Canada
United States
New Zealand
Australia
Ireland
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has won a defamation lawsuit filed against her by her half-sister, Samantha Markle. The lawsuit, filed in March 2021, sought $75,000 in damages after Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which she discussed her relationship with Samantha.
Case filed against Meghan Markle dismissed by a federal judge
On Thursday, a federal judge in Florida dismissed the case, stating that every statement made by Meghan Markle that Samantha Markle took issue with was an obvious opinion and did not meet the criteria for defamation.
The lawsuit centered around two instances in which Samantha claimed Meghan defamed her. The first was in the 2020 book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family. Samantha alleged that Meghan had “contributed false information to the book through her agent and press secretary.” However, the judge dismissed this claim with prejudice because Meghan did not write the book.
The second instance was in the duchess’ 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. In the interview, Meghan was asked about Samantha’s tell-all book, “The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister.” Meghan said it would be “very hard to tell all when you don’t know me” and claimed she “grew up as an only child.” Samantha alleged that Meghan’s portrayal of her in the interview caused her fan base to turn against her, leading to hate mail and ongoing negative press.
The judge ruled that Meghan’s statements in the interview could not be classified as defamatory because “a reasonable listener would not think that [Meghan] was suggesting that she has no half-siblings, that [Samantha] does not exist, or that [Samantha] is not related to her.” The judge stated, “as a reasonable listener would understand it, [Meghan] merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings.”
While Samantha’s claims regarding the Winfrey interview were dismissed without prejudice, the judge stated that she would be allowed one final opportunity to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
Samantha Markle claims humiliation and shame
Samantha Markle is the half-sister of Meghan Markle from their father, Thomas Markle’s first marriage. In the lawsuit, Samantha alleged that Meghan had exposed her to “humiliation, shame, and hatred on a worldwide scale” and had misrepresented their relationship when they were growing up. Samantha also alleged that Meghan had falsely claimed she was “an only child” in the Winfrey interview and had pursued a “false rags-to-royalty narrative” that destroyed her half-sister and father’s “reputation and credibility.”
In the Oprah interview, Meghan stated that she did not know Samantha and added, “I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings.” The interview was watched by more than 50 million people worldwide.
The judge’s ruling is a victory for Meghan, who has faced intense scrutiny from the media since she married Prince Harry in 2018. The Duchess has been vocal about her struggles with mental health and negative media coverage’s impact on her life. In the wake of the ruling, Meghan’s supporters have expressed hope that this decision will help to protect her and her family from further harassment and defamation in the future.
