Samantha Markle, Meghan Markle’s half-sister on her father’s side, claimed the Duchess had defamed her by referring to herself as an only child in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March of 2021.
Meghan also referred to herself as an only child growing up, says Samantha, in the autobiography “Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of A Modern Royal Family” by authors Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie.
Meghan’s legal team has responded to the lawsuit by saying that her comment about growing up as an only child was a “feeling” and not a “fact.” They are also trying to dismiss the case as it relates to the autobiography because it was not written by Meghan, saying she can’t be held liable in that case because she “did not make the statements.”
“It is hard to imagine a more personal and subjective feeling than how one views their own childhood,” said Meghan’s legal team. “Moreover, Plaintiff's opposition completely ignores the context of the statement, where Ms. Winfrey asked Meghan about her ‘relationship’ with Plaintiff (to whom Ms. Winfrey referred to her as ‘half-sister on her father's side’).”
“Meghan's response to that question that she ‘grew up as an only child’ was obviously not meant to be a statement of objective fact that she had no genetic siblings or half-siblings,” the legal team added.
Meghan’s legal team also addressed Samantha’s claim that Meghan saying he hadn’t seen Samantha for at least 18 or 19 years was defamatory.
"The statement at issue concerns interactions as adults," Meghan's legal team said. "Even if Plaintiff did 'visit the Duchess,' take her 'to school,' or 'help [her] with her homework' —none of which is true—that would only go to their relationship when Meghan was a young child."
Samantha is also claiming that Meghan lied about her “rags to riches” story in which she claimed she raised herself from “virtual poverty.” She also claimed the autobiography “Finding Freedom” was a “book of lies.” Samantha has attacked her own sister, the Duchess, in recent years and even released a book last year called “The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister: A Memoir, Part One.”
Meghan’s legal team is asking that the suit be thrown out and that the fees for Markle’s attorneys be dismissed. That decision is still pending, with no date yet announced.