Meghan Markle’s half-sister Samantha has launched a new legal fight to sue the duchess for defamation, claiming she has portrayed her in a way that has left her unable to work.
The 59-year-old is appealing against a court ruling rejecting her claim that Meghan portrayed her as a “liar, racist and fame-seeker”.
Samantha claims her Duchess sister did not know her growing up and has now destroyed her image “publicly and on a global scale,” according to court documents obtained by Sun.
“She has made it so that Samantha cannot work, or even enjoy the most mundane activities, such as going to the grocery store, without being harassed,” the document continues.
But the case, which revolves around comments made during Prince Harry and Meghan’s infamous 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey and on the Harry & Meghan TV series in December 2022, had previously been called for to be dismissed.
Samantha Markle (left) has launched a new legal battle to sue her sister, Duchess Meghan Markle (right), for defamation. Pictured: the couple at Samantha’s graduation in 2008
Samantha, 59 (pictured centre), is appealing against a court ruling rejecting her claim that Meghan portrayed her as a “liar, racist and fame-seeker”. Pictured: Samantha Markle arriving at a Florida court on November 8
Samantha Markle claims Meghan defamed her in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey
In March, Florida Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell said Samantha “failed to identify any statements that would support a claim for defamation.”
The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning it couldn’t simply be refiled, but Samantha’s legal team was determined to overturn that decision.
The documents, which were filed in a Florida court, claim Samantha was portrayed as an individual “seeking to harm Meghan and profit from that harm.”
His lawyers now argue that Judge Honeywell failed to take into account the implied defamation created by omitting facts.
The March decision prevented Meghan from facing a trial that was scheduled to take place in the Tampa court in November.
Samantha has been seeking at least $75,000 for defamation and implied defamation because Meghan suggested to Oprah that she grew up as an only child.
Meghan also said that Samantha only changed her name to Markle after she started dating Harry.
According to Samantha, Meghan made similar claims in the Netflix series and the accusations subjected her to “humiliation, shame and hatred on a global scale.”
In her 58-page ruling, Judge Honeywell said Meghan’s statements could not be defamatory because they were “substantially true on the evidence before them” or “not capable of being considered defamatory.”
Samantha had failed to “plausibly claim that they were defamatory in the first place,” the judge said.
The judge said Meghan’s comments about her childhood were “simply her opinion” that she did not have a close relationship with Samantha, her half-sister with whom she shares a father.
Judge Honeywell said Samantha’s claim that Meghan “insinuated that she was a liar and a fame seeker” was a “mischaracterisation” of what the duchess said.
As for Meghan’s claim that Samantha changed her name from Rasmussen, her married name, to Markle after the duchess began dating Harry, the judge said “the essence of it was true.”
A judge dismissed Samantha Markle’s (pictured) defamation lawsuit against her sister Meghan in March
Meghan Markle appeared on CBS News on Sunday alongside her husband, Prince Harry.
She wrote: ‘That the plaintiff used a surname and then the name Markle shortly after reports were published about the defendant’s relationship with Prince Harry is substantially true, based on the evidence in the record, of which the Court has taken judicial notice.’
Among the statements in Samantha’s complaint was one from Harry in the Netflix series in which he said: “Perhaps the most worrying part of this is the number of British journalists who engage with and amplify hate and lies.”
But Judge Honeywell said: “That this statement was included in the complaint is puzzling and suggests haste, a misunderstanding of the law or a lack of diligence on the part of plaintiff’s counsel.
‘It is unclear how this statement could be defamatory towards the plaintiff, since it makes no reference to her.’
In her conclusion, Judge Honeywell wrote: “Plaintiff’s claims will be dismissed with prejudice, as she has failed to identify any statements that could support a claim for defamation or defamation by implication at this point, her third attempt to amend her complaint, whether in the book Finding Freedom, the Netflix series Harry & Meghan, or the one-hour CBS televised interview of defendant and her husband.”
Samantha had also planned to ask Kate Middleton for a witness statement before the Princess of Wales revealed she had cancer.
But he stressed that Kate’s recovery from cancer “is a priority.”
“I think it’s important for everyone to know that my lawyer spoke about this before anyone knew about his health problems,” Samantha told former GB News presenter Dan Wootton.
On March 18, Samantha’s lawyer Peter Ticktin told Wootton during an episode of his online talk show Outspoken that he felt the princess could provide a useful witness statement at the trial.
“I felt that Catherine might have some very important light to shed on what happened because obviously something is very, very wrong between these two,” he said.
Samantha filed her new, and potentially final, appeal just two days after Meghan celebrated her 43rd birthday.
His lawyers plan to request an oral hearing, but no date has yet been confirmed.
They said: ‘It is desirable that there be oral arguments as the issues may require some clarification.’
The new blow for the Duchess comes after she made an appearance on CBS News Sunday Morning where she spoke about her suicidal thoughts and feelings that she was subject to as a working royal.
The Suits star first detailed such feelings in March 2021, when she told Oprah Winfrey that she “just didn’t want to be alive anymore” due to the abuse she was experiencing online.
This time, Markle told host Jane Pauley that she hopes her candor will help young people around the world deal with similar feelings after surfing the web.
