Meghan Markle has been accused of running a “smear campaign” against her half-sister Samantha Markle, after successfully getting her defamation case dismissed in court.
Samantha filed a defamation lawsuit against Meghan in March 2022. She claimed that the Duchess had defamed her by providing information to an unauthorised biography titled Finding Freedom and discussing their relationship in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
She also accused Meghan and Harry’s docuseries, which was released on Netflix in December 2022, of spreading “malicious, hurtful, and damaging lies”. Samantha alleged that Meghan made comments aiming to “demonise” her and depict her as a “liar and fame seeker”.
In the court papers, Samantha claimed when Meghan met Prince Harry and got engaged to him, “the half-sisters became estranged”.
It is then alleged that in 2017 and 2018, Meghan “hung up on Plaintiff (Samantha) during a phone call and ultimately, of her family members, only invited her mother to the Royal Wedding.”
Meghan started dating Harry in 2016, and they got married in May 2018. None of Meghan’s family, except her mother Doria Ragland, attended the televised wedding in Windsor.
The court documents state that Samantha “was subsequently ‘discovered’ by the media and, in an interview, stated that Defendant (Meghan) had not contacted their father after he suffered two heart attacks”.
The documents continued: “The press used fabricated quotes and wrote that Plaintiff (Samantha) ‘bashed’ Defendant (Meghan). Subsequently, Defendant (Meghan) allegedly started a ‘smear campaign’ against Plaintiff (Samantha) and began to resent her.”
The case has now been dismissed, with prejudice, meaning Samantha cannot raise the claim again. Judge Honeywell wrote:” Defendant’s (Meghan Markle) Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim is GRANTED.
Plaintiff’s (Samantha Markle) Defamation Claims (Count One) are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. Plaintiff’s Defamation-By-Implication Claims (Count Two) are also DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.”
“The Clerk is directed to enter judgment in favour of Defendant, Meghan Markle (also known as Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex), terminate any pending motions, and CLOSE this case.”
