Meghan’s podcast, which was released today and featured Paris Hilton as a guest star, the royal said she was grateful for the money she earned on Deal or No Deal as she tried to succeed as an actress – calling it ‘a short stint’ to pay the bills – but said she disliked ‘how it made her feel, which was not smart.’

‘There were times when I was on set at Deal or No Deal and thinking back to my time working as an intern at the US Embassy in Argentina, Buenos Aires, and being in the motorcade with the secretary of treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain,’ she explained.

Meghan (seen circled on the show in the back) had very differing opinions about the way in which briefcase girls were treated to her former co-star Claudia (seen circled in the front)

The reality star (seen holding briefcase number one) featured on Deal or No Deal between 2005 and 2009, while Meghan (seen holding 24) appeared between 2006 and 2007

‘Here, I was being valued for something quite the opposite. I ended up quitting the show. I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.

‘I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance. That’s how it felt for me at the time, being reduced to this specific archetype, the word bimbo.’

She added that she wanted her one-year-old daughter, Lilibet, to valued first for her mind, rather than her ‘beauty,’ unlike she was on the show.

‘I want our daughter to aspire to be slightly higher,’ she stated. ‘Yeah, I want my Lili to want to be educated and want to be smart and to pride herself on those things.’

The actress claimed that she and the other women on the show were forced to ‘line up’ for various beauty treatments including ‘padding in their bras,’ attaching fake eyelashes, and ‘putting in’ hair extensions.

‘We were even given spray-tan vouchers each week because there was a very cookie cutter idea, of precisely what we should look like,’ she added. ‘It was solely about our beauty.’

The wife of Prince Harry also said that a woman ‘in charge’ of the show would tell her to ‘suck it in’ before filming began, presumably an order to hold in her stomach on camera.

Meghan claims she was ‘grateful’ to join Deal or No Deal to get money, pay the bills, secure health insurance and join a union while starting out as an actress – but quit after ‘short stint’ of 34 EPISODES

Meghan Markle said she was ‘thankful’ to work on Deal or No Deal as a suitcase girl – but was made to feel ‘not smart’.

The Duchess of Sussex said she ‘was flipping through the channels on TV – this by the way is a rarity when you have two children under the age of four – but I saw an episode of a game show called Deal or No Deal. This brought back a lot of memories’.

She went on: ‘I had studied acting in college at Northwestern University and like a lot of the other women standing on stage with me acting was what I was pursuing.

‘While Deal or No Deal wasn’t about acting, I was really grateful as an auditioning actress to have a job that could pay my bills. I had income, I was part of the Union, I had health insurance, it was great.’

But she said she disliked feeling ‘forced to be all looks and little substance’ during her stint.

She said: ‘There were times when I was on set at Deal or No Deal and thinking back to my time working as an intern at the US Embassy in Argentina, Buenos Aires, and being in the motorcade with the secretary of treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain.

‘I was surrounded by smart women on that stage with me, but that wasn’t the focus of why we were there and I would end up leaving with this pit in my stomach. Like I said, I was thankful for the job but not for how it made me feel, which was not smart.’

‘Meghan Markle is biting the hand that fed her’: Royal expert accuses Duchess of Sussex of being ‘patronising’ by criticising ‘dumb blonde’ roles after she discussed spell as a Deal or No Deal briefcase model in latest Archetypes podcast with Paris Hilton

Meghan Markle has been accused of ‘biting the hand that fed her’ after she criticised ‘dumb blonde’ Hollywood roles as she revealed she quit as a Deal or No Deal briefcase girl because she felt ‘objectified.’

The Duchess of Sussex said on her Archetypes podcast she left Deal or No Deal after 34 episodes because she was forced to have spray tans and wear a padded bra that left her reduced to a ‘bimbo’ – the word at the heart of her latest Spotify episode featuring Paris Hilton.

Meghan said she was grateful for the work and money as she tried to make it as an actress – but disliked ‘how it made me feel, which was not smart’ because ‘I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks’.

Speaking on her new Archetypes podcast with Miss Hilton, called Breaking Down the Bimbo, Meghan said she wants her daughter Lilibet to be valued first for her mind, rather than ‘beauty not brains’ as she was on the TV gameshow.

The Duchess, who appeared in Deal or No Deal between 2006 and 2007, calling it ‘a short stint’ to pay the bills, added: ‘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.’

However, royal author Angela Levin slammed Meghan for her comments, arguing the roles the ex-actress took helped to make her early career and accusing her of being ‘patronising’.

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 (right) said she disliked ‘how it made me feel, which was not smart’ because ‘I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks’

Meghan and Prince Harry have signed a three-year podcast deal with Spotify for an estimated $15million to $18million

The Duchess of Sussex was speaking on her new Archetypes podcast with Paris Hilton, called ‘Breaking Down the Bimbo’

Ms Levin told The Sun Meghan was ‘biting the hand that fed her’.

She added: ‘She grabbed the jobs because she didn’t have any other ones.

‘If she’s got the brains, why didn’t she think ‘this is about beauty and I’m not doing it’?

‘She was very patronising. She didn’t have to take the job.’

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. 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.’

The California-based royal revealed that she and the other women on the show were forced to ‘line up’ for various beauty treatments including ‘padding in your bra’, to attach fake eyelashes and ‘put in’ hair extensions.

She said: ‘We were even given spray-tan vouchers each week because there was a very cookie cutter idea, of precisely what we should look like. It was solely about our beauty’.

Meghan added that a woman ‘in charge’ of the show would tell her to ‘suck it in’ before filming began, presumably an order to suck in her stomach on camera.

It came in the sixth episode of her Archetypes podcast for Spotify, which has featured her speaking to other famous women, including her friends Serena Williams, Mariah Carey and Margaret Cho where they ‘investigate, dissect, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back’.

Meghan and Prince Harry have signed a three-year podcast deal with the streaming giant for an estimated $15million to $18million. They also have a Netflix deal worth an estimated $100million but their upcoming and controversial fly-on-the-wall documentary series is yet to have a release date amid claims the couple are ‘trying to tone down’ its content about the Royal Family.

The latest podcast episode saw her come face-to-face with socialite Miss Hilton and discuss her rise to fame as a reality TV star in the 90s.

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

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

Meghan also admitted she ‘judged’ Miss Hilton before the interview, telling listeners: ‘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?’

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

The Duchess of Sussex appeared on Deal or No Deal before her breakthrough on the hit show Suits.

She said at the start of her podcast: ‘I was really grateful as an auditioning actress to have a job. That could pay my bills. I had income, I was part of the Union, I had health insurance, it was great’.

But Meghan said that she would daydream about not being appreciated for her brain or education.

‘Here, I was being valued for something quite the opposite. I mean, you have to imagine, just to paint the picture for you, that before the tapings of the show, all the girls, we would line up.

‘And there were different stations for having your lashes, put on, or your extensions, put in, or the padding in your bra.

‘We were even given spray-tan vouchers each week because there was a very cookie-cutter idea, of precisely what we should look like. It was solely about beauty and not necessarily about brains.’

Meghan’s views on Deal or No Deal then cut to a clip of New Yorker journalist Clare Malone, who says bimbo is ‘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’.

In last week’s episode Meghan claimed she had been branded ‘crazy’ and ‘hysterical’, saying such labels were used to silence women.

She said the insults could lead to people being ‘gaslit’ into thinking they were ill.

Taking a swipe at films and TV, she attacked the way the words were ‘thrown around casually’, leaving ‘reputations destroyed and careers ruined’.

Meghan didn’t say who had questioned her mental health but said her ‘worst point’ came after she started dating Prince Harry and he arranged a referral for her.

During her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last year, she confessed to feeling suicidal while working as a frontline member of the Royal Family. Her experience demonstrated the need to be ‘really honest about what it is that you need’, she said.

In a trigger warning at the start of her fifth podcast episode last week, called The Decoding Of Crazy, the duchess advised listeners to tune out if the subject matter was ‘too heavy’.

She added: ‘Raise your hand if you’ve ever been called crazy or hysterical or what about nuts? Insane, out of your mind, completely irrational. OK, you get the point.

‘Now, if we were all in the same room and could see each other, I think it would be pretty easy to see just how many of us have our hands up.

‘By the way, me too. And it’s no wonder when you consider just how prevalent these labels are in our culture.’

The Duchess of Sussex released the latest episode of her Spotify Archetypes podcast, ‘Breaking Down The Bimbo’, today – but admitted she was nervous about interviewing Paris Hilton because she’d ‘had a judgment’ about the US socialite. Meghan, 41, said 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 the 90s, 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

Meghan’s Spotify podcast has returned after a brief pause following the death of Prince Harry’s grandmother the Queen

The former Suits star said the damaging depictions of women’s mental states were ‘drilled into us from movies and TV, from friends and family, and even random strangers’.

Several clips were played, including one from the sitcom How I Met Your Mother where the character Barney, played by Neil Patrick Harris, says: ‘If she’s this crazy, she has to be this hot.’

Conservative philosopher Jordan Peterson was then heard saying: ‘I don’t think that men can control crazy women.’

The stigma around the word crazy had a ‘silencing effect’, particularly for those with real mental health issues, Meghan added. ‘They get scared. They stay quiet, they internalise and they repress for far too long.’

Describing how Harry, 38, found help for her at her lowest ebb, the mother-of-two recalled: ‘My husband had found a referral for me to call.

‘And I called this woman and she didn’t even know I was calling her and she was checking out at the grocery store. I could hear the little beep, beep … she could hear the dire state that I was in.

‘But I think it’s for all of us to be really honest about what it is that you need and to not be afraid and make peace with that, to ask for it.’

The 55-minute episode, which went on to different topics including successful women being ‘calculating or having some agenda’, had a contribution from US comedian Jenny Slate.

During a discussion on the word hysteria – from the Greek for womb – Miss Slate said: ‘Hysteria, craziness, like it’s a disease of the people with the uteri, like, the people with the emotions. ‘It is a definition created by a man. It is a definition meant to shame and limit a certain type of experience.’

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