Meghan Markle’s on the”negative connotation” she felt being labeled “ambitious” and a “diva”

On the latest episode of her podcast Archetypes released Tuesday, had a wide-ranging discussion with Mariah Carey. They discussed a variety of topics, including their experiences growing up mixed-race and the negative connotations frequently attached to a label like “diva.”

Williams and Markle talked about the double standard society place on women who pursue their aspirations in the first edition of the podcast.

Markle claimed that she spent her entire upbringing in a Catholic all-girls school in Los Angeles that “always empowered the kids to go for what they wanted.”
She said that before she started dating Prince Harry, the feminist mindset and ambition had permeated every part of her life. So until I started dating my now-husband, I don’t recall ever experiencing the negative connotation associated with the word “ambitious,” she added.

As she continued to consider her life as Prince Harry’s companion in the spotlight, “According to some, having ambition is a terrible, awful thing, especially for a woman. It’s quite difficult for me to unfeel it now that I’ve experienced the negative behind it. In the millions of girls and women who regularly make themselves smaller — so much smaller — I also can’t unsee it.”

Mariah Carey, a GRAMMY-winning music star, and the Duchess of Sussex discussed the difficulties associated with the label of “diva” and how she has embraced it.

When asked by the duchess what kind of connotation the word has, Carey explained that it’s “both” positive and negative, but she has embraced the glam in the term.  

“I think it’s both for me,” the “Honey” singer said. “I do because, I mean, I know the origin of the word. But then, I was growing up, like I said, my mom was talking about a friend or ‘something was so and so,’ it was very much that diva.” 

“I didn’t know if that was bad good. That’s how she’s built. Like, it’s very much the grandeur of it all is what I envision. I was glad I bought the word glamorize and fabulous and whatever. And then like, as things evolved, you know, the past I guess, whatever 20 years…it became like a diva for me,” she explained.

“They mean, you’re a successful woman usually. But also, and forgive me if we’re not allowed to say the b-word but a B-I-T-C-H. Like, it’s not OK for you to be a boss. It’s not OK for you to be a strong woman, you know what I mean?” she added. 

At one point, Carey — who has embraced the word on her own terms — took a moment to adorn the duchess with the title, who needed to know what diva qualities she saw in her.  

After talking about Carey’s infamous MTV Cribs episode, Markle noted that the diva term is not something that she “connects to,” and Carey disagreed. 

“You give us diva moments sometimes, Meghan,” she quipped. The duchess laughed it off, asking, “What kind of diva moments do I give you?” 

Carey, 53, noted, “It’s the visual. But let’s pretend that you weren’t so beautiful and didn’t have the whole thing and didn’t often have gorgeous ensembles. You wouldn’t maybe get as much divas too.”

The “Emotions” singer added, “I don’t care. I’m like, when I can, I’m gonna give you diva.”