Meghan Markle Fires Back at Her Half-Sister Who Sued Her for Defamation Over Oprah Winfrey Interview
Meghan Markle is trying to dismiss the defamation lawsuit filed by her half-sister against her over some things she said in her 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview.
According to Newsweek, Meghan's legal team said the Duchess of Sussex cannot be sued over a claim made during the interview because the statements were "subjective."
Samantha Markle, Meghan's half-sister, filed the lawsuit in Florida in March. The lawsuit said the royal had defamed her during her interview with Oprah Winfrey and in statements given to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, the authors of the biography Finding Freedom.
The alleged defamatory remarks include Meghan describing herself as an "only child" during the Oprah Winfrey interview, and she only met Samantha a "handful of times."
Samantha also contested Meghan's claim that her half-sister on her father's side only changed her last name to Markle after Meghan's relationship with Prince Harry became public knowledge.
Samantha Markle's Lawsuit Against Meghan Markle
Samantha Markle has accused her half-sister of social climbing and complained about not being invited to the royal wedding, according to The Cut.
She also published a memoir entitled "The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister," which may have something to do with her current lawsuit.
Meghan Markle claimed in an open letter to Congress about parental leave that she started working at 13 to help her family "make ends meet."
However, Samantha said Meghan did not grow up with the financial strain she has discussed publicly, adding that their father, Thomas Markle, paid for Meghan to attend "elite and expensive private schools," as well as dance and acting classes.
Samantha's lawsuit also repeated Thomas' claims that he paid for Meghan's tuition and expenses as a college student at Northwestern, which the Duchess of Sussex said both in the Oprah interview and on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" that she worked to pay herself.
She added that Meghan's claims about her family in the press have also prevented her from getting jobs and caused her emotional and mental distress.
However, Samantha's lawsuit did not mention Meghan experiencing harassment and racism, triggered further by the press and social media trolls, and worsened by attacks from her own family.
Meghan Markle's legal team filed Monday a statement supporting the request for a motion to dismiss her half-sister's lawsuit refuting the alleged examples of defamation.
An initial motion for dismissal filed earlier this year was denied last month. The case will likely go in front of a jury if it is not dismissed.
History of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Lawsuits
According to Newsweek, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been involved in 10 lawsuits since 2019. The ninth case was the libel case Meghan is facing against her half-sister.
Harry's lawyers recently noted that they had started the early stages of a 10th lawsuit, which they expect to see at the High Court in London soon. It is a case between Harry and the British government over the removal of his police security.
In February 2020, Harry sued the U.K. Home Office over the decision to remove his security detail. The duke's legal team argued that it was unsafe for him in the U.K. without the Metropolitan Police bodyguards.
Prince Harry's legal team also recently filed a libel case against The Mail on Sunday after the newspaper accused him of "attempting to mislead and confuse the public" regarding the nature of his Home Office litigation.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also filed one lawsuit in the U.S. after paparazzi agency X17 used a drone to capture a photo of their son Archie in the summer of 2020.
Archie was playing with his grandmother Doria Ragland on the grounds of Tyler Perry's Los Angeles mansion, where the Sussex family lived at the time. The photos were published in the German celebrity magazine Bunte.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Meghan Markle Denies Half-Sister's Claim She Lied In Oprah Interview About Growing Up As Only Child - From Access