When Meghan Markle slammed Deal of No Deal for ‘objectifying’ her and reducing her to a ‘bimbo,’ her sensational comments launched a major debate among other former cast and crew members about how they were treated.
Her criticism quickly threw the NBC series into the hot seat – and it wasn’t the first time that Deal or No Deal came under scrutiny. In fact, the dazzling game show has a much-more scandalous past than you might realize.
From allegations of lying and cheating its contestants to accusations of treating them like ‘cattle,’ Deal of No Deal has faced a slew of controversies throughout the seven seasons that it aired.
The NBC show premiered in 2005 and was wildly popular almost immediately – it averaged 10 to 16 million viewers every episode during its first season. It went on until 2009, and returned for one more season from 2018-2019.
Deal of No Deal has faced a slew of controversies throughout the seven seasons that it aired. Pictured is host Howie Mandel
It was recently announced that NBC is bringing Deal or No Deal back once again – but this time, with a twist. The new series will be situated on the private island instead
The series, which was hosted by Howie Mandel, saw contestants picking from 26 suitcases – each of which had a mysterious amount of money ranging from $0.01 to $1,000,000. Between rounds, they were given the offer to walk away with a prize calculated by a ‘banker’ based on the amounts that were left.
As Deal or No Deal fans prepare for its comeback, FEMAIL went ahead and recapped the many controversies that have plagued the game show over the years
While it was monumental for many reasons – not only did it reignite the nation’s love of game shows, but it also helped launch the career of numerous big stars like Meghan and Chrissy Teigen. It also had some disreputable moments, including multiple lawsuits and claims of mistreatment.
Even so, it was recently announced that NBC was bringing Deal or No Deal back once again – but this time, with a twist. The new series will be situated on a private island and contestants will have to hunt for the briefcases.
As Deal or No Deal fans prepare for its comeback, FEMAIL went ahead and recapped the many controversies that have plagued the game show over the years.
These include assertions from a mathematician, who analyzed the results of 75 games, that the banker was lying about the money that was leftover to claims that producers tried to trick viewers by having contestants change their outfits.
Meghan’s sensational ‘bimbo’ comments: Duchess of Sussex accused show of ‘objectifying’ her and only valuing her for her ‘looks’
Meghan – who appeared on 34 episodes of the show’s second season, between 2006 and 2007 – reflected on her experience during an October episode of her Archetypes podcast
She said that she quit because she felt she was being ‘objectified’ and reduced to a ‘bimbo’ – adding that her time on the show made her feel ‘not smart’ because it was all about ‘looks’
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, appeared as one of the now-famous ‘briefcase girls’ on the NBC game show long before she starred in Suits and married Prince Harry.
She participated in 34 episodes of the show’s second season, between 2006 and 2007, and when she reflected on her experience during an October episode of her Archetypes podcast, she didn’t have the nicest things to say.
The Duchess of Sussex said that she quit because she felt she was being ‘objectified’ and reduced to a ‘bimbo,’ adding that her time on the show made her feel ‘not smart’ because it was all about ‘looks.’
‘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 US Embassy in Argentina, and being in the motorcade with the secretary of treasury at the time and being valued specifically for my brain,’ she explained.
‘Here, I was being valued for something quite the opposite. I ended up quitting the show. I was so much more than what was being objectified on the stage.
‘I didn’t like feeling forced to be all looks and little substance. That’s how it felt for me at the time, being reduced to this specific archetype, the word bimbo.’
Meghan claimed she and the other women were forced to ‘line up’ for beauty treatments including ‘padding in their bras,’ attaching fake eyelashes, and ‘putting in’ hair extensions
The wife of Prince Harry also said that a woman ‘in charge’ of the show would tell her to ‘suck it in’ before filming began, presumably an order to hold in her stomach on camera
The mother-of-two claimed that she and the other women on the show were forced to ‘line up’ for various beauty treatments including ‘padding in their bras,’ attaching fake eyelashes, and ‘putting in’ hair extensions.
‘We were even given spray-tan vouchers each week because there was a very cookie cutter idea of precisely what we should look like,’ she continued. ‘It was solely about our beauty.’
The now wife of Prince Harry also said that a woman ‘in charge’ of the show would tell her to ‘suck it in’ before filming began, presumably an order to hold in her stomach on camera.
She added that she wanted her one-year-old daughter, Lilibet, to be valued first for her mind, rather than her ‘beauty,’ unlike how she was treated on the show.
‘I want our daughter to aspire to be slightly higher,’ she stated. ‘Yeah, I want my Lili to want to be educated and want to be smart and to pride herself on those things.’
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Claudia Jordan – who appeared alongside Meghan – slammed the royal’s statements, and insisted that producers ‘never treated them like bimbos’
Following her admissions, many others spoke out about their experiences on the show.
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Claudia Jordan – who appeared alongside Meghan – slammed the royal’s statements, and insisted that producers ‘never treated them like bimbos.’
The reality star said that it’s the ‘kind of opportunity’ that ‘is what you make it.’
She added: ‘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, there’s no limits to what you can do with the opportunity.’
Cheating allegations: A mathematics student recorded the results of 75 games and claimed that the banker was straying from the formula when showing contestants the money that they missed out on
In 2011, Daniel Shifflet, a mathematics student, noticed a ‘slight anomaly’ while watching Deal or No Deal – and he started to believe the game show might be ‘cheating its contestants’
Over the course of three months, Daniel said he recorded the round by round results of 75 different games
Upon examining the data, he said he found ‘strong evidence’ that the banker ‘broke from his formula for computing deals during the hypothetical rounds of the game’
In 2011, Daniel Shifflet, a Bowling Green State University mathematics student, said he noticed a ‘slight anomaly’ while watching Deal or No Deal – and he started to believe that the game show might be ‘cheating its contestants.’
‘If the contestant makes a deal before round seven, the game is usually played out in the hypothetical,’ he explained in a report about his findings.
‘That is, they play out the remaining rounds, complete with offers, as if the game were not over.
‘It was in these hypothetical situations that I noticed a discrepancy with the competition.
‘During the rounds of games still in play, quick calculations showed the banker was offering contestants far below their expected value.
‘Perhaps cheating is too strong of a word, but is it fair for the contestant to think they lost out on one amount of money when they really did not? Should it be changed? I’ll leave that answer to the reader,’ he concluded
‘In the hypothetical rounds, however, preliminary observations revealed the offers to be near, or even above, these similar expected values.
‘Being a student of mathematics, I wanted to know – were my calculations correct and was the banker fudging the numbers?’
Over the course of three months, Daniel said he recorded the round by round results of 75 different games.
Upon examining the data, he said he found ‘strong evidence’ that the banker ‘broke from his formula for computing deals during the hypothetical rounds of the game.’
He concluded: ‘The banker seemed to be offering more money than he would have if the contestants were still actually playing and able to accept the cash.
‘What does this mean? Is the banker cheating these contestants with inflated offers? It’s hard to say.
‘Since this discrepancy occurs after the game is officially over, the term “cheating” may not even apply.
‘In the end, it only makes sense that the banker would make larger offers after the game play is over, if only to increase the drama for those watching at home.
‘Perhaps cheating is too strong of a word, but is it fair for the contestant to think they lost out on one amount of money when they really did not? Should it be changed? I’ll leave that answer to the reader.’
Accusations of mistreatment: A former contestant alleged that producers ‘didn’t give a s**t’ about the people playing, and that they ‘herded them out like cattle’ as soon as their episode was done
A Reddit user who said he was on the UK version of Deal or No Deal claimed that contestants were treated like ‘cattle’ and that producers made them film for hours on end (stock image)
A Reddit user who said he was on the UK version of Deal or No Deal opened up about his experience last year – and he shed some light on what really went on behind-the-scenes.
He claimed that contestants were treated like ‘cattle’ and that producers made them film for hours on end.
He also accused them of deceiving viewers – explaining that they taped multiple shows per day, and that contestants had to change clothes to make it look like it was the next day to people who were watching at home.
‘I was on the UK Deal or No Deal a few years back,’ he wrote in a now-deleted post that was shared by The Sun.
‘Once cameras stop rolling, you are herded out of the studio and sent on your way,’ he wrote. ‘I was under this impression, stupidly, that people actually gave a s**t’ (stock image)
‘Probably the biggest thing as a fairly naïve 21-year-old, was how much you are treated like cattle.
‘Typically three shows a day were filmed. You had to bring spare clothes each day to change into to give the impression it is a brand new day.
‘Once you’ve finished your episode and the cameras stop rolling, you are almost literally herded out of the studio and sent on your way.
‘I was under this impression, stupidly, that people actually gave a s***. For the people working on the show you are just another one of thousands to pass through.’
Hit with numerous lawsuits: Game show was sued by multiple people after they claimed that a promotion fell under unlawful gambling
In 2007, four Georgia women filed a federal suit against NBC after they participated in a promotion called the Lucky Case Game (seen) and claimed it was a form of illegal gambling
In 2007, four Georgia women filed a federal suit against NBC after they claimed the game was a form of illegal gambling.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, the women said they participated in a promotion called the Lucky Case Game – in which at-home viewers were asked to send in their guesses about which out of five suitcases had the winning jackpot.
If viewers were right, their names were entered into a lottery for a chance to win anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000.
The women sent their theories in through text message and were charged 99 cents as a ‘premium’ fee. They did not win, and claimed it was a form of gambling.
It’s unclear what came of the suit, but in 2008, news hit the web that show was facing more legal trouble for similar reasons.
Attorney Jerry Buchanan, from Columbus, Georgia, told ABC affiliate WTVM at the time that he was suing the show on behalf of the Hardin family, who participated in the same promotion.
In the end, however, a judge ultimately ruled that the Lucky Case Game was a ‘promotional tool’ and wasn’t constituted as a lottery, and the case was dismissed.
Curse of the Deal or No Deal winners: Multiple contestants had mysterious deaths after winning money on the show
Some people believe there’s a curse surrounding the winners of the game show after numerous people who played and won died in mysterious ways. One contestant, named Richard Pow (seen) passed away in 2019 after he fell five floors at work
Some people believe there’s a curse surrounding the winners of the game show – after numerous people who played and won died in mysterious ways.
One contestant, named Richard Pow, who earned nearly $25,000 when he appeared on the UK version of the show in 2016, passed away three years later after he fell five floors down the middle of a staircase while at work.
The then 26-year-old and father-to-be was tragically discovered by his manager suspended upside down between the first and ground floor.
It was said he might have been texting or playing a game on his phone when he accidentally fell. But an investigation found no evidence of texts or calls at the time of incident and his phone was found inside his pocket.
Detective Richard Baildon said it was possible ‘that when he placed the phone back in his pocket, he was not aware of his surroundings and fell.’ In the end, it was ruled as an accidental death.
Another man, named Dean Brown (seen), who made $21,000 when he was on Deal or No Deal in 2010, passed away after contracting the swine flu months later
Matthew ‘Matty’ Sollena (seen) became a record-holder when he was on the show in 2006 – winning a whopping $675,000. He died in 2019, but his cause of death was never released
Another man, named Dean Brown, who made $21,000 when he was on Deal or No Deal in 2010, passed away after contracting the swine flu months later.
Matthew ‘Matty’ Sollena became a record-holder when he was on the show in 2006 – winning a whopping $675,000.
He died in 2019, but his cause of death was never released.
Four other winners from the show have also passed away over the years, but very little information was reported about their deaths.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk