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The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg put Meghan Markle on blast during the Oct. 19 episode of the daytime talk series. The panel discussed Markle’s comments about how she felt objectified while acting as a suitcase model on Deal or No Deal. However, Goldberg alluded to the fact that Markle knew what she was doing, saying, “when you’re a performer, you take the gig.”

'The View' star Whoopi Goldberg and Meghan Markle in side by side images.
Whoopi Goldberg and Meghan Markle | Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for FLC/ Anwar Hussein/WireImage

Meghan Markle revealed her ‘Deal or No Deal’ dismay during her podcast ‘Archetypes’

The former Suits actor and wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, opened up about her role as a game show model with Esquire before getting her role on the USA hit in 2011. “I would put that in the category of things I did while auditioning to make ends meet. I went from working in the U.S. Embassy in Argentina to ending up on Deal,” the royal family member told the publication in 2013.

Markle addressed her time on the series to Paris Hilton for Markle’s podcast Archetypes. She explained intelligent women surrounded her on that stage, “but that wasn’t the focus of why we were there.”

“I would leave with this pit in my stomach. Knowing that I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage. I wouldn’t say I liked feeling forced to be all looks and little substance. And that’s how it felt for me at the time, reduced to this specific archetype.”

Whoopi Goldberg discussed Meghan Markle’s comments on ‘The View’

Goldberg discussed Meghan’s comments regarding one of her early jobs in the entertainment industry with fellow View panelists Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin, Alyssa Farah Griffin, and Sara Haines.

“The objectification might be coming from you and how you felt about how these women were being portrayed, and that’s what you have to change because we’re performers,” Goldberg said. “When you’re a performer, you take the gig. Sometimes you’re in a Bozo suit, sometimes you have a big nose, and that’s the way it is.”

Goldberg continued that while Markle had the right to walk away from the job if it made her feel a certain way, other women held the same position that did not feel the same way.

“My point is if you see it and that’s how you feel, just maybe you don’t want to make the other women feel bad because maybe they’re trying to make a living too.”

Fans of ‘The View’ agreed with Goldberg’s remarks

Sara Haines, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin of 'The View.'
Sara Haines, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin | ABC/Jeff Lipsky
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In a Twitter feed connected to a clip from the show where Goldberg spoke out regarding Markle’s comments, fans agreed with the show moderator. Some found it laughable that Markle worried about being objectified as a suitcase model on Deal or No Deal when she had several love scenes on Suits that could have sparked the same reaction from the Duchess of Sussex.

“LOL,” wrote one follower in a tweet with several scene stills of Markle from the USA series, seen in love scenes with her male co-stars.

“Whoopi is right. She auditioned and took the job, knowing what it entailed. Men are hired for their looks in that industry (movies, TV, etc.), so this is not female-specific,” wrote a second View watcher.

However, other viewers felt differently than Goldberg.

“That’s not the point of her statement. She was talking about HER experience and what she felt about it,” penned a third View fan.

“MM took a job, did it, and had mixed feelings. Whoopi delegitimizes her because female actors should be grateful to be objectified as long as it’s a stepping stone???” claimed a fourth Twitter user.

The View airs on weekdays at 11 a.m. EST on ABC.

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