Meghan Markle reacts to Mariah Carey saying she gives ‘diva moments sometimes’: ‘I started to sweat’

Duchess of Sussex’s second episode of Spotify podcast ‘Archetypes’ featured a candid talk with Grammy winner

Meghan Markle admitted she was caught off guard when Mariah Carey said the Duchess of Sussex gives “us diva moments sometimes.”

The second full episode of “Archetypes,” which is hosted by the former American actress, was released on Tuesday. Her guest was Mariah Carey.

The pair had a conversation about the word “diva” and how it has a negative connotation when describing women. At one point, Markle described how the term has become a significant part of Carey’s image.

“… I think that’s really important for people to remember that there might be this persona,” the 41-year-old explained. “And yes, the diva thing we can play into. I mean, it’s not something I connect to. But, it, for you it’s been a huge part of your…”

“You give us diva moments sometimes, Meghan,” Carey replied.

“I do? What kind of diva moments do I give you?” Markle asked.

“Don’t even act like – don’t like,” Carey responded.

“See that’s the thing, I associate it differently,” Markle later said.

“I know, but let’s pretend that you didn’t – weren’t so beautiful and didn’t have the whole thing and didn’t often have gorgeous ensembles,” said the singer. “You wouldn’t get, maybe get as much diva stuff. I don’t care. I’m like, ‘When I can, I’m going to give you diva.’”

Later in the podcast, Markle reflected on how she initially reacted to Carey’s statement.

“So though my fan-girling was tempered today, I um, I kind of think she could tell… But that aside, it was all going swimmingly, I mean really well,” the former “Suits” star explained. “Until that moment happened, which I don’t know about you, but it stopped me in my tracks… when she called me a diva!

“You couldn’t see me, obviously, but I, I started to sweat a little bit,” Markle continued. “I started squirming in my chair in this quiet revolt, like, wait, wait, no, what? How? But? How could you? That’s not true, that’s not… Why would you say that? My mind genuinely was just spinning with what nonsense she must have read or clicked on to make her say that. I just kept thinking, in that moment, was my girl crush coming to a quick demise? Does she actually not see me?”

Markle said Carey quickly clarified what she meant, which then put her at ease.

“She must have felt my nervous laughter, and you all would’ve heard it too,” Markle reflected. “And she jumped right in to make sure I was crystal clear. When she said ‘diva,’ she was talking about the way that I dress, the posture, the clothing, the ‘fabulousness’ as she sees it. She meant diva as a compliment. But I heard it as a dig. I heard it as the word ‘diva,’ as I think of it.”

“But, in that moment, as she explained to me, she meant it as chic, as aspirational,” Markle explained. “And how one very charged word can mean something different for each of us, it’s mind-blowing to me. And it actually made me realize that in these episodes, as I’ve opened the door for conversation surrounding the archetypes that try to hold us back, what I hadn’t considered was that for some, reclaiming the words is what they feel will propel us forward.”

Next week’s episode will feature a conversation with Mindy Kaling.

In 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced a “multi-year partnership” between Spotify and their production company Archewell Audio.

According to an audio teaser released in March, the series aims to “investigate the labels that try to hold women back.”

“I’ll have conversations with women who know all too well how these typecasts shape our narratives,” she shared at the time. “And I’ll talk to historians to understand how we even got here in the first place.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior members of the royal family in 2020. They now reside in California with their two children.