'Deal or No Deal' host Howie Mandel defends Meghan Markle over 'bimbo' claims

Howie Mandel does not understand why Meghan Markle got so much backlash after she shared that working on "Deal or No Deal" made her feel like a "bimbo."

The former game show host seemingly defended the Duchess of Sussex when he too admitted that he felt like a "bimbo." He told US Weekly that he has "never heard anybody complain" and does not think that the mum-of-two was complaining.

"I think Meghan just said she wanted to do more. It wasn't fulfilling for her. So I don't know why there is a big hoopla, except I have to say that me standing there with 26 women staring at me made me feel like a bimbo," he said.

"I get it because — I've never said this before — but they had this pyramid of 26 beautiful, intelligent women standing there just staring at me like I was a piece of meat," he admitted and explained, "I was in the centre, just dressed up in a suit and I felt like I am more than this. And they would just look at me and I had to do nothing."

Mandel opened up about his own experience on "Deal or No Deal" and said he was only there to tell the women "to open up cases" and that he "felt like nothing." This is why he moved on from the game show and became a judge on "America's Got Talent" because he "needed more than to be a 'Deal or No Deal' host."

He also defended Meghan Markle and said she did not complain about the show being bad or "maligning" it. In his opinion, the royal was only sharing "what was going on in her mind."

Mandel's defence of the Duchess of Sussex came after her former co-workers Claudia Jordan and Lisa Gleave defended the show. They said it helped launched their careers and that they never felt disrespected.

Meghan Markle admitted in an episode of her "Archetypes" Spotify podcast that she left as one of the briefcase girls on "Deal or No Deal" because she did not like how the work made her feel. It made her feel like a "bimbo" and "all looks and little substance."