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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Mabel Banfield-Nwachi

The highs and lows of Meghan’s Archetypes podcast

Serena Williams and Meghan
Serena Williams and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Their chat was enlivened by the unexpected participation of Prince Harry. Photograph: AP


The multimillion-dollar deal that a media group run by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has had with streaming giant Spotify is ending by mutual agreement, the two parties said on Thursday. Here are some of the highs and lows of the season.

Awkward small talk

Maybe unfairly, some have said the best part of an otherwise fairly staid series was when Harry conveniently walks in on his wife’s chat with her “dear, dear friend” Serena Williams. He compliments the “vibe” of Williams’s hair and, after some very British small talk, disappears again.

Diva moments

In the second episode, Meghan talks to Mariah Carey – who she admits was her “girl crush” – about being a diva, a label she says the singer wears “unapologetically”. The pair talk about growing up mixed-race in 1990s America, living in predominantly white neighbourhoods, and the importance of representation in creating aspirations.

The duchess is stunned into silence, however, when Mariah says: “You give us diva moments sometimes, Meghan.”

Sickly sweet

Jameela Jamil annoyed some listeners in her episode with Shohreh Aghdashloo, where the three discuss the “stereotypes and judgments women face in the world of activism”. Jamil praises Meghan for being so “kind and normal” and wonders if her defence of Meghan will make the podcast.

Being a bimbo

Meghan talks to Paris Hilton to unpick the notion of the bimbo, and explains how she felt objectified when she was a briefcase girl on the US version of Deal or No Deal. Meghan was nervous about meeting Hilton because, she says, she bought into the notion of her being a “dumb blonde”. But only for a while.

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