'Deal or No Deal' Models Kindly Ask Meghan Markle to Piss Off and Stop Smearing Their Profession
NBC. Getty Images.There are few professions that have done more to advance American culture around the globe the way Game Show Models have. When I was a kid, the pinnacle of that unique art form was Let's Make a Deal's Carol Merrill. Known to us all as the Lovely Carol Merrill, to the point the adjective could've been part of her legal name like Marvelous Marvin Hagler, I just now found out she's the aunt of one of my biggest celebrity crushes, Carla Cugino, who is lovely in her own right.
No one could wave their hand in the direction of a console color television or a 1977 AMC Pacer the way Merrill could. Then came the '80s and Vanna White. Then of course, Bob Barker surrounded himself with Barker's Beauties like a TV-G Hugh Hefner. And those fabulous women became the best part of staying home from school on a snow day.
Which brings me to this week's news about former Deal or No Deal model Meghan Markle besmirching the very institution that made her semi-famous enough to marry an heir to the throne of England.
An absolute outrage, to be sure. Smearing the good name not only of the show, and of the noble profession that once paid her bills, but also disrespecting her country in the process.
Well I'm proud to report that her former-coworkers will not sit idly by and suffer the Duchess of Sussex's unpatriotic attacks quietly. They are fighting mad, and they are fighting back:
Source - Fellow former briefcase beauty Donna Feldman told The Post that she doesn’t feel the same way about her time on “Deal or No Deal” as Meghan Markle does.
“I disagree that I or anyone on the show was ever treated like a ‘bimbo,'” the Los Angeles-based model insisted. …
Feldman told The Post she disagrees since an actress should understand the part she’s playing.
“Of course, you know what you’re signing up for when you’re hired as a ‘briefcase beauty,'” Feldman said. “I have gotten opportunities in my career based off the way I look, but it’s my brains, personality, and work ethic that help seal the deal and get me the job, and get clients to continue to hire me on a regular basis.”
“It’s up to a woman to decide what experience will empower her or use it as an excuse to seek attention,” she added. …
Patricia Kara, who starred in every episode of “Deal or No Deal,” told The Post that she doesn’t remember ever being treated like a bimbo. …
“It’s unfortunate that not everyone can find happiness in the things they decide to do,” Kara said of Markle’s negative comments about her time on the show, noting she’s the “only model to appear on all three versions of the show.”
“I remember a group of hard-working, strong-minded, independent women that found success in the entertainment industry,” she added.
Bravo, ladies. I wish I could've said it this well, but that is not possible. Mwah!
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Imagine the audacity it takes to accept a job that consists of dressing up in sexy outfits, looking attractive on television, making viewers desire you so they'll keep their eyes on the screen, and holding up suitcases, then complaining later about how they "objectified" you. Like being an object - a sex object - isn't the only requirement of the job. Think of the unrestrained ego it requires to claim they undervalued your brains, even after that gig springboarded you into a life of literal royalty. What unmitigated gall.
So we can all be grateful that these two true Briefcase Beauties are calling her out for attacking their profession like this. If we can't allow our Game Show Models to look attractive while giving prizes away to us without having their way of life called into question, then what exactly are we doing? Why even be part of a society that would allow this kind of slander? Out of a royal from another country, no less?
So thanks to Donna Feldman:
… and Patricia Kara:
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… and all Briefcase Beauties who realize that Game Show Modeling is a sacred institution worth fighting for.