Meghan Markle was offended when Mariah Carey said she had “diva moments” during a one-on-one interview.
The “Butterfly” singer appeared in the second episode of the Duchess of Sussex’s new podcast “Archetypes.”
Carey explained that “usually” diva “means a successful woman,” but it can also mean b—h. “Like, it’s not okay for you to be a boss. It’s not okay for you to be a strong woman, you know what I mean?” She asked.
Markle said that people should remember “that there might be this persona, and yes the diva thing we can play into,” but it’s not a term that she can “connect to.”
“You give us diva moments sometimes, Meghan, don’t even act like…” Carey pointed out, but Markle cut her off quickly. “What kind of diva moments did I give you?”
The “The We Belong Together” singer seemed to notice Markle’s hackles rise, because rapidly backtracked. “It’s the visual. It’s the visual. A lot of it is the visual.”
Markle later noted that Carey was right to walk back the remark. “She meant diva as a compliment, but I heard it as a dig,” Markle stated. “That moment, as she explained to me, she meant it as chic, as inspirational.”
“She must have felt my nervous laughter, and … she jumped right in to make sure I was crystal clear that when she said diva, she was talking about the way I dress, the posture, the clothing,” she explained.
Podcast host Megyn Kelly took a shot at Markle for an anecdote she made during an interview. The Duchess shared that a cast member of Disney’s live action “The Lion King” told her that when she married Prince Harry, people in South Africa “rejoiced in the streets the same we did when Mandela was freed from prison.”
“She compares herself to Nelson Mandela,” Kelly snarked. “She talks about how she’s made an active effort to forgive the royal family that made her a star, and gave her a castle, and made it possible for her to live in a $16 million Montecito mansion.”
Watch the segment: