Meghan Markle's Lawyers Bite Back At Half-Sister Samantha's Defamation Suit
Meghan Markle has been estranged from her half-sister Samantha Markle for many years. In fact, during the third episode of the Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan," the Duchess of Sussex talked about the lack of relationship she has with Samantha. "My half-sister, who I hadn't seen for over a decade — and that was only for a day and a half — suddenly, it felt like she was everywhere," Meghan said. "I don't know your middle name. I don't know your birthday. You're telling these people that you raised me, and you've coined me 'Princess Pushy,'" she continued. Meghan added that she doesn't remember ever seeing Samantha when she was living with their father, and the last time she saw Samantha was when she was in her "early twenties." "I hadn't had a fallout with her. We didn't have a closeness to be able to have that. And I wanted a sister," she explained.
In February, Samantha filed a lawsuit against Meghan for "defamation based on demonstrably false and malicious statements made by her half-sister to a worldwide audience," according to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight. The lawsuit refers to Prince Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired in March 2021, during which Samantha claims her half-sister "falsely and maliciously stated" she was "an only child," according to BBC News. It didn't take long, however, for Meghan's lawyers to get on the case.
Judge signals support for Meghan Markle's stance
Meghan Markle's lawyers didn't waste any time responding to the lawsuit filed by her half-sister. According to TMZ, the Duchess of Sussex's legal team called Samantha Markle's claims "offensive" and "inappropriate" and explained to the judge overseeing the case, Charlene Edwards Honeywell, that Meghan was simply giving her recollection of her childhood and her relationship (or lack thereof) with Samantha. Interestingly, Honeywell did say that she was "struggling" to see how Meghan's comments were in any way defamatory. In fact, she said that the case "may be ripe for dismissal," according to BBC News.
The court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight show that Samantha is seeking some $75,000 in damages — and that she's hoping the case goes to court. Meanwhile, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seem to be level-headed in how they are handling the latest attempt by someone in the family to paint them in a bad light. Neither Meghan nor Harry have spoken out publicly about Samantha's lawsuit.