Claudia Jordan Reacts to Meghan Markle’s ‘Deal or No Deal’ Claims – MGG

A different experience. Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Claudia Jordan disputed Meghan Markle‘s recent claims that Deal or No Deal “reduced” her to a bimbo.

“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,” the Couple’s Retreat star, 49, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, October 18, about her own experience working on the game show. “And Deal or No Deal never treated us like bimbos. We got so many opportunities because of that show.”

Adding that she enjoyed her time working on Deal or No Deal, as it allowed her to pay “all her bills,” Jordan explained that the show offered opportunities for bigger career moves.

“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 then there’s no limits to what you can do with the opportunity,” the Celebrity Apprentice alum wrote. “[This isn’t an] attack on Meghan cause 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.”

While she made it clear on Tuesday that she wasn’t attacking the duchess, Jordan still faced criticism. The following day, she responded via Twitter, explaining that she “wasn’t ‘coming for that woman’ or trashing her or even invalidating her FEELINGS,” by sharing her own experience of working on the TV show. “Can’t two people make comments about the same work place & NOT be on the same page but ALSO not be deemed a ‘cat fight’ or an attack??”

The former pageant queen added on Wednesday, October 19, that people were “reaching” to try and create drama out of nothing.

Jordan continued: “I was busy the past 4 days working on another film. So YES I only had the luxury of responding to a tabloid headline. Still wasn’t an attack no matter how some will chose to interpret it. We can ALL speak on OUR experiences on the show. No harm in that!”

During the most recent episode of her “Archetypes” podcast, the Duchess of Sussex, 41, opened up about working as a briefcase model on Deal or No Deal from 2006 to 2007. “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 U.S. Embassy in Argentina, in Buenos Aires … and being in the motorcade with the Secretary of Treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain,” Markle said before speaking to guest Paris Hilton. “Here I was being valued for something quite the opposite.”

The Bench author added that the women would “line up” backstage to get glammed up before the show so they’d all fit into the show’s “ideal” of beauty. “When I look back at that time, I’ll never forget this one detail,” Markle continued. “There was a woman who ran the show and she’d be there backstage and I can still hear her … she’d go, ‘Markle, suck it in! Markle, suck it in!‘”

The former Suits star later explained that while she was grateful for the job, she ultimately felt the need to leave the show because it was affecting her self-esteem. “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,” Markle said. “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.”