Meghan Markle has admitted to an "embarrassing" habit she tells herself to stop doing in order to sound "less demanding".
In the latest episode of her Spotify podcast Archetypes, Meghan examines the trope of "the angry black woman" and is joined by comedians Issa Rae and Ziwe in discussing the issue. Introducing the episode’s theme, she said: "This idea that a black woman must be angry when we all know sometimes things make you feel angry or sad or hurt or upset and that’s not a gender or racially specific feeling. Yet this trope of the angry black woman, it persists, and… it was being reinforced constantly in ways we hadn’t even realised.”
Rae told the show she was inspired to create her popular HBO sitcom Insecure in part because black women in TV shows have often been portrayed as “ruthless” or “uncouth” caricatures.
The actor, who co-created, wrote and starred in Insecure, opened up about her fear of being perceived as a "b***h" for asserting her opinion or expressing disappointment on-set.
"I take away the fear of being labelled as such because I shouldn't have to fear that if I just want something to be great."
She said she had been called "particular" in the past but had interpreted this as a compliment, reflecting her clear vision of what she wants to achieve.
Meghan replied: "I’m particular. I think a high tide raises all ships – we’re all going to succeed so let’s make sure it’s really great so it’s a shared success for everybody.
"But I also know that I will find myself cowering and tip-toeing into a room, where I don’t know if you ever do the thing that I find the most embarrassing, where you’re saying a sentence, but the intonation goes up like it’s a question.
"And you’re like 'oh my God, stop!' Stop… whispering and tip-toeing around it, just say what it is that you need. You’re allowed to set a boundary, you’re allowed to be clear, it does not make you demanding, it does not make you difficult."
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the episode, Meghan opens up about her Nigerian roots - telling listeners she had taken a genealogy test that revealed she is 43 per cent Nigerian.
"I'm going to start to dig deeper into all of this because anyone that I've told, especially Nigerian women, are just like, what?'" she explains, as her guests excitedly declare that this is "huge news".
Meghan and husband Prince Harry signed a lucrative deal with the audio streaming giant Spotify to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around £18 million, in late 2020.
Archetypes was launched with the aim of investigating "labels that try to hold women back" through conversations between Meghan and historians, experts and women who have experienced being typecast.
In last week's episode, she chatted to Paris Hilton about the stereotype of the "bimbo" and revealed that she felt "objectified" during her stint as a briefcase girl on Deal or No Deal.
Meanwhile, in the first episode of the series with tennis star Serena Williams, Meghan revealed how her and Harry’s son Archie narrowly escaped a fire in his bedroom when he was meant to be sleeping, during the Sussexes' tour of South Africa in 2019 - and how she had to go out after to do another official engagement.
Guests in the other episodes of the podcast so far have also included pop singer Mariah Carey, comedian and actress Mindy Kaling and comedian Margaret Cho.
