Meghan Markle said she thought it was a dig when Mariah Carey called her a diva during her podcast

• Meghan Markle interviewed Maria Carey on her Spotify podcast, "Archetypes."
• In the podcast, Markle said she thought it was a dig when Carey called her a diva.

Meghan Markle said she was offended when Mariah Carey referred to her as a "diva" during her podcast because she didn't realize the singer meant it as a compliment.

The Duchess of Sussex, 41, interviewed Carey, 53, for the second episode of her "Archetypes" podcast on Spotify, which aired on Tuesday. In the episode, titled "The Duality of Diva with Mariah Carey," the women discuss the word "diva" and the sometimes negative connotations that surround it.

During the conversation, Markle said the word is "not something I connect to, but for you, it's been a huge part of your —" before Carey cut her off.

"You give us diva moments sometimes, Meghan," Carey said.

When Markle asked the singer to elaborate, Carey said it was a reference to the duchess' physical appearance and the way she presents herself.

"Let's pretend that you weren't so beautiful, and didn't have the whole thing, and didn't have gorgeous ensembles, you maybe wouldn't get as much diva stuff," Carey said. "I don't care, I'm like, 'When I can, I'm gonna give you diva.'"

At the end of the podcast, Markle spoke about her experience interviewing Carey and how it felt to be called a diva by the singer.

"It was all going swimmingly, really well, until that moment happened... But it stopped me in my tracks when she called me a diva," Markle said.

"I started to sweat a little, I started squirming in my chair in this quiet revolt... My mind was genuinely 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?'" she added.

Markle said her mind was put at ease when Carey explained that she meant the word as a compliment.

"So, she must have felt my nervous laughter, and you all would have heard it too," the duchess said, adding that she was reassured when Carey said it was in reference to the way she dressed.

"She meant diva as a compliment, but I heard it as a dig," Markle said.

On the podcast, Markle and Carey also spoke about their experiences as mixed-race women and the different labels that have been placed on them.

"And I think for us, it's very different because we're light-skinned," Markle said. "You're not treated as a Black woman. You're not treated as a white woman. You sort of fit in between."

"I mean, if there's any time in my life that it's been more focused on my race, it's only once I started dating my husband. Then I started to understand what it was like to be treated like a Black woman," she added. "Because up until then, I had been treated like a mixed woman. And things really shifted."

Markle previously spoke to Oprah Winfrey about the racism she experienced upon marrying Prince Harry in 2018. Harry told Winfrey that racism from the British tabloids played "a large part" in their decision to leave the UK in 2020. The couple stepped back from their roles as working royals and relocated to Santa Barbara, California, where they currently live with their two children.

"Archetypes" is a weekly podcast where the Duchess of Sussex speaks to women who have conquered different tropes, according to a press release sent to Insider. Next week's episode will feature a conversation with actress Mindy Kaling, another press release states.

Representatives for the Duchess of Sussex and Mariah Carey did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.